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 2012.

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.

Here is a summary of what's been raised by members and donated over the years...

2005/2006 - Total £4,755

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

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

2007/2008 - Total £5,610

Cancer Research UK - £2,805.12 - Megameet 5

British Heart Foundation - £2,805.12 - Megameet 5

2009 - Total £11,336

Medicin Sans Frontieres - £5,668.00 - Euromeet 2009

L’Aquila Earthquake Fund - £5668.00 - Euromeet 2009

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

2011 - So Far £3,370

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

GRAND TOTAL - £29,817

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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