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Euroadster ’23
  • Peter Dannock
  • Rob Dannock
  • Peter Dannock
  • Rob Dannock

Euroadster ’23

Combining a desire to travel with a passion for the world's best-selling convertible sports car, my brother and I are embarking on a ten-week journey through the United Kingdom and Europe in a Mazda MX-5. Read more
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  • Euroadster ’23
    GPX

    Day 19 - Fort Augustus to Glasgow

    July 5, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Today was one of our best driving days on the trip. After leaving Fort Augustus, we drove north along the A82 on the western side of Loch Ness to Inverness. We found a lovely bakery cafe in Inverness for breakfast.

    The drive along Loch Ness is a beautiful tree lined route, but the trees obscure some of the views of the loch. However, there are the occasional parking places along this road where you walk to the edge of Loch Ness to get a picture up and down the loch. However, if you want a more majestic view, then drive B852 down the eastern side of Loch Ness between Dores and Foyers to get the best view of Loch Ness. It is from this road that l think I saw the Loch Ness Monster, but without my glasses on, I couldn't be sure.

    We passed through Fort Augustus on our way south through Fort Williams, Oban, Lochgriphead and Inveraray. This route follows close to the coastline with views of the Isle of Mull. On the drive into Glasgow, we drove along the edge of Loch Lomond, the largest loch in Scotland by surface area, with a length of approximately 36 kilometres and a maximum width of 8 kilometres. The loch is also one of the deepest in Scotland, with a maximum depth of 190 metres.

    As I said, a great day of driving, where we covered almost 425 kilometres.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Highway Robbery

    July 6, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    With the price of fuel 25p higher when you buy it on the motorway, then it could be considered highway robbery.

  • Euroadster ’23
    GPX

    Day 20 - Glasgow to Silverstone

    July 6, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A transport stage in a world rally is the part of the race where drivers travel from one competitive stage to another. These stages are not timed and do not count towards the overall race time. They are essentially a way for drivers to get from one point to another on public roads. Today, we had a transport stage on our trip, where the objective was to get from Glasgow to Silverstone for the British Formula 1 Grand Prix.

    The drive was almost 650 kilometres and so we needed to stay on the major roads, such motorways and A roads. We did make a few stops along the way including lunch at York. But, we had remained focused on getting to our destination.

    Our accommodation for the next four nights is a little twin cabin on a paddock outside the front gate of the Silverstone race circuit. Called SuiteHuts@Silverstone, more than 150 huts are erected to house Formula 1 fans close to the track. For the privilege of being walking distance to the track, we get to sleep in a 6x4 hut, with shared bathrooms and showers. The weather is improving, so I am looking forward to a great weekend of racing.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Day 21 - British Formula 1 Grand Prix

    July 7, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Today was free practice day for the Formula 1 teams at the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. Free practice are sessions that take place to allow the drivers to test their cars and get familiar with the track before qualifying and the race. Today there were two free practice sessions, each lasting for one hour, and drivers were allowed to use any of the designated tyre types.

    No surprise to see Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing team end the day as the fastest cars. The only Australian driver in the race, Oscar Piastri, finished the day as the ninth fastest driver despite a hydraulic leak in his McLaren. The two Williams Racing cars also did better than expected, finishing third and fifth after the second practice session. It would be good to see these drivers do as well, if not better during qualifying and the race.

    Supporting the Formula 1 practice were the Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars. They each had a practice session and qualifying today and will be racing tomorrow. The Formula 1 cars get one more practice session tomorrow before qualifying for the race late in the afternoon.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Under cover

    July 8, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    With a seat at the top of the stairs, we have plenty of leg room and plenty of cover now that it is starting to rain.

  • Euroadster ’23

    Day 22 - British F1 GP - Qualifying

    July 8, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We had a great day at the British Formula 1 Grand Prix today. We started our day with a tour of the Silverstone Museum. We spent a good two hours looking at the history of the race track, along with the famous cars and drivers from the past century. We also had time to go to the museum cafe for a coffee, and we bought some sandwiches for lunch. The sandwiches were much better than the options around the Grand Prix site.

    The weather looked a little threatening today, so I suggested we go to one of the under cover grandstands. We found some seats at the top of the stairs, which gave us plenty of legroom. Rob appreciated this, as he felt a little cramped in the seats yesterday. Once we found these seats, we pitched our tent for the day there.

    No one was going to stop Max Vestappan from getting pole position today, he was just too good when it mattered. However, my favourite driver, Australia's Oscar Piastri, qualified in third position, his best qualifying result in his rookie year. Oscar's teammate, Lando Norris, was second, an excellent outcome for the McLaren team. I was also excited to see Alex Albon from my favourite team, Williams Racing, finish qualifying in eighth place. The perennial backmarkers appear to be on the improve.

    In the FIA Formula 2 race, we saw Australian, Jack Doohan, fight for a third place podium finish in a wet race. A great effort given the atrocious conditions, where he had to pull off some inspirational moves to get past other competitors.

    Overall, it was a great day at the Grand Prix, and I was excited to see my favourite driver and favourite team do well. Tomorrow is race day.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Day 23 - British F1 GP - Race day

    July 9, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After all the planning and effort, today was race day at the British Formula 1 Grand Prix. We had a late start, as there was no need to get to the track too early because the race didn't start until 3:00 pm. We arrived at the track around noon and stood in a long queue for half an hour to get in. By 2:00 pm, we were in the grandstand, ready for the race.

    My favourite driver, Oscar Piastri, got off to a great start and held his starting position of third easily. His teammate, Lando Norris, moved from second on the grid to the lead, followed by pole sitter Max Verstappen. Max soon regained the lead, and the drivers settled into their positions with little or no passing.

    Just over halfway through the race, Kevin Magnussen’s HAAS blew a motor to cause the safety car to come out. For those drivers who were yet to pit for new tyres, it was the perfect opportunity to do so. Lewis Hamilton was one of those drivers and took third place from Oscar Piastri. The two McLaren drivers in second and fourth were now each being chased by a Mercedes driver on a softer tyre compound. Most fans would have expected both McLarens to be overtaken, but to their credit, they held off the charge and retained their respective positions.

    The final results were:
    1st Place - Max Verstappen - Red Bull Racing
    2nd Place - Lando Norris - McLaren
    3rd Place - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

    Oscar Piastri finished fourth, his best result so far. l enjoyed the race from my seat in the grandstand and would love to come to this race again.    Read more