Crunch time.

In the video games industry this is what we call the period of time when a game needs to be finished for general release. It involves a lot of time spent at work, a complete lack of sleep, more fast food than is healthy and a total disregard for any family/social life.

However, while this period is bad for the mind and body and also the reason this Journal is late, it meant that I had nearly six weeks of driving home at some very odd times in the morning on completely empty roads with some breathtaking sunrises, rain storms and the odd bunny rabbit avoidance slalom thrown in for good measure.

One particularly memorable drive home occurred about three weeks ago during the mini heat wave that we experienced in the north east. It was half past four in the morning and I needed to get home to bed, the roads were absolutely bone dry and felt warm to the touch. The sky was clear with that sort of strange light purple glow that you get before the sun comes up and I had a full tank of Optimax - it would be rude not to have gone out to have some fun! The drive back was surreal, very smooth and precise, the nose of the little Clio behaving itself while the air conditioning helped alleviate the sticky and stuffy summer night air, headlights cutting into the Northumbrian landscape as I approach home. It reminded me of an epic drive out of Le Mans a few years back with my good friend Rich in his MX5 on amazing empty French roads; good memories, good times, must remember to call him and organise another trip….brain wanders as speed increases…. then it happened…..

I hit a fairly nasty corner at a much higher speed than I have ever done before - the beauty, calmness and sleepy enjoyment of the drive home suddenly changed to clarity and cold terror… everything goes silent for a moment.

"This should be interesting" says brain as it sees the hedge row looming large in the windscreen- "not to worry!" shouts Clio in reply as I desperately try to turn in anyway.

There is a small sound from the front corners where the suspension is - not a hissing or a bang, more a sort of metallic squish; the nose of the car bites as it dips and angles itself towards the corner, it's as if the dampers are pushing the car into the road and for a brief second it feels as if the car, myself and the road have melted into one like some sort of metallic tarmac snowball. The silence stops and is replace by the enthusiastic fizz of the engine as the Trophy slingshots its way out of the bend and onwards towards home.

Brain fear is replace by stupid school boy grin and the knowledge that the limits have just been upped by quite a considerable margin - I miss the turning for home, driving past Jedbrough and into Scotland and play for a few more hours, completely and utterly absorbed by the car and the utterly unbelievable amounts of grip it has on perfect, warm roads. I have to say that the Michelin Exaltos are good in typical Northern weather - but when the sun comes out they really find purpose which in turn makes it feel as if the dampers are doing more to keep the car in the direction you want to go. After a tasty Scottish breakfast and coffee on the outskirts of Stirling I turn around and head for home, exhausted but glad for the opportunity to enjoy such beautiful scenery and have such fun doing so. Discovering that the Trophy has even more ability was just a bonus and that drive has gone down in Bunta history as one of the best!

The Trophy had its first service this month where nothing was found to be breaking or about to fall off. Unfortunately the front splitter had been cracked when the local farmer decided that dropping large rocks onto our driveway was a good thing to do and it looks as if it will need a new clip in the middle where it is attached to the bumper, but for some unknown reason the garage could not actually confirm this even when I had specifically asked them to do so. The lack of a proper wash was also disappointing as was the complete lack of knowledge about the Trophy in general - I've been quoted from £1,000 up to £2,690 to service the dampers at each corner! I am going to try the other main dealer in Gateshead next time and see if they fare any better. The bill for the service was £172 which seemed reasonable.

It would be lovely if Renault themselves got in contact with Trophy owners with some sort of handbook or advice about the car as it is a worry that one day a normal service will end up costing an arm and a leg but I guess we will have to wait and see…