I ran out of talent!!

Andy... big pat on the back for being honest and having the cohunas to say yep my fault etc etc. Hope the rebuild isn't too expensive and that it drives ok after being fixed.
 
Andy, you're a lucky guy, all things considered. As warrencox says above, you can never have enough driver training, or honing these at track days. And even then, there's always the unexpected -- the debris, the kangeroos (oh, you don't have them :sly: ) or, as may have been the case here, some oil/diesel spilt on the roundabout. The latter is not unexpected, in my experience, so I treat roundabouts with great care...they're not the same as a constant radius corner that you find on a track :noway:
 
This isn't meant to sound contentious, so please don't take it as such.

I used to think I was a pretty good driver until one day I had a front end tyre blow out on me hitting debris in the middle of a dual carriageway at night. Totally straight piece of road, no other cars in sight. Was I going too fast....yes. It looked like half a broken brick in the road but I never went back to check. I stupidly stamped on the brakes when I heard the front tyre go, car nearly 720'd round up the carriageway and at one point the car tipped up slightly so I did start to wonder if it was going to roll. When all came to a standstill I got out wondering what state the car would be in (an old Mk2 Jetta GTi 16v). 4 kerbed alloys and that was it. The kerbs seemed to keep me in check and saved me for heading off in another direction as I bounced between them. Now I love driving, you can't keep me out of a car, but for a week I just couldn't drive.

My family paid for me to go and do a skids and skills car crib test at Silverstone to get my confidence back, then a few instructor led track days where you learn high speed car control. I've since done single seaters, track days on my own in our car, have signed up to do IAM, and did a whole days instruction with BTCC / Seat Cupra Championship drivers at Prodrive in Warwickshire.

To any of you who haven't yet done these kind of activities I can't rate them highly enough. I realised that whilst on the whole I am quite a considerate driver, I had a few significant holes in my armory that I didn't really know were there (you only do when you are trying to recover a car against the laws of physics).

We drive pretty powerful cars (I was watching Dave ja vu Top Gear the other night and they were saying some modern cars are as fast as 1960/70's rally cars out of the showroom - eg. no mods).

I'm not trying to be wise after the event, but it does make you realise by having the privilege to drive these nice powerful cars we have a responsibility to ourselves, other road users, and our families/dependents to be well trained and competent, if not to get the best use out of the money we spend improving performance.

Track days/instruction have never been so reasonable as they are today. Audi have just dropped some of their prices for days at Silverstone, you can join a club like 'Yourracingcar.com' which entitle you to benefits at race meets and subsidized car training, and the IAM is a great way to look at getting better rates on your insurance whilst brushing up on your skills.

I'm incredibly pleased that Andy is safe, and all is well, but at worse case scenario this could have been a VERY different thread. His car is repairable, he has his health, it doesn't look catastrophically expensive to remedy the issues, and there are no further implications - a great result. However I would IMPLORE you NOT to rely purely on Haldex, Quattro or electronic fail-safes as there is no substitute for outright skill and experience in a difficult driving situation which to be fair most of us get very little practice in dealing with regularly. We spend a fortune on mods without so much as a second thought, however never often enough do we spend any money enhancing the capability of the soft fleshy organic bit that guides it!!!

poppycock! :tumble: (just kidding!)

A point well made, you have spurred me into action, I'm going to get myself on some driving courses :sly:
 
I've done both the Audi driving days in the UK, had great fun and learned some useful skills. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Glad to hear you are OK,

Cheers,
Dan
 
jeeze, looks nasty, I hope there is no further damage to be found! The auto shop my brother works in had a guy trying to return a wheel like that saying it just broke & he wanted a replacement...
 
I guarantee you'll be faster, safer and more confident after doing this course:

http://www.drivetrain.uk.com/performance.htm

In fact it will improve you more than a remap does your car.

Audi Driving Experiences are nothing compared with the Drivetrain day. I can post links to many many recommendations for this company. :respekt:

p.s. if you was doing 70mph on a roundabout then it's highly likely you were speeding as hardly any (if any) are subject to the speed of the main road. Most take the speed of the secondary road joining the main road.

Also, Audi's with quattro - steady in, get inside front hooked up and nail it just before the apex. It's more like the classic slow in/fast out. Fast in/don't come out ain't the way to go.
 
Interesting point this.

Because I know Im an average driver at best, with no track expertise etc.

I probably chicken out miles before I reach the cars limits.

So some formal training would help me `push on a bit more` and get more more out the car.

Useful post Mr Cox.
Take a bow.

Cheers
paul
 
I think you need a mix.
The Silverstone crib training teaches you to deal with avoidance tactics, utilization of ABS, aquaplaning, handling over/understeer, ice skid control and finally you finish with a real world on road driving assessment by an ex-police driver. All disciplines are marked and scored.
The SEAT day I went on was unique, as we had BTCC/SCC drivers showing us how to cope with high speed circuit driving. Almost everyone was over agressive and all mistakes seemed to come from turning the steering wheel a quarter turn too far, or not wiping off sufficient speed ahead of a corner. You will not believe what an everyday road car can do in the hands of an expert, it is staggering. I must have shouted f**k 50 times on my flying laps! As this was a special event set up by SEAT at the height of their BTCC success I Am not sure howyou could replicate it. The link set by the chap above may be worth investigating, but I have a contact at Future Motorsport who may be able to put us in the right direction.
 
Flippin eck Andy, glad to hear you are ok, wich we could all say the same about your wheel...

Good luck in getting it all sorted.
 
New pictures....

In the first one is the kerb I hit, then the dots are my alloys digging in, in the 3rd picture is the 2nd kerb I hit, then just pics of the re-build.

Hoping to have the car back by next weekend ready for a quick RWYB on the 9th, Stoner at the end of month then Modball!!

IMG_0106.jpg
IMG_0108.jpg
IMG_0107.jpg
IMG_0109.jpg
IMG_0111.jpg
IMG_0112.jpg
d
IMG_0114.jpg
 
Awesome, a picture of a kerb :thumbsup:
 
Glad to hear the car is back on the road (or very close to it).

Was speaking to Revo Kev about your car this week!
 
Doing things in style! Is the front off for MODs or due to the collision? I thought it was just the wheel & disc etc that got it?
 

Similar threads