Fifth Gear are filming a used car guide and wish to feature a Honda S2000 as a great sports car that can be picked up today.

They are looking to find a great example S2000 that can be picked up for about £5-7k.

If any members might be interested to have their car filmed for the day and included in the feature please see below:

Filming is on Tuesday 7^th May at Ramp & Wrench in Coventry – CV4 7BB

Filming takes place from 8am until about 6pm and we will cover fuel expenses and lunch for the day and even a hotel the night before if anyone is traveling more than 2 hours away.

The presenter will be Tiff Needell, he will also take the car for a short drive whilst it's filmed inside and out.

Please rest assured that we are feature the S2000 as an ultimate car to buy and everything is extremely positive towards the car. We will not be track testing or driving the cars hard in anyway.

If you are interested in taking part please contact Simon Smith on 0121 697 1937 or simon.smith@northonetv.com

We'd love to see you and welcome you at some meets and events - there is something for everyone in this list!

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETS - Keep your eye on the S2KI Meets & Events Forum

Irish Monthly Meet - 1^st Sunday of every month

Herts/Bucks/Essex Meets - 1^st Thursday of every month

North Yorks Meet - 3rd Thursday of every month

Surrey/Berks/Middx Meet - 2^nd Tuesday of every month

Bucks/NHants/Warks Meet - 3^rd Thursday of every month

Rickmansworth to Towcester Breakfast Run - Last Sunday of every month

The club year ends on 30th April 2013, so renewals are now due.  

You can join or renew now for the new club year which will run until April 30th 2014.

Renewal is £15 for the full year or £10 if you joined after 1st Jan 2013)

Join or renew today to receive or continue all your benefits which are listed here

To renew: login to your account and click ACCOUNT+ on the right hand side in the MEMBERS AREA

S2KUK 2013 Calendar NOW HALF PRICE! UK WAS £10.99 NOW £5.49 EU WAS £12.99 NOW £6.49	MegaMeet 8 T-Shirts NOW 2/3 OFF! WAS £15 NOW £5.00

Prices include postage

Megameet 9 will be held in the beautiful location of the North Yorkshire Moors, home of many picturesque, exhilarating roads.  Arrival Friday 27th September with departure on either Sunday 29th or Monday 30th September.

It is your opportunity to join other passionate S2000 owners to:

• Drive some fantastic roads, in a number of groups on Saturday
• Many chances for pictureqsue photographs
• Competitions and prizes for S2000s and their owners
• Saturday night S2000 Party - Charity dinner, FREE WINE, raffle prizes, auctions and entertainment
• Sunday activities TBC

For Full details and to register & book please click here

Tickets for Donington Historic Festival need to be purchased before 9th April 2013!

S2KUK will be in attendance, click below for further details and booking codes for special ticket rates!

BOOKING TICKETS

Car club ticket deadline: Please note the club ticket booking deadline of midnight on Friday, April 19th

How you can buy tickets online

There's a button on the Donnington Historic website:

http://doningtonpark.seetickets.com/Event/DONINGTON-HISTORIC-FESTIVAL/Donington-Park/672844

You must enter the club's unique offer code - UKS2000DHF13 - and press the  'use code' button, then the prices on the page will change to your club prices, rather than the full prices originally displayed. 

NB, car club discounted tickets are offered in multiples of two, and the price shown is the discounted price for one ticket. When you add two tickets to your basket, you will get two tickets for the (full) price of one. If you want four tickets for the price of two full-priced ones, you must click '4'!

Children aged 15 and under (accompanied by an adult) get in for free. And each ticket gives two-for-one entry to the Donington Grand Prix Collection over the weekend and for the following two months.

Buying tickets over the phone

Our ticket hotline number is: 0844 873 7355  members will need to quote the car club code: UKS2000DHF13 to take advantage of the club offer.

More info about the event below...

Donington Park has seen many unforgettable racing moments over the decades and, for 2013, the Festival is celebrating two particularly iconic ones; the 30th anniversary of the first time the late, great Ayrton Senna got behind the wheel of an F1 car, and the 20th anniversary of his extraordinary display of mastery over the rain in the 1993 European Grand Prix. This tribute to Senna, combined with the close-fought and exhilarating competition out on the track – with over 400 historic racing cars, spanning seven decades – looks set to prove a big draw for classic car enthusiasts from across the UK and internationally. This is the first time that the Festival has been held over three days. On each day of the Festival gates open at 07.30am and the circuit activity starts at 9am, finishing at around 6pm on the Friday, 7.30pm on the Saturday and 6pm on the Sunday.

Racing will take place mainly on the Saturday and Sunday, with qualifying taking place mostly on the Friday. The provisional timetable will be announced early in 2013. Members of car clubs registered to attend the event benefit from a two-for-one ticket offer on advance tickets when they quote their unique club code at time of booking (deadline Friday, April 19th), and will receive one infield pass for every pair of tickets they buy, allowing them to join the other cars on display in their club's dedicated infield parking area, to create a fantastic exhibit for all spectators to enjoy. www.doningtonhistoric.com

PARKING, ACCOMMODATION AND DISABLED VISITORS

Infield parking passes

See Tickets will automatically issue one infield parking pass (for 'club appropriate' vehicles) for every pair of club tickets purchased. I appreciate that some of your members will need further passes, as not everyone is buying a pair of tickets to cover a driver and passenger. If further infield passes are needed, the club member will need to email: karen@doningtonhistoric.com. 

Club officials in non-display vehicles, and anyone else needing to gain access to set up the stands etc. will also be issued with vehicle passes, though we do ask that you then take the non-display vehicles out of the infield area, unless they are performing a vital role such as supporting an awning or acting as your club office on site. More details will follow nearer the time.

Accommodation

Unfortunately, Donington Park is not offering its on-site camping this year. However, camping is available next door - at the Donington Park Farm House Hotel! Details of camping, hotels and local B&Bs can be found here: http://www.donington-park.co.uk/about-donington/accommodation/

Disabled Visitors

Disabled ticket holders that require full time assistance should be provided with one free ticket at the gate for their care assistant, partner or accompanying friend. In order to receive this free ticket, the disabled visitor will need to bring along a copy of their most recent DLA letter showing their current entitlement as well as their blue badge, should they require car parking on site. The disabled access area and viewing point will be confirmed before the event.

See Tickets' charges

Please note that See Tickets, the booking agency, levies the following additional charges on top of our ticket prices - a booking fee per ticket to cover their admin costs, plus a transaction fee on the total order. Booking fees are:

So two Friday tickets bought using a car club two-for-one offer code will incur a 60p total booking fee and therefore cost £12.60 (i.e. £6.30 per person) plus the transaction fee. The transaction fee is a one-off post and packaging cost for the total order, and that is the same whether a member is buying one pair of tickets or 25 pairs of tickets. The transaction fee is £1.95 per order for first class post and £6.50 for registered post. So the total cost for those two Friday tickets bought using a car club code and sent first class post will be £14.55.  Your members will be able to choose their preferred method of postage at the checkout. 

Ticket Despatch

See Tickets usually start sending tickets out about three weeks before the event.

Please Click Here to Vote!

The nominations are:

	Help For Heroes http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/
	Walking with the Wounded http://walkingwiththewounded.org.uk/
	Mission Motorsport http://www.missionmotorsport.org/
	Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA) http://www.ssafa.org.uk/
	Cystic Fybrosis Trust http://www.cftrust.org.uk/
	Cancer Research UK http://www.cancerresearchuk.org
	Olive Beaumont Foundation http://www.olivebeaumontfoundation.co.uk
	NSPCC http://www.nspcc.org.uk/
	RSPCA http://www.rspca.org.uk
	Medical Detection Dogs http://www.hypoalertdogs.co.uk/

Please Click Here to Vote!

We will have a stand at Japfest 2

Date: Sunday 7th July 2013

Venue: Donington Park, DE74 2RP

Static Car Meet for Japanese car owners (with an option for track time). Drifting displays and Trade Stands.

Ticket Prices: £13 each per person (stand passes are free)

PAYMENT LINK HERE

More information available from Japfest 2 website and thread on S2KI

Tickets are £86 for 2 people for the whole weeekend (using our 2-4-1 Club code), after 31st March they will go up to over £100

S2KUK Club 2 for 1 ticket booking code is C13205 

Use this code to book tickets and camping space by clicking here

We already have over 20 cars signed up for our stand!

Date: Saturday 11th May 2013
Venue: Castle Coombe Curcuit, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7EY
Ticket Prices: £20 per car - this includes up to FOUR passengers (not really helpful for us, but hey, we have space in the boot!)

PLEASE ORDER YOUR TICKETS HERE.

PLEASE ORDER BEFORE 26th MARCH TO AVOID DISAPOINTMENT

Last year Japfest had 93 different car clubs and a total of 2700 cars on display!

The club year ends on 30th April 2013, so renewal and new memberships are now open.  

You can join or renew now for the new club year which will run until April 30th 2014.

If you join or renew before March 30th 2013 you will qualify for EARLY BIRD PRICES:

• Full year membership or renewal £12.50
• If you joined after 1st Jan 2013 renewal at £10.00

After 30th March 2013 membership price will be £15 (and £10 for renewal if you joined after 1st Jan 2013)

Join or renew today to receive or continue all your benefits which are listed here

To renew: login to your account and click ACCOUNT+ on the right hand side in the MEMBERS AREA

You can see here how the Club has raised a grand total of £33,386.00 in the past few years all for very good causes.

Now it is your chance to nominate your charity of choice for the coming club year.  

Nominations will be accepted through email to charity@s2kuk.com or simply login and comment on this article or comment on the story on our facebook page or tweet us @S2KUK

Nominations will close on 30th March 2013, at which point there will be a vote to select from the top nominations.

Each of the meets listed below is a link to the relevant thread on the S2KI forum where there is further information and all your questions can be answered.

S2KUK 2013 Calendar - NOW 20% OFF!

UK WAS £10.99 NOW £8.79

EU WAS £12.99 NOW £9.99

US/Other WAS £14.99 NOW £11.99

Choose destination

UK £8.79 GBP EU £9.99 GBP US/Other £11.99 GBP

MegaMeet 8 T-Shirts - NOW HALF PRICE!

WAS £15 NOW £7.50

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Size:

Small £7.50 GBP Medium £7.50 GBP Large £7.50 GBP X Large £7.50 GBP

PistonHeads were talking about the next Civic Type R in a recent interview with Honda R&D's Suehiro Hasshi and our friend Kotaro Yamamoto (translator, off duty race driver and original test driver of the S2000).

When counting a list of a few of the sporty models Honda used to produce on his fingers, he said...

"The NSX is confirmed to come back. The Beat is confirmed to come back. The Type R is confirmed to come back..." then wiggling his finger representing the S2000, "There's no-way this one doesn't come back."

Who knows what the future S2000 would be called, Hasshi-san is reported to have said "...there is no complete plan", but that it was Honda's ambition to offer the best products in terms of driving pleasure; and as we know the S2000 certinaly lives up to that.

When I met Funabashi-san (one of the original 4 designers) back in July 2009, I managed to get a hint that the NSX replacement plan was 99% done when the project was stopped, and that there was work going on an S2000 replacement back then - let's hope this is revived too!

The 4 original designers at Motegi Twin Ring in July 2009 - left to right:  Hitoshi (Kin) Nakano, responsible for the power train development of the S2000,  Ryouji Tsukamoto, responsible for suspension development of the S2000, Sigeru Uehara, Chief Designer of the S2000, and Funabashi-san

 Adding to the speculation is the Honda S2000 "Modulo Climax" shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon - interesting showing a car that is out of production, maybe it's intended for owners wanting to perk up their aging 'S' with "cutting edge aeroform design" and a "chic interior co-ordinated in black and burgundy". Honda has used the Modulo name on several ranges of body kits and exterior accessories previously in Japan. Think most will stick with the original!

Honda says the car simply previews a new range of accessories it has in store for the roadster. Is it unusual for a car manufacturer to offer these sorts of parts 3 years after a model ceased production? Maybe, but it’s not unprecedented – Modulo recently offered a range of add-ons for the Beat and NSX, which ended production in 1996 and 2005, respectively.

....Oh, hang on a minute, both of those now have confirmed replacements!

EV-STER Concept in Tokyo	NSX Concept in Detriot

This is an amazing money can’t buy offer brought to you by Ben Viner and his team at HEL Performance.

With their outstanding freshly built Honda S2000, they will take on the might of the 2013 British Time Attack where their driver, Charlie Butler-Henderson, will compete against some of the most outrageous track based cars seen in the UK.

Following discussions with Ben, an amazing prize package has been put together, which will be up for grabs to the highest bidder in an auction in association with VTEC Challenge.

Prize Package

• Two tickets to a round of the 2013 Time Attack.
• Access to the team paddock/garage.
• Meet and greet with Ben, Charlie and the HEL team for the purpose of autographs, photographs and general hospitality etc.
• A “HEL” goodie bag.
• And last but definitely not least…..

An invitation to one of the team’s test days, where the lucky winner will receive 1 to 1 race tuition from Charlie himself and experience the S2000 at first hand!!!!

We’re sure you’ll agree that this is a fantastic once in a lifetime opportunity, and hope that you will dig deep to bag yourself an amazing prize.

How to bid:
• The auction will open at 9:30pm 18th January 2013.
• Bidding will only be by way of email bids sent to vtecchallenge@gmail.com and will not be accepted by any other method.
• The auction will close at 9:30pm on 31st January 2013.
• Bids will be dealt with in the order they are received into our inbox.
• We will periodically update the post on the VTEC Challenge Forum and VTEC Challenge Facebook page with the highest bid. This will be accurate at the time of the post only.
• We will respond to your bid as soon as possible to let you know if you are the highest bidder or have been outbid.
• The organisers’ decisions are final.

2013 Time Attack Dates

April 1st Cadwell Park
May 11th Croft
June 9th Snetterton
August 3rd Oulton Park
September 8th Silverstone
September 14th Donington
September 29th Brands Hatch

Details regarding the event of your choice and test day can be discussed with Ben following the end of the auction.

Read more about the HEL S2000 build by clicking here

Feel free to comment with your own tips or tricks!

Driving:

• High gear, low revs
• Don't spin your wheels if you get stuck
• Steady on the power, especially in corners
• Brake gently
• Top down!

Better Boots!

Winter tyres make all the difference - lots of people recommend Kumho Izen winter tyres, which are available in both 16" and 17" (Check out our tyre suppliers who offer discounts, especially those that could come to you in this weather!)  They offer much better grip in very wet and snow conditions.  Others have had good experience with Bridgestone Blizzaks too.

Kumho tread:

Snow Socks

These have proven very good in snow, but as soon as you are off the snow they need to be removed or they will get ripped up on tarmac.  They are tricky to put on and off due to the small clearance between tyre and car.  Here's our Irish friend Spike with a demo!

So, with all that done, you could enjoy the snow as much as euan did a few years ago:

Needless to say the fun helped us to raise some money for charity, thanks to selling the 'fun money' to exchange for casino chips!

We raised an amazing £300 to help feed Homeless people in Northampton on Christams Day this year.  Their funding pot also had a little boost as it was paid over from me thus they got Gift aid.

Thanks everyone for being so generous - our great Christmas Party night means that some less fortunate than us will have a a tasty meal on Chritmas day.  Perhaps we should also mention that a few other folk who were at the same party also chipped in - so Barclays at Foleshill ROad Coventry and Mrs Jordan's table...thank you too!

Happy Christmas everyone

Sue

Monies donated to:  http://hopeenterprises.org.uk/index.php    
 

S2KUK will once again be at this truely awesome weekend, with plenty of classic racing, magnificent sights, getting extremely close up to the action, walking the pits.  All this while enjoying the company of other like minded people, with BBQs, Pimm's, beers, and in the evening plenty of entertainment including the famous Harley Davidson Tent and live music.

Book 2 for 1 Club Stand tickets before 30th May using the code below! 

BOOK BEFORE 31st March for additional EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

S2KUK Club 2 for 1 ticket booking code is C13205 

(2x 3 Day tickets + Stand Pass £95 - EARLY BIRD BEFORE 31st MARCH IS £80)

Use this code to book tickets and camping space by clicking here 

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:  once the code is entered - the description of the ticket changes from "3 DAY ADVANCED" to "3 DAY ADVANCED CCM PACKAGE" which includes 2x Adult tickets and 1 infield car stand pass - so order 1 unit (which is 2 tickets plus vehicle pass) 

You WILL NOT get a stand pass unless you use that code - they are issued by Silverstone Classic and not the Club!

Report on 2012 and pictures here

Pictures from 2011 are here

Further information on the S2KI Forum here 

There is lots of further information about the event on the SSC website http://www.silverstoneclassic.com

ORDER NOW to get it in time for Christmas!

Click here to order now!

Donington Historic Festival - Donington Park, May 3rd, 4th and 5th 2013

Donington Park has seen many unforgettable racing moments over the decades and, for 2013, the Festival is celebrating two particularly iconic ones; the 30th anniversary of the first time the late, great Ayrton Senna got behind the wheel of an F1 car, and the 20th anniversary of his extraordinary display of mastery over the rain in the 1993 European Grand Prix. This tribute to Senna, combined with the close-fought and exhilarating competition out on the track – with over 400 historic racing cars, spanning seven decades – looks set to prove a big draw for classic car enthusiasts from across the UK and internationally. This is the first time that the Festival has been held over three days. On each day of the Festival gates open at 07.30am and the circuit activity starts at 9am, finishing at around 6pm on the Friday, 7.30pm on the Saturday and 6pm on the Sunday.

Racing will take place mainly on the Saturday and Sunday, with qualifying taking place mostly on the Friday. The provisional timetable will be announced early in 2013. Members of car clubs registered to attend the event benefit from a two-for-one ticket offer on advance tickets when they quote their unique club code at time of booking (deadline Friday, April 19th), and will receive one infield pass for every pair of tickets they buy, allowing them to join the other cars on display in their club's dedicated infield parking area, to create a fantastic exhibit for all spectators to enjoy. www.doningtonhistoric.com

S2KUK will be in attendance on a great stand, click below for further details and booking codes for special ticket rates!

BOOKING TICKETS

Car club ticket deadline: Please note the club ticket booking deadline of midnight on Friday, April 19th

How you can buy tickets online

There's a button on the Donnington Historic website:

http://doningtonpark.seetickets.com/Event/DONINGTON-HISTORIC-FESTIVAL/Donington-Park/672844

You must enter the club's unique offer code - UKS2000DHF13 - and press the  'use code' button, then the prices on the page will change to your club prices, rather than the full prices originally displayed. 

NB, car club discounted tickets are offered in multiples of two, and the price shown is the discounted price for one ticket. When you add two tickets to your basket, you will get two tickets for the (full) price of one. If you want four tickets for the price of two full-priced ones, you must click '4'!

Up to 50 tickets can be bought together in one transaction online, larger quantities must be bought via the phone hotline. Children aged 15 and under (accompanied by an adult) get in for free. And each ticket gives two-for-one entry to the Donington Grand Prix Collection over the weekend and for the following two months.

Buying tickets over the phone

Our ticket hotline number is: 0844 873 7355  Your members will need to quote the car club code: UKS2000DHF13 to take advantage of the club offer.

See Tickets' charges

Please note that See Tickets, the booking agency, levies the following additional charges on top of our ticket prices - a booking fee per ticket to cover their admin costs, plus a transaction fee on the total order. Booking fees are:

So two Friday tickets bought using a car club two-for-one offer code will incur a 60p total booking fee and therefore cost £12.60 (i.e. £6.30 per person) plus the transaction fee. The transaction fee is a one-off post and packaging cost for the total order, and that is the same whether a member is buying one pair of tickets or 25 pairs of tickets. The transaction fee is £1.95 per order for first class post and £6.50 for registered post. So the total cost for those two Friday tickets bought using a car club code and sent first class post will be £14.55.  Your members will be able to choose their preferred method of postage at the checkout. 

Ticket Despatch

See Tickets usually start sending tickets out about three weeks before the event.

PARKING, ACCOMMODATION AND DISABLED VISITORS

Infield parking passes

See Tickets will automatically issue one infield parking pass (for 'club appropriate' vehicles) for every pair of club tickets purchased. I appreciate that some of your members will need further passes, as not everyone is buying a pair of tickets to cover a driver and passenger. If further infield passes are needed, the club member will need to email: karen@doningtonhistoric.com. 

Club officials in non-display vehicles, and anyone else needing to gain access to set up the stands etc. will also be issued with vehicle passes, though we do ask that you then take the non-display vehicles out of the infield area, unless they are performing a vital role such as supporting an awning or acting as your club office on site. More details will follow nearer the time.

Accommodation

Unfortunately, Donington Park is not offering its on-site camping this year. However, camping is available next door - at the Donington Park Farm House Hotel! Details of camping, hotels and local B&Bs can be found here: http://www.donington-park.co.uk/about-donington/accommodation/

Disabled Visitors

Disabled ticket holders that require full time assistance should be provided with one free ticket at the gate for their care assistant, partner or accompanying friend. In order to receive this free ticket, the disabled visitor will need to bring along a copy of their most recent DLA letter showing their current entitlement as well as their blue badge, should they require car parking on site. The disabled access area and viewing point will be confirmed before the event.

Anything you buy through here, the club gets a small commission from Amazon!

S2KUK Amazon store - Click Here

What do you think?

Well done to all the winners! Ordering information will be available soon!

The winning 12 entries for the calendar are....

Dave Ecclestone 63 Votes

Simon Burton 61 Votes

Martin Aspinall 56 Votes

Sue Duncan 51 Votes

Alan Herbert 37 Votes

Gavin Beevers 35 Votes

Ian Eygelsheim 32 Votes

Steve Minns 30 Votes

Colin Webster 29 Votes

Wayne Lennon 29 Votes

Ingrid Peerman 26 Votes

Rob Macdonald 23 Votes

And here are the full vote statistics...

241 people submitted votes, with the full results as follows:

After an average run at Croft, and missing the last race at Snetterton I was looking to put in a good performance at Mallory on the 30th September. Mallory is a short and fast circuit with a huge high speed bend, so I wasn’t sure how the car would go there, especially as I had never driven there nor would I get the chance until qualifying. Something I said I’d never do after I tried this method at Pembrey! YouTube video training was all I could do, but at least it’s a short circuit.

I’d made some changes to the car by removing the headlights to reduce weight, fitted a fresher set of tyres and also the new Kaaz 1/5 way differential. Testing the car at Rockingham a couple of weeks prior went well and the car was feeling very good.

On the day of qualifying, the weather stayed dry and the car felt very fast indeed. The tyres and diff were working very well and felt like I had got some good times in. The lap time papers got handed round and I found myself in 5th, which was very pleasing as the only production car in front of me was by 0.001 seconds. The top 3 cars were the super tuner class cars, but the first place car was only 1 second off my time. So all quite positive! I’d also got an inside line grid position which I wanted, given the first turn into Gerrards is a right hander. Hopefully the RWD advantage would work off the line…

The S2KUK support continued, with Simonix, Whaninoz and Tommy2000 turning up to support – thanks chaps!

Race 1

I sat on the line and couldn’t spot the start lights, which fortunately stayed on red for a while before I noticed them! I was looking for a flag start – oops. Fortunately I got a very good start and got into 4th position, and close to 3rd. After a couple of laps I slipped concentration and let a Civic type R (Rob Williams) pass me up the inside, but he then pulled a gap so I doubt I could have fended him off for a full race. So that was 1st in class spot lost and I wanted to hang onto 2nd. Behind me was another Civic type R of Mark Chese and I was fending him off nicely until I couldn’t find 3rd gear coming out the hairpin. After a couple of attempts it went in but Mark has closed the gap and got past me. All from a small error. I kep the gap for the rest of the race but couldn’t close Mark down, and crossed the line in 3rd class place, 6th overall. Not bad but certainly not as good as it could have been!

Race 2

For this race I was on the left side and a place back from Race 1. I got another great start up the left, but was being squeezed towards the grass by Rob Williams and felt I had to back out of it. Sadly this lost me a few positions as cars on the inside got past through Gerrards. This was a problem as my target cars of Mark Chese and Rob Williams were getting away, while I got caught up behind the Accord Type R of Phil Wright, and 2 DC2s very close behind me. Mallory is very hard to overtake so I had to get aggressive. After several laps having a really hard (and fun!) battle to get past, I had a big oversteer coming out of the hairpin which allowed Stuart King to close up and pass me. It’s quite hard defending and attacking at the same time and the defensive line is not the fastest one in a RWD car! Rich Chilton in the red DC2 was also up my back end now and I needed to really focus to get back in front. Eventually I got past Stuart after taking an unusually wide line into the hairpin and outdragging him down the straight. I then caught Phil who ran wide before the hairpin and spat a huge rick into my window, which cracked very badly. You have to put that to one side, and tried the same wide move on him twice until it stuck and got the advantage braking into Gerrards. Now in clear space, I dropped 1 second per lap and left a big gap behind, but the Civic of Mark Chese was just too far ahead to catch by this point. I crossed the line in 3rd class position again, and 6th overall.

While I wanted better than 3rd, I was really pleased with how I’d managed to get past the pack I was in, as it could have been a very different (worse!) result. It’s not an easy circuit to pass on, and to get past with no contact was very hard. It shows the importance of qualifying and getting a good start on these tight circuits. The car is also performing really well now and I’ve got used to how it drives after all the adjustments.

The video says it all and worth watching to the end!

Next up is the final race at Donington on the 20th and 21st October.

It is highly recommended that you click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions first.  Most images are done no justice by the thumbnails.  

Vote on your favourite 3 images.

You can only vote once.  This will be monitored and anyone found to be attempting to vote multiple times will be disqualified and votes removed.

To see the entries and vote click here

Voting will close on Friday 19th October at midnight.

A fabulous Megameet 8 in the Lakes & Dales with good weather, great company and great roads, obviously made everyone happy as the total amount raised for the RNLI was.....

£3,239.00

A HUGE THANK YOU!

...to all who made such kind donations, bidded in the auction and bought raffle tickets at the event and online.

The money was raised in the following ways:

• Raffle - £760
• Auction - £2,479
• T-shirts - £TBC (we still have some T-shirts left for sale, click here!)

Some highlights from the Auction:

• Alan putting on (and doing up) a childs Honda BTCC shirt to sell it for £65
• Haye's famous belgiun beers being sold for a massive £200
• A beautiful box of 3 very special Rioja wines going for £170
• A day's archery with Paralympian Mel Clarke & her trainer for £300

Half year membership is now open at just £7.50, until 30th April 2013.

Click here to join now.

If you have an iPad, you'll love this!

Honda: Reloaded is a recently released iPad app, packed with great writing, dynamic videos and beautiful photography on Honda’s latest cars. 

There is the new Civic hot hatch with the BTCC racing car that inspired it, with BTCC champion Matt Neal.  A preview of the beautiful 2015 NSX hybrid supercar.And there’s much more: celebrate 20 years of the Fireblade superbike and Honda Type R performance cars, and look at some of Honda’s most imaginative projects, from building a robot to developing a jet aircraft.

The app can be downloaded free from the iTunes store.

• Steve Minns - National Events Co-ordinator
• Alan Herbert - Honda, Dealers & Discounts Co-ordinator

Please join me in congratulating them both and wishing them the best of luck.

Thank you to everyone who showed an interest in the positions.

As ever, if you would like to help out with anything please let us know, it's not just the Committee that 'do the work'!

RULES AND REGULATIONS

We all want to see great shots of the S2000, so we have high standards for submissions.

• Photos need to meet a minimum resolution for print purposes. That minimum is "high resolution" - at least 150 dpi, in tif, png, jpg formats. As a guide, photos should generally be 3-4 MB or more
• You CAN obscure license plates if you wish
• Photos need to be cropped "loose" this is to avoid having some great submissions that we can’t use because the image was already cropped too tight to the S2000.
• Try and leave some space around the S2000 so the image can be cropped to fit the calendar. 
• No watermarks allowed.
• NO NUDITY - images must be work and family safe.
• If there is enough demand for hot ladies (or men!) posing we may do a short run of an alternative calendar.
• ONE ENTRY ONLY per person (so choose wisely) You may if you wish supercede your entry as many times as you want

TIPS

• Photos can't just be "driveway" shots, no hose and bucket in the background. You need to be creative, artistic, and unique! At least find a scenic spot to take the pic!
• Lots of people take the ubiquitous 1/4 front or 1/4 rear view, and we can only have so many similar poses in a calendar, so taking the time to do something different and interesting will count toward the submissions
• The calendar is not for profit, and stresses the love we have for our cars. 

How to make a submission

• When you have a photo to submit, rename it with the following format:  "Real_Name.jpg"
• Email them to: calendar@s2kuk.com
• Photos have to be emailed for entry. This is your tacit consent that they can be used in the calendar, and on the S2KUK website.
• Submissions not following the criteria above will be rejected without notice so follow the instructions! 

 Submission deadline will be September 30th 2012 at 23:59

Submissions will then be put on the S2KUK website for voting.

Remember, submissions need to be EMAILED.  

If they are not emailed, they are not entered.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COPYRIGHT

By entering this calendar competition you are giving licence to S2KUK (UK S2000 Owners Club) to use your image for publication in the calendar and on the S2KUK website.  

IF YOU DO NOT OWN COPYRIGHT of the image - that is if YOU did not take the photograph it will not qualify for the competition. 

DO NOT ENTER WITH A PHOTO YOU DID NOT TAKE, as it can have serious consequences if it is published. 

By entering a photo to the competition you are agreeing to indemnify UK S2000 Owners Club against any action regarding copyright should you have entered a photo of which you do not own copyright.

Members can place classifieds adverts for cars, parts, accessories or registration plates for free!

Please feel free to sumbit your adverts with up to 6 photos.

We hope you enjoy this new addition to the website!

Click the link in the menu above to the CLASSIFIEDS section.

The location is booked, route planned, lunch and pitstops sorted, so all we need now is more cars on top of the 40 cars already confirmed!

We also need your donations (personal or trade - trade will get good mentions!) for the charity auction and raffle supporting the RNLI, chosen charity of S2KUK for this year. (Please contact us if you have anything to offer!)

"Megameet" 28th to 30th Septermber 2012 

Megameet  will be held in the beautiful location of Cumbria, between the Lakes and the Dales and home of many picturesque, exhilarating roads.

It's your opportunity to join other passionate S2000 owners to: 

• Drive some fantastic roads, in a number of small groups on the Saturday, including lunch.
• Many chances for pictureqsue photographs with and without cars!
• Competitions for best presented, best modified, wackiest S2000, maddest hat!
• Friday night registration, welcome and introduction.
• Saturday night S2000 Party - Charity gala dinner, FREE WINE, raffle prizes, auctions and entertainment.
• Sunday relaxing drive to Sizergh Castle and enjoy the surroundings (and maybe hangover!)

Dates

Arrival Friday 28th September with departure on either Sunday 30th or Monday 1st of October.

Location

We will be staying at Four Star Low Wood Bay Hotel The hotel is ideally situated  and has excellent facilities with an awesome view over the lake.

Low Wood Bay, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1LP

Costs

Non refundable deposit paid to the Club of £50 per person, to cover meet organisation, Saturday lunch, dinner and entertainment.

PLUS

£100 non refundable deposit for the hotel, payable to the club - we will ensure your room is booked.

We have negotiated these special rates for 2 nights including breakfast and use of leisure suite:

• £258 per double/twin room with double occupancy
• £174 per room for single occupancy (There are only 8 rooms at this rate, otherwise there will be a single surcharge)

If you wish to stay a 3rd night, the hotel has a great Sunday B&B rate of £45pp or £60pp D,B&B, based on 2 people sharing.  (£30 sole occupancy supplement)

To Book:  

Please note: The hotel will only hold rooms until 29th August SO BOOK NOW!

You can see the Megameet 3 Video below - this was the last time we visited this area back in 2006

Here is his latest update...

Overall I would say I was content with the weekend, but wanted to do better after the progress i'd been making and the result at Silverstone. It was clear in this race that the Super Tuner cars were so far ahead there was no chance of catching them, so I just had to look at the Production class competitors which i'm in. I took a lot of confidence in the lap time I put in during Race 1, I just didn't manage to put those times in consistently. Race 1 I could / should have snatched 3rd in class but the mistake cost me.

In terms of the car, it felt good although the tyres are well past their best having done 6 separate races, 3 qualifying sessions, 2 track days and a test day. Sacrificing the spare set of wheels so the girlfriend could have a lift up with us may not have helped the car perform  The Dixcel brakes were perfect again and I got the bias adjustment sorted nicely. What is clear is that it's still too far too heavy compared to the other cars and this doesn't help cornering speed. Some drastic plans are underway for this and a new limited slip diff! 

Onwards and upwards! 

Click below for the full article!

Croft was another new circuit for me. I decided to book a trackday to prepare for the race, and managed to get booked onto the Hondas On Track day on the Friday before the race weekend. I also wanted Andy from Veysport to try the car to give me some feedback, which hadn't been possible at the previous test days as he had no race license; not required for a track day though.

A long trip from Poole to Darlington began, and 6 hours later we got to the trusty Travelodge on the A1 (not somewhere I would recommend!) Thursday night ready for the track day on Friday.  

The only other S2000 on the day was Razzele but was great to meet him and his yellow supercharged S after all these years!  The trackday went OK but I was finding the circuit a bit tricky to work out and the car was setup too stiff for the bumpy Croft circuit. Mark B turned up for some timely advice, looked at my footage and showed me some tips on the track map. This was a big help and saw lap times tumble a long way. Andy and I softened the car up and got it somewhere near manageable.  Mark has been a great help over the last few races, offering advice on my footage and giving race tips from his experience in other race series.

Saturday - Qualifying

I was hopeful for qualifying looking at last years times and the times I was putting in on the track day, but ended up 11th our of 14. Just wasn't fast enough! What was clear looking at the lap times, was that there were 2 new local entrants along with the regular Tuner / Super Tuner cars which were much faster!

Sunday - Race Day

I was pleased to see a number of S2KI members turn up to say hello, as well as some family and friends it always makes things a bit more interesting!  It was great to meet Chris R, LifeCrisis, BerlinaBob and Razzele (again!).

Race 1 got underway around lunch time and I was surprised to see the massive amount of spectators lining the grandstands and grass banks. Got onto the grid for the start and was determined to get a good one for a change, which I did! I spent the race fending off Rich in the red DC2, and trying to catch up the pack. For the majority of the race I was 3rd in class position, and had caught the rest of the production class pack up, but on the last lap I ran wide coming out of the Chicane, went on the grass and lost the place! I almost passed him coming out of the hairpin onto the start finish but Icouldn't hold it. I was really kicking myself as I'd defended well and drove quick enough to catch up the pack. I also put in the 4th fastest lap time of the whole race which was promising.

Finished 4th in class and 10th from 14 overall.

Video of Race1 (my visor needed fixing!)

Next on the Calendar was Croft - another new circuit for me. I decided to book a track day to prepare for the race, and managed to get booked onto the Hondas On Track day on the Friday before the race weekend. I also wanted Andy from Veysport to try the car to give me some feedback, which hadn't been possible at the previous test days as he had no race license. Not required for a track day though.

A long trip from Poole to Darlington began, and 6 hours later we got to the trusty Travel Lodge on the A1 (not somewhere I would recommend!) Thursday night ready for the track day on Friday. The only other S2000 on the day was Razzele but was great to meet him and his yellow supercharged S after all these years! Trackday went ok but I was finding the circuit a bit tricky to work out and the car was setup too stiff for the bumpy Croft circuit. Mark B turned up for some timely advice, and looked at my footage and showed me some tips on the track map. This was a big help and saw lap times tumble a long way. Andy and I softened the car up and got it somewhere near manageable. Worth noting that Mark has also been a great help via PM over the last wef races, offering advice on my footage and giving race tips. 

Saturday - Qualifying

I was hopeful for qualifying looking at last years times and the times I was putting in on the track day, but ended up 11th our of 14. Just wasn't fast enough! What was clear looking at the lap times, was that there were 2 new local entrants along with the regular Tuner / Super Tuner cars which were massively faster! 

Sunday - Race Day

I was pleased to see a number of S2ki members turn up to say hello, as well as some family and friends  Always makes things a bit more interesting! It was great to meet Chris R, LifeCrisis, BerlinaBob and Raz (again!) Apologies to anyone I forgot! 

Race 1 got underway around lunch time and I was surprised to see the massive amount of spectators lining the grandstands and grass banks. Got onto the grid for the start and was determined to get a good one for a change, which I did! I spent the race fending off Rich in the red DC2, and trying to catch up the pack. For the majority of the race I was 3rd in class position, and had caught the rest of the production class pack up, but on the last lap I ran wide coming out of the Chicane, went on the grass and lost the place! I almost passed him coming out the hairpin onto the start finish but couldn't hold it. I was really kicking myself as i'd defended well and drove quick enough to catch up the pack. I also put in the 4th fastest lap time of the whole race which was promising.

Finished 4th in class and 10th from 14 overall.

(yes my visor needed fixing! )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCdxoLjq8hU&feature=player_embedded

Race 2 came around very quickly, but was quite late in the day at around 5pm. I wanted to get the same start as last time and managed it again. Got crowded out on the first couple of corners and lost a lot of ground, which I spent most of the race trying to recover. At this point I was around 8th and had got past the Accord R of Phil, but been passed again by the DC2. I managed to fend Phil off and then got past the little yellow CRX of Dave Roberts, who's car was in trouble. What neither of us realised was that there was a waved yellow flag down into Tower, as a car had gone off and disappeared into a field! I got a ticking off from the Clerk of the course afterwards, but he could see it was unintentional. My pace wasn't great and i'd dropped over 1 second per lap. I suspect the tyres were really dead by this point and the driver was pretty tired!

Finished 5th in class and 9th fro 13 overall.

Race 2 came around very quickly, but was quite late in the day at around 5pm. I wanted to get the same start as last time and managed it again. Got crowded out on the first couple of corners and lost a lot of ground, which I spent most of the race trying to recover. At this point I was around 8th and had got past the Accord R of Phil, but been passed again by the DC2. I managed to fend Phil off and then got past the little yellow CRX of Dave Roberts, whose car was in trouble. What neither of us realised was that there was a waved yellow flag down into Tower, as a car had gone off and disappeared into a field! I got a ticking off from the Clerk of the course afterwards, but he could see it was unintentional. My pace wasn't great and I'd dropped over 1 second per lap. I suspect the tyres were really dead by this point and the driver was pretty tired!

Finished 5th in class and 9th fro 13 overall.

Video of Race 2.

Overall I would say I was content with the weekend, but wanted to do better after the progress i'd been making and the result at Silverstone. It was clear in this race that the Super Tuner cars were so far ahead there was no chance of catching them, so I just had to look at the Production class competitors which i'm in. I took a lot of confidence in the lap time I put in during Race 1, I just didn't manage to put those times in consistently. Race 1 I could / should have snatched 3rd in class but the mistake cost me.

In terms of the car, it felt good although the tyres are well past their best having done 6 separate races, 3 qualifying sessions, 2 track days and a test day. Sacrificing the spare set of wheels so the girlfriend could have a lift up with us may not have helped the car perform The Dixcel brakes were perfect again and I got the bias adjustment sorted nicely. What is clear is that it's still too far too heavy compared to the other cars and this doesn't help cornering speed. Some drastic plans are underway for this and a new limited slip diff!

Onwards and upwards!

Announcing our 8th "Megameet" 28th to 30th Septermber 2012 

Megameet  will be held in the beautiful location of Cumbria, between the Lakes and the Dales and home of many picturesque, exhilarating roads.

It's your opportunity to join other passionate S2000 owners to: 

• Drive some fantastic roads, in a number of small groups on the Saturday, including lunch
• Many chances for pictureqsue photographs
• Competitions for best presented, best modified, wackiest S2000, maddest hat!
• Friday night registration, welcome and introduction
• Saturday night S2000 Party - Charity dinner, FREE WINE, raffle prizes, auctions and entertainment
• Sunday relax and enjoy the surroundings (and maybe hangover!)

Dates

Arrival Friday 28th September with departure on either Sunday 30th or Monday 1st of October.

Location

We will be staying at Four Star Low Wood Bay Hotel The hotel is ideally situated  and has excellent facilities.

Low Wood Bay

Windermere

Cumbria

England, UK

LA23 1LP

Costs

Non refundable deposit paid to the Club of £50 per person, to cover meet organisation, Saturday lunch, dinner and entertainment.

PLUS

£100 non refundable deposit for the hotel, payable to the club - we will ensure your room booking

We have negotiated these special rates for 2 nights including breakfast and use of leisure suite:

• £258 per double/twin room with double occupancy
• £174 per room for single occupancy (There are only 8 rooms at this rate, otherwise there will be a single surcharge)

If you wish to stay a 3rd night, the hotel has a great Sunday B&B rate of £45pp or £60pp D,B&B, based on 2 people sharing.  (£30 sole occupancy supplement)

To Book:  

Please note: The hotel will only hold rooms until 29th August SO BOOK NOW!

You can see the Megameet 3 Video below - this was the last time we visited this area back in 2006

Full vote results below...

British Red Cross - Honda Tsunami Appeal		22.2%
Cystic Fibrosis Trust		15.2%
RSPCA		6.1%
RNLI		33.3%
Combat Stress		7.1%
Rainbow Trust Childrens Charity		13.1%
Gambia Horse and Donkey Sanctuary		3.0%

Why not come and celebrate Christmas with us?

Each year we organise a Christmas Party, it's an opportunity to dust off the posh frocks and get together with other club members.  

This year we will be attending a Black, White and Diamonds Party night!  Be dazzled by the stunning themed event room. Dress to impress, follow the black and white theme if you choose – diamonds are optional!

The details are as follows: 

Venue: Brandon Hall Hotel and Spa, Main St, Brandon, CV8 3FW
Date:    Saturday 8th December 2012
Time:    6.30pm for Bucks Fizz on arrival for dinner at 7.30pm. Dancing till 1.30am
Cost:    Party Evening including half a bottle of wine £32.95 per person
Accommodation:  £65 per room B&B (single or double occupancy) - same rate available for Friday evening too.

Menu looks delicious and made with locally sourced products – pre orders nearer the time:

 Starters
Carrot and coriander soup with crème fraiche (v)  OR
Smoked salmon and mackerel roulade, winter coleslaw with a hint of horseradish OR
Pork and Calvados terrine, apple and cider chutney and butter brioche OR
Roasted red pepper and feta tartlet, pesto cream and micro herbs (v)
Middles
Butter roasted turkey breast, traditional stuffing, pigs in blankets with rich pan juices  OR
Sea bass fillet grilled with herb and lemon butter served with gratin potatoes and chive cream OR
Wild mushroom and leek tart with Stilton and apple crust (v)  OR
Sautéed free range chicken supreme with gratin potatoes and ceps jus
Ends
Classic Christmas plum pudding, berry reduction and brandy sauce OR
Poached pear William with vanilla ice cream OR
Wild berry cheesecake with chocolate crisp and clotted cream OR
Belgium duo of chocolate torte, cherry balsamic compote

What do I do next: 

If you would like to join us either comment below or email Sue on secretary@s2kuk.com with your name and how many people will be attending plus if you require accommodation  OR visit the S2KI forum where there are the same details: XM9

We will need the full Party Night monies as the non-refundable deposit by 31^st  August 2012
Accommodation can be settled on departure.

At the moment we are holding a provisional booking for the Party Night and rooms which will all be organised for you – you just need to let us know that you want to come.

We hope you’ll be able to join us!

Payment can be made for the Party Night deposit via this link: Shop

A Honda-sponsored project at College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit has produced this concept S2000 for the year 2020

Student designers at CCS were asked to come up with design proposals for an all-new S2000 for the year 2020. This design was developed by Michael Mcgee;  he took inspiration from remote control cars, which tend to have exaggerated lines and more simplistic components. The design also incorporates a modular construction which allows different body panels to be easily changed to suit different tastes or needs.

What do you think?

Full article as reported by Diseno-art.com here

  We have 2 vacancies on the Club Committee of S2KUK.

Rather than these being general committee positions we have defined specific roles.  The 2 roles open are:

National Events Co-ordinator

This will involve co-ordinating meets and events across the regions and communicating with regional event organisers and keeping the calendar up to date.  Allocating budgets to S2KUK supported events, distribution of club flags & banners and introduction of big events for the club to attend.  Ideally the person would also be active on the S2KI Forum.

Honda, Dealers and Discounts Co-ordinator

This will involve engaging with Honda (UK) on various subjects, recruitment of dealers and suppliers to the discount scheme, and keeping the discounts up to date.  

Interested?

If you'd like to put yourself forward for either of these roles, you will need to propose yourself, and you will also need someone to second you.  Once all proposals are in, appointment would be by a club members' vote.  You can do this by emailing via the Contact Form using the Contact Committee option from the drop down menu.

Both roles are voluntary and will take up a little of your own time, however it will not be onerous.

Other help

We are also keen to have more regional event organisers and we are looking for people who are willing to help as content creators (news writers) to help with articles for the front page of the website.

To volunteer for either of these please also email via the Contact Form using the Contact Committee option from the drop down menu.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss, I will be happy to help, please just get in touch!

7th-9th September - Wickstead park - The biggest and most fun Japanese Car Event!

Tickets on sale at £25 each (plus 50p to cover postage and paypal)

We only have a limited quantity of ADVANCED tickets which are discounted from the on gate price - so BOOK NOW!

To purchase tickets go to Shop

All club members will receive free food for the weekend courtesy of S2KUK, so ensure you are paid up here: ACCOUNT+

For more information about JAE see here

We have a couple of boxes of 2012 S2KUK Calendars left

SO WE'VE SLASHED THEM TO HALF PRICE!

Click here to order now!

Click Read more for pictures of the front cover and an example month...

The 10th June saw Mark's third round in the VTEC Challenge at Silverstone.  

Click below for the full article!

A group of us got together and drove to Silverstone in convoy to support him.  

After a great drive and a breakfast stop at The Super Sausage, it was on to Silverstone.

Mark was there with his trusty support, Andy Vey, it was great looking around the car and interesting finding out more about it.

Here is Mark's write up, with pictures and videos...

The day before race day, I got a test day in and really started pushing the car. Looking at my times compared to last years event, I was quietly confident for the race!

I was really pleased to see the S2KUK turnout for the race - I really appreciate the interest guys and girls! It also gave me an extra incentive to do well.

Qualifying went very well, but due to traffic I only got 3 quick laps in. Fortunately this was good enough for 4th place and 1st in class lap time.  Second row on the grid! Very chuffed.

Race 1 got underway and I got a poor start, and lost a few positions - reccuring theme!  I clawed both places back with some possibly over aggressive driving, and then got caught up behind the Civic of Mark Chese.

I was clearly faster but it's such a hard circuit to pass, and he was defending very well. Some very close racing, and I took 2nd in class and 5th overall. Slightly disappointed that my lap times meant I could have got a 1st!  Next time!

In-car footage - Race 1

Race 2 saw me on the 3rd row for the start, due to the 5th place in the last race. My start was a bit better, but I still lost position. The race boiled down to me getting caught with a different Civic, and was being held up with no clear way past. 

While trying to get past him, I was fending off a DC2 which was right up my butt and having to cover my lines was tricky, but great fun!

Sadly in a desperate effort to get past the Civic, I ended up in a fairly big slide 2 laps from the end, which would have been ok were it not for hitting the astroturf! It's like ice. 

Eyewitness Video from Luffield:

It's worth watching the in car footage; I was waiting for a loud bang as I was heading towards a wall, but managed to save it from that. Only thought was to start the car and get straight back on, and luckily the car fired up! I passed one more person but my lead was gone.

In-car footage - Race 2:

"The moment" is at 14 mins and is rather large - 1.2g seems to be the limit!

What you can't see on the in-car footage is the DC2 right up my chuff, so I was having to defend a line whilst trying to think about a pass. Tricky, and hence the different lines to Race 1.

The Super Tuner / Tuner class cars cannot be caught, they are way too fast, so to be putting in faster laps than all the others was really pleasing.

Onwards and upwards! 

Mark's final result was 2nd in class (trophy!) and 5th overall. 4th was on the cards, but he just could not overtake anywhere.  He dominated the commentary in the second race, it was all about the S2000!  He made new fans, and some even wanted autographs!  We all felt very proud of him.

He can now take the X off the car, as it is 6 races he's finished in!

Next round is Croft on 21-22 July then:

• 25-26 August - Snetterton
• 30 September - Mallory
• 21 October - Donnington (allcomers) 

You can see the gallery here

The 3 featured pictures are below...

Jon Dachuna

Marc Seymour

Ian Eygelsheim

Hope you enjoy it!

Mark has written his latest update following his last race at Oulton Park...

The next round is Silverstone on the 10th June!  

Please feel free to join us supporting him - details here

Oulton Park...  25th April 2012

After Pembrey I decided some more tweaks to the car were needed before Oulton park on the 25th April, namely some more weight removal, a remap of the engine management and sorting the geometry out.

Andy at Veysport set to work on ripping a few heavy parts from the car, and I think we took about 20kg out which was good. Also fitted some stiffer front and rear anti roll bars, which were heavier than the original ones so probably lost 5kg there. Put some lighter mirrors on and took out the bonnet catch and a few other bits.

The car had also badly needed an ECU remap since I changed the exhaust on it to a smaller diameter / lighter one, and it was feeling very slow lower down in the rev range. My trusty mapper Romain from Eurospec came down to Veysport and mapped the car on Andy’s Dyno Dynamics Dyno. It was amazing how affected the car was from the exhaust, and Romain squeezed a lot more power from it.

My geometry at Pembrey was bordering on ridiculous due to a seized rear camber bush, so Dixon at DMS supplied new polybushes which Veysport fitted. Then got the geo pulled back in where it should be.

So with all that done the car was ready to race again. I was pretty excited about doing Oulton as I’d not been before and I’d heard lots of good things about it. There were also 20 entries for the race which is a lot!

I got a test afternoon booked at Oulton the day before the race, which was essential as I hadn’t done Oulton before and it’s a very technical track. Testing went very well and I got to pushing the car harder, and saw the laptimes dropping well into the sort of times the guys were hitting in last years VTEC Challenge race. The track is amazing and so technical. Probably now in my top 3 tracks ever! I was sharing the track with some very fast race machinery, such as most of the Porsche Carrera Cup cars and race Ginettas. Scary since I was only watching the Porches race on tv the week before.

On the morning of the race, the track was soaked and it was still raining - not good when you are the only rear wheel drive car in the series! I wasn’t too confident in setting a decent qualifying as the test day had been dry, and I’d never driven an S2000 on a wet track of any sort before! Predictably, I came last in qualifying but only by half a second which wasn’t bad given my total lack of wet driving experience. Surprisingly the car handled very well in the wet, with the exception of Druids corner which had zero grip - had a couple of four wheel drifts through there! 

It was great to see some other S2000 owners turn up and have a chat, some new faces and some old!

By the time we were due to race, the track was bone dry though, and I was a lot happier!

Race 1 went ok and I got past a couple of cars to come 14 out of 17 (a few cars retired in the race) Starting from the back was again the killer!

Race 2 was brilliant fun, and after another bad start I clawed my way past 4 cars, with some nice overtakes and my lap times were right up there with the top production class guys, and still much more room to push the car. I finished 12 from 16, which isn’t great position wise but I was going well and I can take a few big positives away - the main one being I was catching up the main pack and starting to push the car even more. Another lap or two and I could possibly have gained another couple of places. My fastest lap was 8th out of the full field, and 2 of theose cars being in the Super Tuner class.

Really enjoyed that one!

I missed the recording off the start line but here’s some footage.

The next round is Silverstone on the 10th June!  

Please feel free to come and support me - details here

We're not sure if HRH has ever enjoyed the thrill of an S2000 in her 60 years on the throne.  What we do know is that it's an excuse to spend the extra bank holiday VTECing!  

Let us know how you celebrate it with your S2000, perhaps put your jubilee car pictures in your gallery!

On 10th June he will be racing at Silverstone, and many people would like to watch and support him. So, we're going to go!

MB has suggested we arrive at the Circuit by 10am and we can buy tickets at the gate (advance tickets are available for £9 here if you wish.

Here's the timetable for the day

All that fits pretty well with the usual Ricky Run timetable as we can have breakfast at The Super Sausage from 8.30-9.30 and then it's 10 minutes' drive to Silverstone from there.

The Ricky Run route is a lovely drive on a mixture of A, B and C-roads, the pace is dependant on the slowest driver, and we do wait to let folk catch up if necessary. To have clear run, we leave early in the morning from Christ Church Chorleywood Car Park. Meet at 6.45am here. Link to Map

It's on the A404 about 1/2 mile from J18 of the M25. The postcode is WD3 5SG. At junction 18, take the A404 exit to Chorleywood/Amersham, past the Shell garage on your right, then past The Gate pub, also on your right. The church is opposite the pub and the entrance to the car park is a sharp left at the end of the churchyard wall.

Our destination is the Super Sausage Cafe, on the A5, just North of Potterspury Link to Map

Please register if you'd like to come on the S2KI Forum here or leave a comment here

Even if you can't to join us for the drive, you're welcome to join us for breakfast or at the circuit during the day.

I’m Tim from Prestige Car Clubs Insurance - www.carclubsinsurance.co.uk - who are part of a very large organisation called The Allen & Allen Group Ltd.

 We have a fantastic car insurance scheme for car clubs and that is due to 4 things –

• There are very few exclusions on the scheme! It starts at age 19, and includes all postcodes (including Northern Ireland), and all modifications (except nitrous).
• The premiums have to be competitive. We have a higher take up rate than the norm and the fact that 25,000 quotes are done in the office each month shows that people are ringing us for a reason!
• We have an excellent phone answering system! An overhead computer screen changes to red when a phone call is on hold, alerting both the manager and the Chief Executive! We have a great emphasis on answering calls.
• We have an excellent Claims Accident Management company.

But the main reason we can offer this scheme to you is because people who are car club members are viewed by us as better drivers which allows us to offer cheaper premiums. This has been borne out statistically which makes S2KUK members a desired ‘niche’ for our insurance company. We want to attract you as a customer!

I will take an active part answering questions you may have about insurance. 

We are open Monday-Friday 9am-8pm and Saturdays 9am-4pm.

To find out more see the DISCOUNTS section of the website.

The May theme is “Your Honda from a peculiar angle”.  

Sarah Rhoda has entered her S2000 getting the geometry done at Wheels in Motion.

Lots of our members enjoy driving together and taking photographs, and this is a great way to get some inspiration!  Some of our members have got the bug and their pictures have acheived gallery status (see below)!

If you'd like to join in you can follow @Honda_UK on Twitter or 'Like' the Honda Cars UK Facebook page.

In April they asked for interior snaps

John Dachuna's interior

Richard Pardon's picture which also featured in the S2KUK Calendar

For March they wanted sunny pictures

Susie Scofield's Sunshine picture was used:

JapShow 2012 - Sunday 17th June at Santa Pod Raceway

JapShow Test Day - Saturday 16th June

From the city streets and winding mountain roads of Tokyo to the drag strip of Santa Pod, the cult of the Japanese car has taken over the UK tuning scene, and the JapShow is the beating heart of this culture, with Europe's quickest cars competing in the Jap Drag Series, public Run What Ya Brung open to everyone including bikes, Show & Shine, Drifting, Car Club Displays, Jet Car, traders and much more.

More info on the show here

S2KUK would like to have a stand at this show, we need at least 10 cars, so please comment by clicking here if you are going along and we can make up the numbers.  Or you can post on the S2KI Forum here.

Japfest 2: The Evolution 2012 - The ultimate high performance experience

Sunday 8th July 2012 at Donington.

S2KUK will have a stand at the show, so get your name down for our stand by purchasing tickets using the link below.  We will have a great display of S2000s, so come and join us!

Entry tickets are just £13.50 (inc postage) for club members, saving £5 on the gate price!

Buy here to get your advanced ticket and club stand pass.

There is more information on the Japfest 2 Website, and there is a thread on S2KI Forums

After unloading and saying a few hellos, the car needed to pass scrutineering. I was a little concerned about this but reassured that Andy knows the rules and regs very well, and has built an amazing car. The car passed the scrutineering checks without a problem, which was great. It was as this point you realise you are at a proper race event. I’d watched a bit of motorsport before, but to actually be in the paddock with the other racers instead of the spectator area was pretty amazing. On the same bill as the VTEC Challenge was truck racing, an MX5 series and Welsh Saloon cars.

I have to say thanks at this point, to Kris and Mikey who organise the VTEC Challenge. They have given me loads of answers to my stupid questions and made me feel at home at the race, and looked after me on the day. Great guys.

Andy set the car up and did all the required checks while I went to race control to give them my transponder number, needed to track the cars lap times. By the time I’d got back, it was almost ready for qualifying… Getting strapped into the car is very difficult, due to the cage, and once you are in it’s quite difficult getting the harnesses on, then getting the helmet and Hans device on. All done, and started trying to think about how to qualify! We got led through to the pit area, switch the transponder on, pull the firing pin on the extinguisher, focus! I still felt very calm at this stage, and I think all my track work helped with this.

Out onto the track and I stuck to the back so I could figure out the circuit and get some clear laps in. it’s a great flowing circuit, with some high speed sections and a very heavy braking point for a hairpin at the end of the start finish straight. I got the rough line after 3-4 laps and tried to put in some quicker ones, whilst not overstressing the car. The session ended quickly and I got back to the paddock to find I was 10th out of 11. Not great but I was still new to the car, the track and this experience. My lap times were falling from an initial 1:19 down to 1:11 on my second to last lap which was reassuring. My front pads were shot from previous trackdays, so Andy got to changing them for a fresh set. We tweaked the dampers a little bit, and the tyre pressures.

Race 1 was just after lunch and I found myself in the same routine as qualifying - get strapped in, transponder on, extinguisher on, focus! At this point I tried to recall my aims… 1) Don’t crash 2) Don’t get lapped! Being sat in the holding area seemed to take an age, and the MX5 series before us was still in full flow. Most of the guys were out chatting, but I kept myself in the car so I could work out what I was doing. We then got led out onto the circuit for a warm up lap - queue lots of Honda VTECs weaving around the race track! I focussed on the lines rather than weaving, and used some heavy braking to warm the tyres. You don’t notice the amount of people watching or the circuit commentary over the loud speakers at this point!

Back to the grid and we are sorted into position. The 5 second borad comes out and the lights all go red. I hold the revs at around 4500 and wait… light go out and it’s just a load of VTEC noise. I get an ok start but don’t gain or lose any places. Survive the first hairpin and get stuck in a battle with a blue DC5. After a good few laps I eventually spot somewhere I can pass, and I finally nail it - first racing pass felt pretty good! By this point the rest of the field have moved on, so the rest of the race is about piling consistent laps in and not making any errors. After the chequered flag it was back to Parc Ferme to see how we’d all done. Some good banter in the holding area, and I found I’d come 7th from 10 after the overtake and 2 cars suffering issues mid race. Happy with that for now! Andy from VTEC direct took the win and sounds like there was some good racing in the mid field.

Race 2 was the following day, and I had to be careful not to get carried away with ambitions! Keep it on the track, don’t get lapped… Due to my result from the last race I was moved up the grid with 3 cars behind me. I get a similar start to last time, but some less than aggressive driving leaves me last coming out of the first hairpin! Not happy but I’m still in it. The pack seems to be leaving me behind this time and I’m finding a lack of grip. Slowly I clawed back some time and get past the blue DC5 again, in the same spot! After that it’s similar to Race 1, the pack have cleared off and I just have to try and catch up. The track is clearly slippy, and the Accord of VTEC Direct has dropped a lot of oil, resulting in Andy retiring.  I managed not to spin on it, and after getting past a couple more cars I ended up 6th out of the field and 3rd in class!  Mike Clark of R Motion won the race in his Civic, which was great as it goes to show that power isn’t everything!

 First trophy!  

While the grid wasn’t huge for this race, and it was largely uneventful in terms or overtaking, I’m pretty happy with the car and how it went, and to get the experience under my belt. It’s a massive jump from trackdays and so much to think about. Great fun though and the focus is to enjoy it. The car needs to lose a lot of weight now, at 1230kg with me in it, I’m losing upto 200kg on some of the other cars! So it’s off for a diet and some other tweaks  The driver has some plans for the next race too!

Next race is Oulton Park on 19th May and there should be more entries!

Previous Articles:

Part 1 - Getting Set up

We hope you enjoy reading and following his progress!

After doing around 20 odd trackdays I’d started to get the itch to do some racing. I’ve got a huge passion for the S2000 and given my car was already track prepared, I started to look at what series I could do in the S2000 if I raced it. I also looked at Caterham series, and Mazda MX5, Civics etc, but in the end I chose to stick with the S2000. The main factor for me was that I just love the way it drives on track, and as a fan of the Best Motoring series and seeing what the car can do in race trim, it seemed like an obvious choice.

The car on track prior to race modification…



The series I decided on is called VTEC challenge, a nice series designed for only Honda VTEC cars!  I contacted the organisers to get a feel for the series, and got a good feeling that it was a friendly series (as friendly as racing can get!) It looked like mine would be the only RWD car in the series…!

So once the car and series was decided, the next two large obstacles are obtaining a race licence (ARDS) and converting the car to MSA spec and to the regulations of the series.

I completed my ARDS by doing a 1 day course at Castle Combe, which consists of a practical and theory test, and also a medical. Quite a nerve wracking prospect but it actually wasn’t too bad. I passed and got my license!

As I mentioned, the car was already track ready, but would need some major changes to get it compliant. It would need a certified roll cage installing, fire extinguisher installed, harnesses, safety cut outs, rain light, transponder etc. On top of that there were all the performance aspects such as stripping the car bare for weight reduction, geometry setup, corner weighting, race tyres, removable steering wheel etc. This was quite a big decision, as the modifications would mean the point of no return for the car, with the cage and interior stripping being nearly impossible to reverse! Further to this, I’d have to purchase all the race complaint clothing to race. This meant a new helmet, overalls, gloves etc.

I have very little time to do any work on the car, so I quickly decided on a trusted local place called Veysport near Bournemouth who have worked on my cars for many years. I discussed my plans with Andy Vey, and he had completed many race car conversions before so I knew the car was in safe hands. I purchased all the parts I needed, most via Dixon from DMS, and supplied them to Veysport for installation. The final product is nothing short of amazing and I’m really pleased with the quality of the work! The work took just over 4 weeks to complete, which is amazing given what is involved. What can’t be seen from the pictures is the difficulty of stripping the car bare along with all the electrics such as air con, and alarms, and still having a functioning car. On top of this, fitting a roll cage to such a small chassis and ensure the hardtop still fits is tricky. The cage comes in kit form and each piece has to be tacked in place and welded. There are also a lot of fine details like covering the fuel filler lines, how to open the doors with no handles inside, fitting the Lexan windows, and plumbing in the fire extinguisher to MSA compliance.

Some pictures of the car being stripped and built





Hardtop gutted



Cage going in



I chose GT3 orange for the cage!



Cut to the end of the job and this is the result!

Andy and I at the ‘handover’



Car ready for the track…

 Of huge help so far has been Dixon from DMS, supplying parts at last minute and also race and setup advice. Also our resident oil expert, Simon (Si2k) for supplying me with a lot of Castrol Edge oil for racing! Now it was about getting the car on track now, and getting used to the new feel of it with all the weight shed.

So with the car mechanically completed, the final thing to complete was the geometry setup and then some testing prior to the first race. With over 100kg removed from the car and the addition of the cage and other safety items, the car would need corner weighting and a more race orientated geometry setup. I took the car to Reid performance near my home, for them to check it all out. Amazingly the car still had almost exactly 50/50 weight balance, to the point where it required no adjustment! So just some lowering and camber tweaks were required.

With the first race only a couple of weeks away, the realisation that I had limited time in the car, had never raced before nor had I been to Pembrey circuit where the first race was being held.

I decided it was going to be too much of a struggle to get to Pembrey before the first race, so to cancel out one of the variables I took the car to Rockingham circuit to try it out. I ran out of time to trailer the car and ended up driving it there from Bournemouth, which was not good for the ears! Never again! S2KUK member Simon Nix came to the circuit to join me, and took some great pics and a short video!



The car performed great! The Dixcel brakes were faultless as usual, and with a few calls to DMS for some suspension tweaks, the car felt really good. With the feel of the car sorted, it was back home to tuck it away until race day… and some viewing of YouTube footage of Pembrey circuit!

A little more on the series

 There are 7 races in the season at some of the finest tracks in the UK, and each race consists of a 15 minute qualifying session and 2 separate 15 minute races. Some of the races are over 2 days. There are 4 main classes. A production class for 1600cc lightly modified cars, a Production class for 1800-2300cc cars, Tuner class for modified cars, and a Super Tuner class for heavily modified cars. Most of the cars will be in the Production class, and my car will be in this one too.

A nice promotional video here:

 The calendar looks like this:

• 31 March/1 April - Pembrey
• 19 May - Oulton
• 10 June - Silverstone
• 21-22 July - Croft
• 25-26 August - Snetterton
• 30 September - Mallory
• 21 October - Donnington (allcomers)

Keep your eye out for Part 2 - The First Race!

The club year ends on 30th April 2012, so if you have not already now is the time to renew your membership.  

You can join or renew now for the new club year which will run until April 30th 2013.

If you join or renew before April 30th 2012 you will qualify for EARLY BIRD PRICES:

• Full year membership or renewal £10
• If you joined after 1st Jan 2012 renewal at £7.50

From May 1st membership price will be £15 (and £10 for renewal if you joined after 1st Jan 2012)

Join or renew today to receive or continue all your benefits which are listed here

To renew: go to your ACCOUNT+ on the right hand side in the MEMBERS AREA

You can see here how the Club has raised almost £30,000.00 in the past few years all for very good causes.

Now it is your chance to nominate your charity of choice.  

Nominations will be accepted through email to charity@s2kuk.com or simply login and comment on this article or comment on the story on our facebook page

Nominations will close on 30th April 2012, at which point there will be a vote to select from the top 3.

S2KUK will once again be at this truely awesome weekend, with plenty of classic racing, magnificent sights, getting extremely close up to the action, walking the pits.  All this while enjoying the company of other like minded people, with BBQs, Pimm's, beers, and in the evening plenty of entertainment including the famous Harley Davidson Tent and live music.

Book 2 for 1 Club Stand tickets before 30th May using the code below! 

Click Read more for details... 

S2KUK Club 2 for 1 ticket booking code is C12127 

(2x 3 Day tickets + Stand Pass £95)

Use this code to book tickets and camping space by clicking here 

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:  once the code is entered - the description of the ticket changes from "3 DAY ADVANCED" to "3 DAY ADVANCED CCM PACKAGE (2XENTRY+V/PASS)"  so for 2x tickets order 1 unit (which is 2 tickets plus vehicle pass) 

If you do not use this code and need a stand pass, please contact us!

Pictures from last year are here

Further information on the S2KI Forum here 

There is lots of further information about the event on the SSC website http://www.silverstoneclassic.com

There is also a link on the S2KI Forum

A date for your diaries - 7-9th SEPTEMBER at WICKSTEED PARK

Our stand is booked and preparations underway for this massive annual event which is always well attended by S2KUK and every other Japanese Car Club in the land (and some from overseas!)

Full details of the event are on http://japcarclub.com/

Discounted club tickets will be up on sale soon, but for now see the thread on S2KI.com which includes a few pictures from last year.

For more info click below...

Why do we have it?

 This event is open to all Japanese car owners/groups from around the UK and beyond. This annual event is a great opportunity to meet other Japanese car owners in a relaxed, informal and pleasant gathering. 

Where? -  The venue is Wicksteed Park, which is the same place as JAE 2011 and 2010.  Wicksteed is a fantastic venue and has a lot to offer in addition to the planned JAE events/competitions the park also has the following:

• Large boating/fishing lake
• Go-kart oval
• Fairground
• Roller coaster
• 18 hole crazy golf
• Putting green
• Playground for younger children
• Restaurant
• Bar
• Band*
• Disco*

* still to be confirmed for JAE 2012. 

The owners groups - From the higher spec 300ZX, GTR’s, MX5’s and Lexus, to the less flamboyant Starlets, Micra’s and Alto’s.  All are friendly, welcoming and more than happy to show you their cars and explain all about them, some of which are simply outstanding and a real honour to spend time looking at.

Events – The list of owners group competitions has not yet been confirmed for 2011, however based on last year events it’s fair to assume it will be similar to those list below:

• Five-a-side football (a great opportunity to show off those skills and acquire some war wounds…well grass burns!)
• Tug of War (self explanatory, usually a few ‘ringers’ hidden in some teams – obviously a sore point for the S2KUK club)
• It’s a knockout! (a great chance to look foolish before the ravages of alcohol set in!)
• Eating competition (not for the faint hearted – a cast iron constitution is a must but a great spectacle for the onlookers!)
• Karaoke (well its like marmite…you either love it, or hate it, but a great laugh)
• Show n shine (some serious car bling! It’s a pleasure to view all the effort owners put in to their ‘paint rubbing’)

Of course the points from all of these events go towards the best owners group competition during JAE, so more S2KUK members that sign up and offer there services/bodies/stomachs, the better our chances of being crowned top club (quite an accolade within the JAE).  
S2000 Stand

Without doubt the best organised and laid out group area of the show. The S2KUK stand is located close to all facilities and events, with power being supplied from the club stand, in addition the showers and toilets within a very close walking (or staggering) distance. The S2KUK tented area is situated within the clubs own ‘pitch’ which is nice to know you will be close to your pride and joy (albeit after several senior Tizers/wines/Absinths, you will probably be in no fit state to admire it!).

Food of course is a must, and again the club provide cooking facilities and some food stuffs, so everyone can get the chance (if they wish) to cremate breakfast, lunch and diner!  During the evenings (if you're still awake), the sounds of the resident S2KUK DJ always attract people in to the stand from all over JAE (mainly for the great music, and also watch in disbelief at the sustained level of horrific moves from the S2KUK dancers!).

Summary - Whether you’re a regular to JAE or a first-timer, all are welcome, everybody is willing to help each other and nothing is too much trouble. The JAE party atmosphere is definitely the main thread throughout weekend.  For the hyperactive amongst you, there is plenty to do, see and join in with.  Alternatively or you can just relax, kick back and join the serious socialites with a beer (or multiples of!) either way you will find it hard not to enjoy yourself.  After dark, the owner’s club parties really start as the music is ramped up (within reason…the law and all that!) plus a fantastic organised firework display on the Saturday night.

Convinced yet? - So if you ever thought about signing up for JAE but are unsure about what it entails, please rest assured it is one hell of a great weekend. Just ask anyone who has attended JAE before for their recommendations; they will all be 100% positive. And even if camping isn’t your thing – it is all part of the camaraderie of JAE, either way you will find it hard not to enjoy yourself.

So go ahead, put the date in your diary and await discounted ticket sales, you will not be disappointed. JAE is one event you will not wish to miss in 2012!

Here is the full information.  There is a thread on Pistonheads and a Facebook Event.

John Cox an S2KUK member will be attending, so feel free to pop along, represent the S2000 and say hi!

Easter Sunday, 8th April 2012, will see hundreds of drivers meet at Specialist Cars of Malton from 8.30am for a bacon sandwich and a chance to look at some of the finest metal in the North of England.

Now in its 5th year the Yorkshire Big Breakfast has grown to become one of the North's premier multi-marque car events with every kind of sports and classic car in attendance. Over 1500 people attended the last events and this promises to be even bigger.

As always everyone is welcome, no matter what you drive.  North Yorkshire Police that they will be in attendance so please keep the driving sensible, enjoy the day and have a great morning.

Japfest, Europe’s biggest Japanese car show returns to Castle Combe on Saturday 12th May 2012.

Celebrating its 10th birthday this year, 1000s of club cars will be on display for your viewing pleasure, a full timetable of track action including public sessions, and naturally some mental drifting displays that are sure to fill your lungs with tyre shredding smoke!

S2KUK will be in attendance, so get your name down for our stand by purchasing tickets using the link below.  We will have a great display of S2000s, so come and join us!

Full information on the Japfest website and discussion on the thread on S2KI

TICKETS NOW ON SALE CLICK HERE

£15.50 includes postage and Paypal fees

 

S2KUK will once again be at this truely awesome weekend, with plenty of classic racing, magnificent sights, getting extremely close up to the action, walking the pits.  All this while enjoying the company of other like minded people, with BBQs, Pimm's, beers, and in the evening plenty of entertainment including the famous Harley Davidson Tent and live music.

Book 2 for 1 Club Stand tickets before 30th May using the code below! 

Click Read more for details... 

S2KUK Club 2 for 1 ticket booking code is C12127 

(2x 3 Day tickets + Stand Pass £95)

Use this code to book tickets and camping space by clicking here 

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:  once the code is entered - the description of the ticket changes from "3 DAY ADVANCED" to "3 DAY ADVANCED CCM PACKAGE (2XENTRY+V/PASS)"  so for 2x tickets order 1 unit (which is 2 tickets plus vehicle pass) 

If you do not use this code and need a stand pass, please contact us!

Pictures from last year are here

Further information on the S2KI Forum here 

There is lots of further information about the event on the SSC website http://www.silverstoneclassic.com

The club year ends on 30th April 2012, so renewal and new memberships are now open.  

You can join or renew now for the new club year which will run until April 30th 2013.

If you join or renew before April 30th 2012 you will qualify for EARLY BIRD PRICES:

• Full year membership or renewal £10
• If you joined after 1st Jan 2012 renewal at £7.50

After 30th April 2012 membership price will be £15 (and £10 for renewal if you joined after 1st Jan 2012)

Join or renew today to receive or continue all your benefits which are listed here

To renew: login to your account and click ACCOUNT+ on the right hand side in the MEMBERS AREA

It does not take too much time or effort, and support will be offered, so if you'd like to help out organising things like regular social pub meets, attendance and club support for shows or events, or anything else, please get in touch via the contact form

We are particularly looking for people in the following areas (but are not limited to these):

• North West
• North East
• Borders & Scotland
• South West

If you have any questions or comments, please do get in touch!

If you, or anybody you know, want to send your car through for consideration please complete the form on the Total Honda website and it could be featured in a future issue!

Just what you need if you're planning a trip or a weekend away or maybe going to Le Mans this year?

We have the cost-effective way to carry more luggage in your convertible if you’re planning a trip with the roof down. We have the solution!

boot-bag is a waterproof luggage bag that attaches to your car's boot lid using our unique soft strapping system which doesn’t damage your cars paintwork, negating the need for a rack.

boot-bag is the modern alternative to a car luggage rack. All a luggage rack does is hold and transport a suitcase/holdall, which may not be waterproof.  boot-bag is zipped on three sides and totally waterproof.

Two models are available boot-bag original giving 50L of additional luggage space, and the boot-bag Vacation adding 75L

We are proud to say that boot-bags are made in Buckinghamshire in the UK. boot-bag original RRP £79.95 incl UK delivery, boot-bag Vacation RRP £89.95 incl UK delivery

We would like to offer your club members a 10% discount

Click here for full details and to contact boot-bag.com

boot-bag sits on soft matting this protects your cars paintwork the mat is 6mm thick, its 'squashy' and is 'anti slip' so it stays in place. boot-bag attaches to the boot lid using webbing this won't damage your paintwork and stays in place once the straps are tightened.

The bag sits on the soft anti slip matting on the boot-lid and attaches to the webbing using 6 ladder lock fixings. The bag is 100% waterproof and has two fixing points on the top that are high frequency welded on, no sewing = no holes for water to get in. The bag has a detachable carry strap, an H shape webbing harness attaches to the top of the two fixing points

We still have plenty of 2012 S2KUK Calendars ready for immediate despatch.  

Click here to order now!

Click Read more for pictures of the front cover and an example month...

The lucky winners so far have been...

RideDrive have only heard from one of these winners to book their place!  If you are one of these lucky winners please get in touch with Julian at RideDrive - he is very helpful and the courses are run nationwide.  If you do not have these details please contact our Club Secretary - Sue, whose address is in the about us section.

We are reviewing whether we continue this prize draw into 2012.

Codemasters Software company are currently developing a new racing game, and an S2000 GT100 Ultimate Edition will be included.

Their audio team would like to record an S2000 on a track or airfield.  They will cover fees for the location and compensate the car owner's time and travel.

They are looking for a car that is heavily modified and with a loud, characteristic noise.  Therefore they need owners who are interested to provide their modification details (engine and echaust in particular) so the spec can be reviewed in order to help find a suitable car.

If you are interested in participating and putting your car forward, please mention S2KUK when you contact:

April Huang

april.huang@codemasters.com

01926 816000

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Let's all meet up in our S2000s!

Please order before 12th December to receive delivery in time for Christmas!

Click here to order now!

Click Read more for pictures of the front cover and an example month...

Martin says:

"Driving and owning my Honda S2000, for me, represents the happiest part of my life so far. I try to use it as much as possible, going to work, going out for drives – anywhere just to be in it. I even enjoy being sat in the garden looking at it when the suns shinning and I’ve spent all day polishing it.

I’ve owned the car for just over two years and, as a way to remind myself of the car and all the happy times I’ve had driving it, myself and a friend made a video of it."

Click below to see the video...

From 15th to 28th November you can get 5 products for the price of 4 in the S2KUK Shop

Use the Voucher code XMAS5FOR4

Click here for the shop or you can buy directly on our Facebook page

For your information the final day for orders to arrive in time for Christmas is 16th December 2011.

The winning 12 entries for the calendar are....

Susie Scofield - 72 Votes

Vasilis Pappas - 48 Votes

James Holt - 48 Votes

Gavin Beevers - 39 Votes

Steven Marshall - 38 Votes

Jeremy Hawkins - 37 Votes

Scott Marshall - 34 Votes

Darren Milne - 33 Votes

Rob Macdonald - 32 Votes

Richard Pardon - 30 Votes

Ian Eygelsheim - 26 Votes

Tommi Pakarinen - 26 Votes

WELL DONE to all the winners and THANK YOU to everyone who entered!

Ordering Information will be available very soon!

And here are the full results...

There are 2 separate Paul Cohens - they are different people!)

Susie Scofield    72 
Vasilis  Pappas    48 
James Holt    48 
Gavin  Beevers    39 
Steven  Marshall    38 
Jeremy  Hawkins    37 
Scott  Marshall    34 
Darren Milne    33 
Rob  Macdonald    32 
Richard  Pardon    30 
Ian  Eygelsheim    26 
Tommi  Pakarinen    26

Rob Reid    25 
Robin  Parkinson    20 
Rob Goulding    19 
Martin  Aspinall    17 
Karol Hoffer    14 
Shou Hoong  Loo    14 
Keith Hooker    12 
Ray Walker    10 
Alan Herbert    10 
Rich  Greenhalf    9 
Paul O Hagan    9 
Paul Cohen    9 
Matthew  Gardner    9 
Rob Freelove    8 
Matthew  Doyle    8 
Graham  Harvey    7 
Andrew  Gicquel    7 
Mike Meade    6 
Martin  Parrott    6 
Greg Goss    5 
Caroline  Johnson    5 
Eddy Alcock    4 
Paul Cohen2    4 
Rob Gent    3 
Martin  Hancock    3 
Kenneth  Morrison    3 
David Smith    3 
Catherine  Conoboy    3 
Mike Knowles    3 
Phil Pykett    2 
Paul Timko    1 
Chet Manani    1 
Rob Mitchell    1

Instructions are below - if you build one, please comment and let us know how you got on!

Thanks go to our new member, Kevin Cooper, for this story.

The items you need from Screwfix are these:

Peice the parts together to make this - note the measurements in inches:

The hardtop stand sits as pictured below!

Good luck!

Who helps you clean your pride and joy?

What do you think?

Half year membership is now open at just £5, until 30th April 2012.

Click here to join now.

A fabulous Megameet 7 with great weather, great company, great roads, obviously made everyone happy as the total amount raised for the British Red Cross - Honda Tsunami Appeal was.....

£3,370.00

A HUGE THANK YOU!

to all who made such kind donations, bidded in the auction and bought raffle tickets at the event and online.

The money was raised in the following ways:

• General Raffle - £780
• Trackday Raffle - £320
• T-shirt proceeds - £288
• Auction items - £1,757
• Table Magician's "if you like what I do" pot £110
• Honesty Box for old meet shirts £45
• And some shrapnel!

Some highlights from the evening include...

• Haye's Belgian beers selling for a massive £85!
• Steve winning a BHP trackday so he can take his Smart car round!  That's useful!
• Ian S winning his own donated bottle of wine back!
• Ian and Pip modelling the Honda Racing donated BTCC jackets, which will end up their Christmas presents, raising £240!
• An S2000 being sold for £35!
• Haroon pimping out Jenny's massage services!
• Dave Eccy buying a Boot Bag so he could get his flat tyre home!

RULES AND REGULATIONS

We all want to see great shots of the S2000, so we have high standards for submissions.

• Photos need to meet a minimum resolution for print purposes. That minimum is "high resolution" - at least 150 dpi, in tif, png, jpg formats. As a guide, photos should generally be 3-4 MB or more
• You CAN obscure license plates if you wish
• Photos need to be cropped "loose" this is to avoid having some great submissions that we can’t use because the image was already cropped too tight to the S2000.
• Try and leave some space around the S2000 so the image can be cropped to fit the calendar. 
• No watermarks allowed.
• ONE ENTRY ONLY per person (so choose wisely)

TIPS

• Photos can't just be "driveway" shots, no hose and bucket in the background. You need to be creative, artistic, and unique! At least find a scenic spot to take the pic!
• Lots of people take the ubiquitous 1/4 front or 1/4 rear view, and we can only have so many similar poses in a calendar, so taking the time to do something different will count toward the submissions
• The calendar is not for profit, and stresses the love we have for our cars. 

How to make a submission

• When you have a photo to submit, rename it with the following format:  "Real_Name.jpg"
• Email them to: calendar@s2kuk.com
• Photos have to be emailed for entry. This is your tacit consent that they can be used in the calendar, and on the S2KUK website. 

Submission deadline will be October 14th 2011 at 23:59

Submissions will then be put on the S2KUK website for voting.

Remember, submissions need to be EMAILED.  If they are not emailed, they are not entered.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT COPYRIGHT

By entering this calendar competition you are giving licence to S2KUK (UK S2000 Owners Club) to use your image for publication in the calendar and on the S2KUK website.  

IF YOU DO NOT OWN COPYRIGHT of the image - that is if YOU did not take the photograph it will not qualify for the competition. 

DO NOT ENTER WITH A PHOTO YOU DID NOT TAKE, as it can have serious consequences if it is published. 

By entering a photo to the competition you are agreeing to indemnify UK S2000 Owners Club against any action regarding copyright should you have entered a photo of which you do not own copyright.

We are pleased to announce that following the vote that took place to decide the Club's nominated Charity of the Year, that the British Red Cross, Honda Japan Tsunami Appeal will be our charity of they year, to which we will donate all fundraising efforts through the Club for this Club year.

More information about this Charity can be seen by clicking the logo above.

This is one aspect of the club that is often overlooked.  Here is a summary of what's been raised by members and donated over the years...

2012 - Total £3,539

RNLI - £3,239.00 - Megameet 8

Hope Enterprises - £300.00 - XM9

2011 - Total £3,370

British Red Cross, Honda Tsunami Appeal - £3,370.00 - Megameet 7

Rainbows Hospice - £150.00 - XM7

2010 - Total £4,776

Chid Bereavement Charity - £200.00 - BTCC 2010

Macmillan Cancer Support - £2,288.00 - Megameet 6

Joey Dunlop Foundation - £2,288.00 - Megameet 6

2009 - Total £11,336

Medicin Sans Frontieres - £5,668.00 - Euromeet 2009

L’Aquila Earthquake Fund - £5668.00 - Euromeet 2009

2007/2008 - Total £5,610

Cancer Research UK - £2,805.12 - Megameet 5

British Heart Foundation - £2,805.12 - Megameet 5

2005/2006 - Total £4,755

Community Action Nepal - £2377.52 - Megameet 1,2 & 3

Cancer Research UK - £2377.52 - Megameet 1,2 & 3

GRAND TOTAL - £33,386

To celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the launch of the Honda S2000, Lee Benson, came up with the idea of holding the largest ever European gathering of S2000s.  It proved not to be an impossible dream.  He had previously organised several smaller road trips in and around France for the UK S2000 Owners’ Club but wanted to do something a little more ambitious and challenging.  

After several months mulling over the idea with Ian Eygelsheim (Chairman of S2KUK) and with some of the people with whom he had collaborated in the past from the French S2000 Owners' Club, it was decided that northern Italy would be the perfect place to hold the event. Lee enrolled in Italian night classes and in August 2008, armed with pigeon Italian, flew out to Italy with Ian to meet Furio (Furio Fraccaroli - President S2K Club Italia) and Beppe (Beppe Magistro - Secretary S2K Club Italia).  They both knew straight away that they had chosen the right place and the right people to deliver a fantastic event.

Lee worked non stop for 9 months to ensure that everything was in place and the fantastic rapport he built up with the Italians was the perfect recipe for success.  I became involved in the latter stages of the organisation and liaised with Honda UK to help secure the participation of Shigeru Uehara-san, the Chief Designer of the S2000 (he also played a leading role in developing the Integra Type R and the NSX).  I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside a wonderful team of organisers.  Furio, who oozes enthusiasm, and his team in Italy, were so efficient and such fun to be with. 

Shigeru Uehara-san (chief designer of the S2000) and Lee Benson (event organiser).

The event could not have gone any better, there were obstacles to overcome on the way, including a last minute avalanche that blocked the proposed group driving route, but this was cleared in the nick of time.  Uehara-san told Lee that this had been the best event he had ever attended.  It was a most significant and emotional meet.  Uehara-san brought Yamamoto-san, his ex colleague, as a translator. Yamamoto-san, was a test driver for the S2000.  They picked up their limited edition S2000 GT100 from Switzerland and thoroughly enjoyed being back in an S.  So much so that Yamamoto-san ordered his own Edition 100 as soon as he got home.  I have heard of five attendees who have purchased one of the last new S2000s in production and all because their passion and desire for the car has been heightened by their experiences at the meet.

227 S2000s and 450 people arrived in Trentino, Italy on Friday 10^th April, 13 European countries were represented.  

My mother and I are both S2000 owners, we took her car to share the driving.  We had been looking forward to the event so much and loved the experience of driving through France, entering Germany and reaching over 200 kph on the autobahn. 

As we went over the border to Austria we caught our first glimpse of the snow-capped peaks.  There is something special about experiencing this from the open cockpit of the S, cue first tears of happiness and wonderment at the beauty of our continent.  We were captivated by carpets of edelweiss in the Alpine meadows bordering the roads.  The hills were alive with the sounds of VTEC and that is definitely one of our favourite things.

The scenery and roads got better and better.  The atmosphere on arrival was electric.  The excitement intensified as, soon to be friends, with a common passion, arrived at the venue in Levico Terme.   The valley echoed to the sound of the beautiful high revving engines and fruity exhaust notes.  Of course with so many S2000s present there were a wide variety, some who had chosen not to gild their lily and others with various modifications, both cosmetic, performance and aural quality enhancing.  For example, one particular car was fitted with gull-wing doors, another with matte black paint and pink wheels and my favourite was specially transformed into a tiger for Euromeet but only to the skin.  The owner, Burnie Nixon, has no mods to enhance performance; he doesn’t need them as he is one of the bravest drivers.  He entertained us immensely with his sideways antics on the precipitous mountain roads.   One of the other UK attendees came along in his 600+ bhp S2000, tuned by Mase Engineering, with his friend Mase himself as co-driver.

The “Mase'd” S, the most powerful S2000 in Europe

Burnie’s Tiger

Levico Terme

The scenery was amazing, I have never driven alongside people skiing before!  I am used to my ears popping on package flights to the sun but the effects of altitude are much more visceral when experienced at the wheel of an S2000.

When we arrived at various meeting points, many of us felt very emotional.  To see so many S2000s together in such a picturesque setting was breathtaking and we will never forget it.  From the point of view of others, the setting was also the perfect backdrop for the display of goodies as drivers threw open their bonnets.

We went all the way down the other side of the mountain to Trento.  As well as marking the route with arrows, the Italian organisers had even arranged for the local police to shut the City centre for us.  All 227 cars settled in the same car park -  what a sight! 

Some of the 227 cars all together in Trento

We finished our day with a group meal and charity auction/raffle.  We are very thankful to our sponsors for supporting us and to all those who donated items both from the realms of business and from within our community.  This has helped us to achieve such a fantastic result for our chosen charities.  We had excellent prizes to auction from a two day track day at Spa Francorchamps to a set of tyres and of course a subscription from our friends at Banzai Magazine.  We are delighted that we have so far been able to raise more than 10,000 Euros for  Médecins Sans Frontières and the Italian Earthquake Fund and this figure increased further with the sale of the Euromeet DVD which was created by Brian Hatton and his son, Phil.

On Sunday morning, various smaller group drives were organised which gave attendees the opportunity to find more equally magnificent roads in this beautiful area of northern Italy.  The day was finished off with us all getting dressed up for the Gala Dinner.  We had made loads of lovely friends from all over Europe and the atmosphere was so convivial with us all partying together.

We all had the opportunity to get to know Uehara-san, as he was very friendly spending hours signing his autograph and being particularly receptive to our questions.  He is now our friend.  We were enthralled by his speech, 450 people stood up to show their appreciation of his attendance, bearing in mind he has now retired and made the trip out to Italy all the way from Japan to be with us.  The speech content was interesting and entertaining.  My favourite and most poignant part being “Please take good care of your S2000, keep it by your side for long and enjoy it from the bottom of your heart. And share the quality and legacy of the S2000 with many friends so that the legend of the S2000 will continue for long”.   He also reminded us that we are all very lucky although at that point nobody needed reminding.  It was a heart warming moment and the perfect ending to a fantastic weekend.

I am very proud to be part of the S2000 family.  I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to drive a wide variety of cars e.g Lotus Elan, Porsche Carrera 4s, BMW M3 etc. but I have never had the passion that I feel for the S2000 with any other car.  Of course we all love VTEC and that high revving engine that hits 9000 rpm but there is just something very special about the S.  I thought I was a good driver, as I am sure most people do but this car has taught me a lot and I totally respect it.  I have discovered the thrill of driving my car in the company of other S2000s and cannot get enough of this fix.  My experiences in Italy have just heightened my desire to keep it by my side and enjoy it from the bottom of my heart.

 The S2000 is “dead” Banzai (long live) the S2000

Let’s all meet up in our S2000s!

Leaving Dublin early on Tuesday morning we had a nice sunny spin down to Rosslare. A quick car wash and top up the fuel tank and we boarded the ferry for a 20 hour sailing to Cherbourg France. Little did we know that the next time we would see sunshine would be on Thursday. From the second we left the port torrential rain, standing water and French toll roads, meant that the next 800 km were slow progress. 

Reaching the border of Germany the weather cleared and our pace picked up. Albeit with the help of Autobahns and a chance meeting with a Belgian registered RS Megane. It wasn't long before the Eifel Mountain roads were calling almost as loud are our beds.  A quick stop for dinner in the PistenKlause restaurant in Nurburg finished off a long day. Thursday morning brought bright sunny skies and it was time to start the days top down adventures. A Visit to the Nurburgring welcome centre showed the latest of Ring branded products, everything from jewelry, hats, jackets and toasters. After discovering that the giant roller coaster that passes through several buildings would not be open, we headed out to look at the Nordschleife. 

Our first vantage point of the track was the parking area at Brunnchen. Standing on the large clay banking gives a perfect view of this downhill left into right to a short straight then a long uphill opening right hander. The severity of these hills are not realised until your inside a car. For minutes before any cars arrive the woodlands around the track are engulfed with the sound of screeching tyres and engines on full rev. The first car to make an appearance was the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG. This 560bhp monster looks so composed it does not portray its outright speed. Its only when seen from the main straight that the earth really shakes as it passes. Mercedes engineers pushed it hard for several laps until it finally retired mid way along the main straight and needed to be removed by recovery truck.

We then moved on to a part of the track called the Pflanzgarten. This almost straight set of downhill bends end in a major dip before long uphill right hander.  The dip is almost invisible from outside the track and was only really brought to my attention by the sound of a S600 Mercedes hitting its bumpstops under heavy braking. We stayed for a while and watched the same 15 Porsche, BMW and Mercedes test mules getting pushed to the limit. 

The sound of this was incredible!!

 I think the test drivers body language says a lot here

 As the evening approached and the hunger increased, it was time to return to the hotel and meet the rest of our group. The amazing thing about the S2000 family is how far spread its members are, and this family meeting was no different. Our group consisted of S2000 fanatics from Japan, Italy, Portugal and of course Ireland. Some of these I had met and Euromeet and some from my trip to Japan for the S2000 final production tour. Featuring 8 S2000s 2 of which were final production Ultimate Editions and a full rally spec K20 on ITBs Civic. 

Greetings exchanged and dinner at a traditional German restaurant finished, our thoughts turned to the plan for the next couple of days. We would be divided into 2 groups with the drivers of the second group being passengers as the first group do their laps. The next morning was a relaxed start, as an historic race car meeting were using the track until 2pm. We arrived to the track just after midday and settled in for our driver briefing over lunch. We were to receive driving instructions by following Ko with 1st driver team of 5 cars for 5 laps. After each lap 1st car would return to last position. We also had radios and Ko would point out all braking, turn in points and apexs for each corner.  

With lunch over the radios and Ring cards were distributed. Each Ring card containing 25 laps for the Green Hell. Last minute checks made, the engines warm and seat belts locked tight we made our way to the barrier. A quick swipe of the Ring card and the barrier lifted. What followed can only be described as a living computer game and I was caught in the middle. As we built up speed heading into the first corner a routine developed of checking mirrors for faster cars, while trying to catch a glimpse of the correct braking point and entry line. This was difficult to say the least, but when you have motorbikes capable of 180mph on the straights, but cornering 20mph slower than a car it gets very intense. 

The first few laps were somewhere in the 50% range and more for scouting reasons than anything else. But as we started to settle into a rhythm the pace increased and we were soon entering corners carrying over 50kph more than before. This increase in pace helped somewhat in reducing the amounts of cars overtaking us and at one stage we had 5 S2000s and 2 911s picking out the racing line from corner to corner. Being a tourist day the Ring was a busy as ever and the sunny weather had brought as many spectators as drivers. It was a strange sight to see so many people enjoying the sights and sounds and taking photos as we passed. 

 Unfortunately when the Ring is mentioned the word accident is usually close in the conversation, and this time was no different. At several points around the track were stranded cars after loosing control and hitting the barriers. On more than one occasion we witnessed paramedics attending bikers who had become unstuck. Their twisted bikes being loaded onto recovery trucks. These sights drive home the feeling of just how unforgiving this piece of tarmac is. 

This photo was taken while waiting for the track to reopen after the 5th biker accident of the day. 

After 5 laps we pull back into the car park and allowed the cars to cool, 5 continuous laps of the Ring in heavy traffic can take its toll on both the car and driver. The break allowed for discussion of correct lines and more information on braking and turn in points and the most vital of all, a toilet break. It was now time for Jonner to take the wheel. It was the same procedure as before, with the second driver returning to the end after each lap. After the 3rd lap the heavens opened and with the wipers on full tilt We decided to give a wet lap ago. Although this was without a doubt the slowest lap of the weekend, it gave us a perfect look at the track without the pressure constantly checking the mirrors. For the entire lap only 6 cars passed us, each leaving a dry line for us to follow. Having taken our time and studied the track for standing water and unsure where the rest of the group had gone we returned to find a large amount of the cars and drivers had left for the evening. 

Ko taking the K20 Civic for a quick lap

A quick regroup and we ventured onto the track again. This time Jonner took the opportunity to take a passenger lap with Ko. The rain had stopped but the track was very wet in places. There was allot less traffic now, even with our greatly reduced pace we were not overtaken as often. One car that overtook me and I will never forget, was a BMW 330D estate with four on board. It passed me 100 metres before turning into a quick set of uphill S bends. Entering the first left hand section I noticed that the driver was beginning to feed in opposite lock. He held this slide until the exit of the corner, at which point he ran out of both traction and talent. In the space of a heart beat it spun 180 degrees and was starting to slide backwards towards the grass and barrier. I instantly hit the brakes, which is unwise in an S2000 on wet roads. I could feel the weight transfer forwards and the rear end started sliding right. I knew this could be big trouble and I fed in opposite lock as fast as I could. The driver of the BMW was staring at me and I could see the colour drain from his passengers faces. The back was sliding out quickly and I felt a thud as the steering reached full lock right. I came off the brakes, the pendulum effect took hold and the rear started in the opposite direction.  now on full lock left and with a slight touch of throttle and I began to turn this unexpected slide into an unwanted drift. I could see the BMW entering the grass as I passed the apex of the second bend. Back in shape and slowly accelerating down the next straight two things came to into my mind. The first was an Italian S2000 that was only 5 metres behind me the whole time and the second was how quickly the ring can turn the most harmless looking cars, into serious situations. From that point on I fully understood the term Green Hell. The remainder of the lap was a a slower pace with allot more caution, this was to be our last lap of friday evening. We returned to the hotel and after a quick change it was out for dinner. Friday nights dinner was at an Italian restaurant and the discussion over dinner ranged from the Ring, to physics to how much sugar one man can tolerate on an Ice cream sundae!!.

Saturday began with breakfast and a quick fuel stop on the way to the entrance gate. The crowds were allot larger than Fridays and parking close to the gate was at a premium. As Fridays second session was cut short due to the rain, it was decided that the second group would go first. This meant Jonner was driving for the morning. With all the pre lap checks of tyre pressures, oil and fluid levels complete, we lined up for the off. The traffic was allot heavier than Fridays, but with a few laps under his belt Jonners pace and confidence was increasing nicely. As the queues of cars were so great, the marshals brought a mobile barrier out on the track. This meant there was no reason to leave the track to swipe the Ring card and begin another lap. After a few laps I began to notice an increase in rear bump steer under heavy braking. I didn't seem to be affecting Jonners pace so we continued on, but I kept a close eye on it. After another lap or so it became more pronounced and before I could mention it Jonner was exiting a corner at 175 kmph on opposite lock. After a brief discussion we decided to leave exit the track to investigate. A quick inspection showed that a rear toe arm ball joint was failing and allowing the rear right wheel up to 5 mm of lateral movement. 

This ended my cars participation, but it also afforded us the opportunity to take passenger rides with other drivers. While standing in the car park chatting we were approached by a guy from Kerry, who had heard our accents and came over to say hi. After chatting for a while he offered us a passenger seat in his striped and caged DC2 Honda Integra Type R. As I was still debating a repair or replace strategy for my car Jonner jumped at the chance. A short while later while I was chatting to the Portugese mechanics he arrived back with a big look of " That F%*kos crazy" in his eyes and a large grin on his face. It was getting near lunch time and we decided to leave the madness of the Ring and go try a small village restaurant a short distance away. The sun was shining and the silence was punctuated every so often by the sound of exotica making its way to the Ring. It really is hard to imagine a better place for petrol heads than the Eiffel mountains in summer time. 

After a nice relaxing lunch I was delighted by the chance to sit as a passenger with Ko. These laps were a real eye opener and I was amazed that over the first 8km until we got separated by at an accident a Porsche 911 996 Turbo could not pull more than a few car lenghts on us. To see the reflection of your own face in the tail gate of an Audi RS4+ avant, as it moved out of our way made me burst into laughter. It was incredible to see the capabilities of this little naturally aspirated roadster in the right hands. What made it more amusing was only feet behind us were 3 crazy Italians. The only cars to pass us within those 3 laps were a handful of GT3 and GT2 911s.  Needless to say when sitting in the presence of such driving talent, what you think you know about driving and what you actually know undergo massive reevaluation. I will be grateful to Ko for a long time for giving me the opportunity to sit with him. As the evening drew to a close one of our Italian friends developed a charging issue with his alternator. This meant the Italian group need to leave early for the hotel in Frankfurt while there was still day light. We said our goodbyes to them and Ko and went to visit the Portuguese as they loaded the cars onto a transporter for the journey home. 

As everyone headed off we made our way to the Devils diner and got some dinner. The last of the later lappers were making their way off the track and the marshals were closing the car parks. We headed back to the hotel with the intention of getting an early night. But before long the calling of the mountain roads was to much, it was time to burn some midnight oil. The Eiffel Mountains have some really great roads woven across them and  we covered about 100 miles before we finally returned to the hotel. 

The next morning after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and made one last stop off at the parking area at Brunnchen. It was difficult to get parking as the car park was completely full. Everything from Vintage motorcycles to Luxury camper-vans fill all available spaces. All sorts of race cars from the 60's to the late 80's were out in the class groupings on parade laps and not holding back. It was almost a festival atmosphere as people set up their barbeques and children cycled bicycles and walked dogs as there parents took photos and waved flags at the passing convoys. Just after midday we saddled up for our trip back. The sun was shining so it was top down and tunes up, all the way to the Belgian border. As we entered Belgium it seemed like mother nature decided to see how much water you can get into an S2000. The heavens opened and we pulled over to put up the roof and dry off. After only a couple of minutes we set off again at a slower pace as the motorways were beginning to flood quite badly. This weather continued until 20 miles before Dunkirk. 

This little fellow wasn't so excited

We reached the ferry terminal just as the last car entered the 4pm ferry, so we had to wait till 6pm for the next one. As we waited to board the rows of cars began to grow around us. The amount of ring stickers began to build also. DC2's, M5's and M3s all had that tell tale ring sticker to indicate its colourful motoring history. One car that caught my eye for 2 reasons was a Citroen DS. The first reason was its incredible condition and the second was it had parked behind me on the ramp, and I prayed its brakes were in equally good condition. Car chocked and secured we were off to find our seats for the sailing in the VIP lounge. Having made this sailing several times and stood in the endless queues for burnt leftovers I figured it was better to pay the extra money for seats and a decent meal and it proved to be a wise decision. The ferry was packed and when we finally found the VIP lounge We sat in reclining chairs while a waiter took our order. After a long drive it was really enjoyable sailing and it was a welcome change getting a good meal and plenty of leg room. 

The trip from Dover to Holyhead was the usual rain soaked flooded motorway affair. We arrived just after the 10pm boat had sailed so again we found ourselves with a 2 hour wait. We were both worn out from the journey, I was tired from driving while constantly monitoring the condition of the rear suspension. Jonner was wrecked from his 4 hour long Elvis impersonation all the way from London. Needless to say neither of us were awake long enough on the Holyhead-Dublin crossing to make comment on the conditions. Off the ferry just after 6am on Monday morning and it was a quick dash down the Quays to drop Jonner off. Then on to the M50 before the traffic and home like a man on a mission. Its extremely hard to adhere to 30kmph speed limits on motorway junctions after traveling on Autobahns for a few days. But needless to say I made it home to bed in a legal and timely fashion. 

A decent few hours sleep and it was up to change the engine, gearbox and diff oils and filters, check the brake pads and replace the failing rear bearing. I find these sort of jobs of great reward and a kind of thank you to my S2000 for a great job well done. Thinking back over that weekend, yet again I'm amazed by the power of the S2000 community. The enjoyment of meeting friends that you haven't seen in a while and pleasure of making new friends, all while sharing a common motoring passion at the worlds greatest racing circuit. 

I'd really like to thank Ko for making this great idea a reality and I honestly can't wait for the next one!!!

The weekend started on Thursday evening about 7:30pm when I went to collect the chocolate biscuit cake that was meant to be shaped like a Honda S2000. When we arrived I instantly recognized its as a Limo, an exact replica of a Lincoln Towncar. It was a disaster and the only thing I could do was set about repairing it. So then I had to figure out what I needed and where to get it. By 9:30pm I was at home and started to remove the wheels and the icing from the cake and reshape it into its correct profile before re-icing it. It took till 5:10am to get it all sorted and then I passed out on the couch. Jonner my Navigator for the weekend rang me at 6am to tell me he was outside my house and ready to go. So we quickly packed bags loaded the car and set off to meet the rest of the Irish lads heading to the Isle Of Man. 

As usual they were late and we had a decent head start, making it to Belfast in little less than 2 hours. Once loaded aboard our ferry to Douglas the Captain decided to tell us that we only had 3 out of 4 engines running and this would cause our 2 hour sailing to become 4 hours. Couple that with the boat leaving at 11am and it was well after 3pm when we arrived. After about 20 minutes of lapping the town trying to get the SatNav to find the Mount Murray hotel, we got our bearings and headed out into the country side.

 We arrived at the Hotel to find that we were the first to arrive and the rest of the groups were delayed in Liverpool due to bad weather.So Jonner,Paul and myself went to the driving range for a couple of hours and almost smashed every light and fence in the place. By the time we got back to the hotel reception, the place was filling up nicely. We spent most of Friday night in the bar after dinner catching up with all the people I had met at Euromeet and in Japan. By the time we left the bar it was about 2am.

 Saturday morning had a 9am start. We met in a large group outside the hotel and had a drivers briefing. The 50 cars were to be divided into 4 groups 

1) The fastest Group Led by Brian from the IOM.

2) The Fast Group led by Carl From IOM.

3) The touring group Led by Mark from IOM.

4) The slow group Led by S2KUK Chairman Ian.

Brian and Phil are a father and son from the IOM that Adam and myself went from Euromeet to the Ring with. Carl and Alison are a couple that are also from IOM and who were at Euromeet too. Ian the president of S2KUK I met at Euromeet and in Japan and there were one or two others I met along the way.

I knew that the rest of the Irish lads would stay in the same group I went for. Having driven with both Brian and Carl at Euro meet, I knew that Carl would be a slightly safer option for lads who are not used to fast driving convoys.We settled into our groups that left at 10-minute intervals. So with the fastest group gone 10 minutes ahead we set off, 15 minutes later we caught the fastest group. That meant we had been pushing along quite nicely. This happened 3 times through out the day meaning the fastest group weren't actually so fast. Although when this was mentioned the list of excuses from poor directions to weather conditions were in abundance.  

We had a pit stop once every hour or so to allow people to change groups and let the cars cool. We stayed in the same group that whole day as the pace was brisk and this meant the roads were a decent challenge. There are no potholes on the IOM and other than some bumps the roads were excellent. The Speedo in my car stops at 112 mph/180Kmph but I was told that we were over 120mph on several occasions. I was third in the group, Carl leading and Dominic in front of me, behind me was one of Belgian group and then the Irish guys behind him. Needless to say all had a reasonable grip of how to drive in convoy so it didn't take long to build up trust in each other.

Having stopped for the last regroup session on Ramsey sea front, we took off across the mountains for our final leg back to the hotel. This is when the clutch decided to exit stage left. Approaching a 90-degree right at just over 100mph and heavy on the brakes, I tried to down shift to 3rd. There was nothing, just lots of grinding noises and I had to hope we made it around the corner without power. After the corner I had several forceful attempts at changing into 3rd and finally made it. About 2 miles later and still in 3rd we arrived at a T-junction and that’s when the "GAME OVER" sign appeared. We were stuck in neutral. We pulled out of the convoy and I checked for oil leaks and everything was all right. So after finding the shortest route back to the hotel on the satnav which was about 10 miles, I got the car jammed into 2nd and we spent the next 20 minutes crawling back to the hotel. Within 10 minutes of our arrival back to the hotel the 1st group arrived. 

Once the local lads had arrived I had 2 options

1) Change the clutch and gearbox in the hotel car park. This sounds crazy, but I had all the required parts offered to me and tonnes of offers of manpower. 

2) Call the AA and see what they could do.

As Saturday night was the night of the Charity auction and dinner, I decided against ruining everyone’s weekend and called the AA.Within an hour the AA mechanic arrived and agreed the clutch was gone, as the pedal could not be fully pressed to the floor. So then it was time for a shower and head for dinner. Dinner was good, but the charity auction was a real laugh. I ended up winning a book about the NXS and $150 voucher for a company in the states that does S2000 accessories. Other than one of the Irish guys getting extremely drunk the rest of the night was good fun with Karaoke being the focus point. Sunday morning found us awoken by the AA who decided that we were in trouble and we would have to go home through the England. Once up showered and fed, we went down to the car park and found ourselves some passenger seats for the day. The plan for Sunday was go karting followed by a bbq at Brian’s house.

Jonner sat in with Carl and I robbed a seat with one of the other Irish guys John. Our route up to the go-kart track was along the Isle of Man TT track. The Kart track itself was small and extremely wet when we arrived. The plan was every one signed on and then they marshals divided us up into teams. There was a total of 18 signed up and with only 6 karts available it was 6 teams of 3 with each driver having 20 minutes seat time and the team with the most laps won. By chance I ended up with Carl and an older English gent David as teammates.

The marshals decided that the fairest way to do things was everyone got pulled in after 10 minutes for a driver change. With Carl being a local and knowing the track I pushed for him to go first. This worked out nicely as it was starting to form a dry line and lap times were dropping. The track had an excellent lap timing set up, so we had up to the second info at all times. By the end of Carls 10 minutes we had a decent lead and I was next into the drivers seat. Carls best lap time was 37 seconds but the track was soaking. I had studied his lines and set about pushing hard from the start. The first 5 laps were a disaster the track was like glass and not spinning was nearly impossible.

I finally got the hang of it and set the fastest lap in the 33 second range. When it was my time to pit I had stretched the lead and we were still leading nicely. David’s laps were quick and consistent, both of which are vital for keeping a decent lead. At this stage the track was almost dry and finding a wet line was getting hard. Carl was playing a stormer and was maintaining a decent lead. His fastest lap was down to 31 seconds and he had the foot welded in. While discussing lines with Carl when I finished my first run, I figured I could knock 4 seconds off my best lap time and when the track dried out I was right. On my 3rd lap in my second stint I was running 29 second laps and kept it that way. I managed to bag the fastest lap of the day at 29:68 and extended our lead to 24 seconds from second place. 

The team in second place was featuring a guest appearance by Jonner. Whose understanding of racing lines and physics seem to pale into the shadows of his focus and determination. He was pushing like his life depended on it and anyone who tried swapping paint came off second best. By the end Jonner had managed to get the gap down to just 12 seconds, but it wasn't enough. Just as the chequered flag dropped so did the rain and the next few minutes resulted in what could be compared to the start of a classic Le Mans race. People were running towards cars that had alarms beeping in chorus as the owners dived inside for shelter. Engines fired up and windscreens completely covered in fog as the occupants started drying out, the group slowly made its way back to the main road. Our route continued along the rest of the TT track and although it was raining the road conditions were good and the pace was entertaining. As we started to climb up the mountain the dense fog set in and visibility was down to 15 metres in places. 

Our trip along the TT track ended at the grandstand on the start/finish straight. It was a great sight to see almost 50 S2000s lined up along the pit lane for photos. Meanwhile some of our Belgian friends were driving back and forth on the main straight getting pictures taken of them top down in the lashing rain. These antics kept us all amused until the rain passed, then it was back to the hotel. A quick change into dry clothes and it was time for the bar; this was a stopgap until the bus arrived to bring us to Brian’s house for a Barbeque. The bus was organized by Brian and driven by his daughter, she had the patience of a saint and had to endure several trips back and forth with drunk petrol heads on board. At the house food and drink was a plenty and so was the entertainment as Phil played guitar and we all stared in amazement at Brian’s personal cinema. This room about the size of a double garage was set out with couches, a bar and the most incredible projector and sound system I've ever seen, I'll never be able to watch a 14" black and white portable TV again.  

As the evening drew to a close we said our goodbyes to everyone and thanked them for a great weekend. We returned to the hotel and parked ourselves back in the bar. As usual with hotel bars there is no predicting whom you'll meet there. In this case it happened to be the crew of Australian Top Gear, who along with their helicopter pilot were praying for the low cloud and bad weather to lift. They were doing a feature on British track focused sports cars and were intending on using the TT track as a testing ground. After chatting with the helicopter pilot we found out that they were not too confident in the coming days weather. Monday morning began with several calls from the AA to organise getting the car onto a ferry to Ireland. It turned out that a standard recovery truck plus the weight of an S2000 was enough to bend the floor of the ferry to Belfast and they were considering sending us home via Liverpool and Holyhead. But like most things at 7:30 am on a wet Monday morning nothing was going to happen until my stomach was full.

 A quick stroll towards the restaurant revealed what the Top Gear boys had brought to play with. Parked in the shelter of the hotel entrance we found a Ginetta F400, Radical RS3 RS and Ariel Atom V8, which was hiding in a rather unassuming curtain side lorry. The camera crew were mounting the small in car cameras to the Radical and the Atom and the producers and what seemed to be mechanics were scurrying around the Ginetta. It turned out that the Ginettas alarm had caused the battery to go flat and the producers were trying to organise a battery charger. After breakfast we emerged just as the Top Gear crew were loading their equipment into a rental Land Rover Discovery. As the cars started to fire up the crowd of on lookers was starting to grow. This was something that one of the cameramen realised just after he smashed one of the Discoveries taillights with a kit bag. I felt quite sorry for him, as he turned red when he realised the size of his audience. We drooled over the cars for a little while longer as we discussed the logic of bring such track focused machines up a rain soaked mountain road that had less than 20 metres visibility due to heavy fog.

Another call from the AA interrupted my speculating on how good the Top Gear footage could possibly be. It looked like we were bound for Liverpool unless we could get the S2000 onto the boat without the recovery truck.  In the end it was decided to bring the car to the port on a truck, then get a small van to tow the car into position on the ferry. We said our final good byes to the remaining S2KUK members and began to load the car. A short while later we were on the road for my S2000s most economical trip to date. When we arrived at the port, security allowed us to bypass check in as it had not opened and drop the car off at the head of lane 1. This meant that we still had to check in when the gates opened. As we were car passenger we couldn't check in with foot passengers, so we ended up standing in the queue of cars and moving 1 space forward at a time. The occupants of cars around us found this highly amusing, as did the lady checking us in. It took a couple of minutes of explaining before she realised that we did not own the abandoned motorcycles by the office door. 

Eventually we were checked in and the Ford Transit Connect arrived to tow us onto the ferry, much to the amusement of the rest of the Irish S2000 owners. The return sailing was without a doubt the worst I have ever been on!! Yet again the Captain announced we were only running on 3 engines and that our sailing would be over 4 hours. Being on the water has never been an issue for me, my father brought me sea fishing as a small child and I've taken dozens of ferries as an adult but nothing likes this. Within 30 minutes of leaving Douglas the amount of passengers turning green was frightening. After 90 minutes people were falling over and trays were leaving tables at high speed. Thanks to a spirit level on an Ipod I can confirm that the ferry was rolling over 20 degrees for more than 2 hours. There was cheers of delight when Belfast port came into view, I'm sure the security staff and passengers awaiting the ferry at Belfast thought the cast of 28 days later had just arrived. 

Once docked and the doors to the car deck opened and everyone was in a great hurry to exit the ferry from hell. Unfortunately while trying to rush a lady in her late 70s placed one of her crutches on a wet tie down anchor point. She came to the ground with a stomach churning thud and received a very bad head injury. Passengers and deck hands rushed to her aid and within minutes an ambulance was on the scene. The paramedics did an excellent job reassuring her and her family that she would be ok while they stretchered her above the height of the cars to the ambulance. Because we were the first on we were also the last off. I managed to find first gear with the engine off wait for the exit route and ramp to be clear then start the car drive it to the top of the ramp and roll it the rest of the way out from there. At the bottom of the ramp was our next recovery truck to bring us to Newry, were finally one more brought us to my house. The total count was 7 AA trucks by the time I set foot in my driveway as another 2 had been sent to Belfast port at the wrong times. During a conversation with our last driver I enquired about the cost of all of this, his answer was short and sweet he was getting €350 from Newry to my house a distance of about about 75 miles. I can only imagine what the final total cost was!! Since then I really can't recommend the AA highly enough and I have to admit it’s the best €24 a month I've spent. 

With the car back in my own garage, it was time to find out what went wrong. So it was out with the gearbox and straightaway the problem was visible. The clutch plate has 4 pairs of springs inside the plate, due to a defect in the metal surrounding one pair of these springs they had come out. They had them lodged themselves between the clutch plate and the fingers of the pressure plate stopping the clutch plate from moving. So with an up rated clutch fitted and the gearbox replaced, and with the fluid and brake pad levels checked she was back on the road and ready for the Ring September.

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