Track day advice....

[JO5EPH]

Well I'm wanting to do an open-pit track day around the late July/August time.

I've been looking here (http://www.trackdays.co.uk/calendar/car.htm) and there's a couple there, but none that really 'suit' me.

I'd really like to do Croft, but I can only find the 23rd June and this is too soon really.
There's also Oulton Park on the 1st July, which is quite expensive and a bit too soon, then there's the 26th November, which I dont really want to wait that long for!

So am I being too fussy??

I've never done a track day before, I did 20mind round silverstone last year and thats it!

So ANY general advice/tips for a track day would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Joe :)

EDIT: I've also been looking here (http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/oulton-park/trackdays/trackdays.asp?circuit=op&type=Car&Submit=Search) but they only have a calender up to early July at the moment, but the one I want (open-pit) seems to be coming in at around £200, does that sound about right?

[Murphy]

Apart from my own track day that I think you should join me at ;). I would recommend Bruntingthorpe for novice track day goers. The idea of a track day IMO is to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. I can guarantee you will find someone that is a better driver than you and can drive faster than you at any track day - so as long as your mind is focused on safe enjoyment you are well away. The thing with bruntingthorpe is you need to really try to hit something as there is lots and lots of run off, and a lot of corners are made up of coned areas etc etc. I know a few people on here have had some experience so maybe they can comment further. The only down side to brunters IMO, is it isn't as interesting as other UK tracks.

Croft. It is famous for the tightest hairpin of any UK circuit; it is also [IMO] a complex circuit. I did a track day in my stock Fabia vRS - i did enjoy it, but spent a lot of time letting people past...........................

Good luck with your choice :)

[speedswede]

JO5EPH, I'd recommend Anglesey. It's a short circuit at 1.06 miles, easy to learn but takes longer to master getting all of the corners to flow to make a good lap. It has excellent run-off ...although I have never run off even in the pouring rain. Since it is a small circuit your max speed will be on the pit straight at perhaps 90mph for a short time. Anglesey is also quite cheap and the instructors are great.

[JUDGENINJA]

come to Bruntingthorpe in August...

Have a look my video (in Sig), you can see just how much space there is at the place. If you go off the's loads of run off (Grass)...

[BlackBeast]

Excellent video Judge, Wobbly had you on the straight there I think ;)

I would think the Brunters track isnt very suited to our heavy lumps though as there seems to be a few coned sharp corners (maybe not but on the video it seems like it) which puts our cars at a disadvantage.

If i ever did a track day ive got a feeling that the adrenaline would kick in and id be trying to race everybody, obviously not in a dangerous manner though.

With regards to my car, suspension (need to think long and hard about the setup) and brake (already planned out) upgrades would definately need to be done before even contemplating a track day as they are getting old at 112k.

[fast-t5]

bravo quality vid looks awsome mate

[blackbooty]

nice vid Judge, looks fun and the bonus being there arnt any dogs with radars !
will have to join everyone at a track later in the year.

[TangoDeltaSierra3]

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8002

Check that out.

[JO5EPH]

Many thanks for the feedback! :D

Croft in early July sounds good, but with only limited track-time I think I might wait for Bruntingthorpe in August.

Then I might do Oulton Park late Novemeber as it seems a decent price, but the weather could be 'fun' that time of year.....

Anglessey is definitely a consideration too, hmm, i'm too indecisive! So keep the suggestions coming please!

Cheers,

Joe :)

P.S, How much fuel (ish) do you tend to use on a track day alone? Just so I can work out roughly how much it will cost me in total for a track day

[Vikingxl]

Most important thing to remember though is have fun and dont take it too seriously

[Wobbly Dave]

Completely agree with Viking. I went on my first track day at Brunters last year and my advice is - It's not a race - nobody wins - there are no prizes, so dont battle with the other runners too much! Key is to enjoy. Always do a wam up/run down lap if you can.
The only prize you get is for having a good time and not stacking your car. Be patient and courteous to everyone else.

[Engineer]

Completely agree with Viking. I went on my first track day at Brunters last year and my advice is - It's not a race - nobody wins - there are no prizes, so dont battle with the other runners too much! Key is to enjoy. Always do a wam up/run down lap if you can.
The only prize you get is for having a good time and not stacking your car. Be patient and courteous to everyone else.Wise words Dave, but do they apply to Scoopy's as well lol :wink:

[JO5EPH]

Most important thing to remember though is have fun and dont take it too seriously

Absolutely!

Like Dave said, it's about having fun and keeping it on the tarmac.

So any Idea of fuel costs for a track day?? I'm thinking if I brim it just outside the circuit, a full tank should last me?

Joe :)

[Vikingxl]

You will use a lot more fuel than normal but just keep an eye on the gauge you will probably be knackered long before the tank runs dry its a lot of physical effort and once you are tired its best to call it a day anyway.Enjoy yourself but be sensible with it you will never keep up with the people that do this sort of thing all the time just have a good time and get someone to take some piccys for you so you have some memories of the day!

[BigJC]

Drive it like you stole it! No wait, thats my usual style...

[Vikingxl]

Drive it like you stole it! No wait, thats my usual style...
Well i suppose you do live near liverpool

[BigJC]

Well i suppose you do live near liverpool
The cheek of it! My fellow mancs don't have too good a reputation either if you watch BBC's car wars!

[Vikingxl]

Lol

[Murphy]

I did 55 laps of Donnington in my diesel Fabia, and went through a tank, averaging 15 mpg !!!!!!

[Wobbly Dave]

You can also expect to wave goodbye to a set of front tyres.

It is also no bad idea to change the oil/filter when you get home/within a few days and possibly the plugs too.

[speedswede]

You can also expect to wave goodbye to a set of front tyres.


Depends where you are driving and how you are driving.

If you go for an airfiled type surface these are normally fairly abrasive and I know of people who have gone through a brand new set of tyres just in the morning! That's why I do not drive on airfields except for Bedford which has excellent track surface.

On normal track surfaces I have never got anywhere near to going through a set of tyres in the dry. Never. Remember, if your tyres are squealing around the corners then you are going beyond the bounds of grip and the tyres are moving across the surface in the wrong direction. That means accelerated tyre wear. So, every time you hear those tyres squeal you are not driving efficiently, you are most likely losing speed and losing traction aswell as wearing them out quicker.

The real satisfaction of trackdays is not overtaking everyone else, it is learning each and every corner, joining them all up, trying to get a flowing lap and enjoying yourself. An efficiently driven lap is likely to be a faster lap ;)

[Murphy]

I agree with that Speedy Swede - i managed 7000 miles and 2 track days out of the front tyres on the Fabia, so i wouldn't worry about that too much :)

[Wobbly Dave]

I was only going off personal experience. Brunters wore mine down real good.

[JO5EPH]

Many thanks once again!

I've found a date for an open pit at croft, 22nd july for about £170 so I think i'll go for that :D

So JUDGENINJA, good video, but how did you secure the camera?? (I'd like to do this too but only if it's safe and is permitted by the circuit!)


I agree with that Speedy Swede - i managed 7000 miles and 2 track days out of the front tyres on the Fabia, so i wouldn't worry about that too much :)

What tyres were they? (out of interest ;) )

Thanks

Joe :)

[Murphy]

Eagle F1's GSD3's

[Wobbly Dave]

So JUDGENINJA, good video, but how did you secure the camera?? (I'd like to do this too but only if it's safe and is permitted by the circuit!)


Joe :)Judge secured his camera on a tripod in the spare wheel well - which was securely tethered in place with straps.

it was checked by the scrutineers

[JO5EPH]

Judge secured his camera on a tripod in the spare wheel well - which was securely tethered in place with straps.

it was checked by the scrutineers

Yeah cheers for that mate, he sent me a detailed PM about it, but unfortunately mine's a saloon so it doesnt heve the securing points :(

I'm gonna look into getting a suction tripod like they use on top gear/5th gear etc :D Do you reckon that will pass a pre-track inspection??

Maybe I should have said, it's a '97 S70 T5, and I'm probably going to put Uniroyal Rainsport 1's on the front, purely based on past experience with them :B_steerin

Joe :)

[Wobbly Dave]

So long as the tripod is secure then I cant see a problem. If in doubt always ask the marshalls first!

[SteveD]

Hi - I've done Croft many times and I have to say it is great fun. The circuit is great, it's well organised and there are a good mixture of people and cars there - from the regular folk in their day to day cars to the "my jumpsuit matches my Caterham" crowd. It is a very "formal" track day though, which means they don't tolerate any nonsense, and if you spin they have a good chat to you about it afterward (I spun my old MK1 MR2 a few times, but that baby spun if you looked at it wrong!). As the surface is so good it's not so hard on tyres as some others either. Expect to pay about £180 for the day (i seem to recall - not done one this year yet)

For a more relaxed, budget day Elvington airfield (near York) is always fun. It's just such a big open space the circuit is marked out with cones, that it is far more forgiving if you spin off, as you just squash a few cones (hey - if it's big enough to be an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle it's big enough for a Volvo to spin off!). the crowd tends to be more "hardcore" - as in they are just there to have great fun but at the end of the day drive home. Expect to see all sorts from sports cars, some classic cars and lots of stripped out 80's/90's hot hatches.

Price is roughly a hundred quid and that includes a second driver if you want to. Very well organised by Javelin Track Days.

It is very abrasive though, so very hard on tyres. So it can be false economy (cheaper than the others but harder on the tyres - you do the maths!)

Hope you enjoy whatever you choose to do,
Steve

[JO5EPH]

Well after some searching and asking around, apparently it's more 'busy' on weekend track-days, so that messes with my plans of doing Croft on Sat 22nd July :(

I've tried to find a weekday for it but can only find weekends for what I want;

- Croft or Oulton Park
- Open pit
- During the week

Any ideas people?!

Ta!

Joe :)

[JUDGENINJA]

Ring the tracks direct... they should be able to forward you the companies that fit your criteria.....

[JO5EPH]

Yeah I'll do that mate, but next day off (within office hours) is a week on monday, so I'll do the phoning around then!

Just a bit of an update to my criteria;

- Open pit
- Weekday
- Croft/Oulton Park/Donington
- July/August

There's one in late August which fits the bill at donington, but I'll wait until I phone around until I book somewhere.

Joe :)

[JO5EPH]

Yeah I'll do that mate, but next day off (within office hours) is a week on monday, so I'll do the phoning around then!

Balls!

Thats a bank holiday, and so is the date I was hoping to go to donington :(

So I might email the above circuits and see what responses I get....

This is proving to be harder than I first thought, should be worth it in the end though! :D

Joe :)