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EVENT REPORT |
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Club
Meeting: Auto Italia, Brooklands
"It's 5:30am...on a Saturday
morning. I've just left the house
and pulled onto the road on the first
stage of my journey to Auto Italia
at Brooklands. |
 Heading
towards Huntingdon and the A1 for
my voyage south to the M25 I suddenly
realise that I should of filled up
the fuel tank the night before…to
avoid paying the prices charged on
the A1, but hey, nobodies perfect
;-)
Cruising along the A1 was relatively
boring …punctuated only by warnings
from the camera detector mounted on
my dash. Indiglo dials telling me
that I was going a tad to fast for
the camera's liking...so I dropped
the pace a little and headed for the
nearest petrol station to make up
for last night's laziness.
As
the Hatfield Tunnel approached I started
to meet traffic…working my way
through it and hitting the mute on
the stereo to allow the car to be
filled by the roar of exhaust through
the tunnel.... Still not seen another
Punto as yet though…which is
slightly bothering me.
Following
the directions provided to me by the
AA, I turn onto the M25 then head
off along A-roads towards Brooklands,
suddenly passing it on my right. Not
much help when I am supposed to have
directions to Tescos…and so far
the directions are way out.
After having a bit of a drive round
the perimeter of Brooklands and still
not finding Tescos, I take the obvious
route…ask the nearest petrol
station attendant where the hell I
should be going for the superstore.
Once back on track I managed to find
my way to the Tescos car park at 7:20am…not
a bad trip time!
Looking
round the half full car park, I notice
a distinct lack of Puntos…but
I did spot a few Cinqs and Stilos
parked along one row. Heading over
and parking nearby I wander to the
store to investigate the possibility
of breakfast, only to find the café
is not open yet…damn. Time to
grab some snacks from the shop and
to curse myself for not eating before
I left the house.
After
a very brief breakfast I decide
I best wait near my car for a few
others to arrive, just reaching my
car in time to watch 'T' lead the
South-Coast convoy into the car park
and park 2 rows in front of me. Moving
over to join them and nodding at a
few familiar faces I set about cleaning
stuff into the boot…hidden up
nicely for the show ;-)
'T'
tells me that 'XploitGT' and a few
others were last heard to be a junction
behind him on the M25, and soon enough,
a few more Puntos join up with us.
From here on more cars arrive every
few minutes, as convoys roll in from
the far reaches of the UK. Suddenly
the car park is filled with Puntos
of all models and colours…making
the Stilo and Cinq owners look a little
green with envy.
Looking
along the rows of Puntos I notice
that our group has been joined by
a rather unexpected Peugeot…out
of which climbs 'Puntoboy'…and
of course…the Hoff!!!
Hoff
soon appears from 'XploitGT's' car
as well and we make a rather large
move towards the café for breakfast.
Leaving the others to have some grub,
I disappear into Tescos once more
to get a few last minute cleaning
supplies, then it's out to the car
again for a well deserved dose of
tyre shine and bumper black.
The
majority of the party suitably fed
and watered a decision is made to
move to Brooklands…all piling
into an unkempt conga line of cars.
Hitting the main road, I am running
behind 'GTDean' and in front of the
Peugeot as we make our way to the
show…all piling into the drive
way and following 'XploitGT' through
the show to our designated parking
area, on the curved bank. Each step
of the way a Marshal points us to
our enclosure.
Windows down and stereos blazing as
we roll past Ferraris, Lamborghini's,
Alfa Romeo's and past the stand of
Fiat Forum who look on slightly worried
that so many Puntos are heading to
the same enclosure. As we all start
to pull up into parking positions,
I see 2 marshalls looking slightly
puzzled at the Peugeot in our procession,
but a few quick words get the chain
moving again.
Cars
flowing into our parking area at a
reasonable rate; a number of us mount
the curved bank to watch the other
cars park up. No sooner have people
left their cars then the camera's
come out and pics start appearing.
The day from then goes well, most
of the PSC split into groups and wander
round the site enjoying the sun and
the cars.
A
couple of our group sign up ready
for the hill climbs later in the day,
others take in the planes and cars
on show, some just take in the sun
and relax. Hoff spends the day wandering
round and meeting people while firmly
placed on 'Puntoboy's' groin, gaining
him a few strange glances and no doubt
a few photo opportunities.
As
the day winds on, most of the group
have already investigated the trade
stands and the hill climb events.
Many are lagging from the early morning
and long driving times. Some start
to break off, so when the Essex/Kent
group decides to move on, I elect
to follow. Trailing with them until
the M25 junction before deciding to
take myself on a detour through the
city. 3 hours later I manage to get
back on the A1 after hitting every
traffic jam and detour the city of
London could offer me.
A
slow drive home lets me arrive on
my driveway at 8:30pm…2 hours
to get the Brooklands…6 and a
half to get home…but at least
I met a few more of the PSC members,
got a few ideas for my car and completed
the entire trip without a single breakdown!!!
Logging
onto the Forum to see what other people
thought of the show I see a post telling
us of the next Auto Italia meet in
Leicestershire…and it's only
6 weeks away…now where did I
put that AutoGlym?"
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Posted
By:
Crabbo [15.07.2006]
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