The original reason for our visit was to pick up Mike Cooper's Challenge car for our Trackday Car of the Year feature but we had a cone open air filter fitted to our Mini while it was there.

I know it's no way for a forty-year-old MD to behave but the extra snort from the engine bay adds at least 30bhp to the imagination (nearer 4bhp in reality) and a bonus VTEC-type snarl above 6000rpm to boot. We won't mention the extra boominess at other speeds that can sometimes be annoying.

The one disappointment was that Mike's car is quicker than ours, despite being in the same state of tune. Apparently Mini Coopers built after April are quicker, something Mike has noticed with Challenge cars. BMW denies any change in engine spec but I'll keep you posted if I can find out more.

The one thing ours does do better is go round corners. Our Sport Plus suspension with 195/55 tyres on 16-inch rims has a far stiffer, grippier chassis than the Challenge car's softer set-up with 175/65s on 15-inchers (chosen to keep costs down). In fact I wish we'd used our Cooper at TCOTY, as I know its time around Palmer's would have been heaps better than the Challenge car.

Now, where's my crash helmet...?