If there is one absolute in life, it's that if you leave a team of automotive engineers in a room together, eventually one of them will suggest a track day.
A few months later, it will probably happen again.
Within a few years, someone will likely suggest getting a track car. ... SBD now has 3.
Over time, this evolved into the SBD Automotive Track Days. Designed as a team-building exercise, but less "fall back and hope your colleagues catch you" and more "are the brake pads on fire?", every few months, we throw our names into the hat, and head to a local racetrack. Luckily, the Milton Keynes office is a few miles from Silverstone and the Bedford Autodrome.
With lockdown lifting in the UK, and after a lot of negative Covid-tests, we have finally been able to get back into the cars.
The cars
Mazda MX-5
Mk1 - 1996 - RWD, 1.8 Turbo
Weight reduction - Interior trim removed
Turbo kit, race clutch, engine tune
Coil over suspension, improved disc brakes
Race seats/harnesses
Nissan 350Z
2004 - RWD, 3.5l
Competition brake kit/Quaife LSD + cooling
Tein street flex coil overs / Nismo exhaust
Race clutch / Baffled extended engine sump
Mini Cooper S
R53 - 2002 - FWD, 1.6l Supercharged
AP racing brakes
Roll cage
Bucket seats/Racing harness
Trim removed
Back seats removed
Glove box removed
If it can be removed, it has been removed
The track
Bedford Autodrome
3.8 miles Designed by Jonathan Palmer
The cheesy montage
While clearly meant to be fun, the SBD Automotive Track Day Series exists because it helps the team. You learn to be a better, safer driver, the importance of balance and mechanical sympathy, and that there's no shame in spinning on turn 5.