These are some pictures I took at a track day organised by PCC at Bruntingthorpe proving ground. The day was a  bargain £30 for as many runs as possible. There were a stack of Novas in various states of tune, a MK3 Astra Gsi and my 8v Astra GTE, All in there were around 30 cars. It was very free and easy, with no red tape and very few rules. Behaviour on the track was good. It was a very friendly day and allowed plenty of time try various driving approaches.

Cars in the morning before the track action started.

Nova 1.4 16v on throttle bodies, approx 180BHP @ 8000rpm. Stripped out, plastic windows. I like.

Yes it was overcast. Yes it was cold. Didn't rain though.

Nova 1.6 16v on throttle bodies. This the recommended engine conversion for a Nova. Light and fast.

Like the heater.

Cult classic, Nova Sport. The 1.3 8v came from the factory with twin 40s in the boot ready to fit. Optional Irmscher cam.

Some track action. A big favourite was this S chicane which you can't really see. This Nova was a stealth car. "only a 1.4" according to the owner.

Tyre smoke or burning oil? One of a few "oil burners". Maybe it was smoke screen tactics? Looks good though.

Novas.

Ian Storey's Nova 2.0 16v. The Stickmobile on the far left.

Stealth car close up. Twin 40s on 1.4 8v with head and cam. I like.

Steel wheels, this is the way to do it. Owner also had a 2.0 16v in bits at home, but I suspect that this project has a higher fun factor.

Ian Storey on the track in 2.0 16v Nova on throttle bodies. No smoke in this picture. Weather taking a turn for the worse.

Brett Warbothans (sp) Nova 2.1 16v on throttle bodies. Blurry picture to hide the dodgy paint job. Only joking, this man has spent thousands on this magazine featured Nova. Good to see him using it too, I didn't believe that he was going to track it because it looked so mint.

Back from a mission. You should see and hear this 1.4 16v on throttle bodies go. It was as fast on the straights as the 2.0 16v cars and quicker round the corners. The sound was immense. It was used to educate some Elise owners at Fairford track apparently. Which is nice.

You might be able to work out where the S is from this. A little later Brett managed to spin the Green Nova. Which cheered me up because he was catching me at the time. The track was very slippery after 20 minutes light rain.

Nova 1.4 16v being chased by Nova 2.0 16v. Smoke screen in effect again.

"interior" of my Astra 2.0 8v. With 150BHP and weighing in at around 980Kg the Astra did alright on the track. Not as fast as the tuned and stripped Novas but faster than a fair few of the rest. Once I got my cornering act together! There were some bolder people than me there, hassling me on the bends etc, and rather annoyingly for them I could leave them on the straights. They put up a good fight though.

The day ended a little earlier than expected due to noise complaints from the village. Not a problem though, as most people got 4 or 5 sessions and it was starting to rain.