Track Days

[Adrian Hunter]

All,
I am not sure if this has been visited before.... but would anyone else be interested in TIPEC sponsored trackdays?

I know that the PCGB runs them. It appears that they charge somewhere in the £200 - £400 per driver for the day depending on venue / number of cars allowed / if you are a member or not.

I will admit that I have never been to a track day, although it is something that I would like to do and with a group of like minded enthusiasts rather than a more individual open day at a track. This probably stems from the fact that I am unlikely to ‘thrash’ my poor old 944 that hard and would like to be able to apologise to everyone before hand for going so slowly!

If there is the interest and I get approval from a suitable club officer I would happily contact Goodwood (my own nearest track) to look into the feasibility of such a venture.

It appears that their open days are restricted to 25 cars with 5 cars on the track at a time and cost £165 half day / £320 full day which is I suspect something like the parameters we would be looking at for this venue.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing what you all think of it as an idea.....

[garyw]

Goodwood is probably one of the most expensive....
I'd start somehwere else...

garyw

[Adrian Hunter]

I was using goodwood purely as an example & because it is close to my own home..

Of course if the idea is in principle a goer then we could shop around to get the best deal(s) possible around the country

Part of the negotiation could be getting a more preferable rate than is available for an open session.

Perhaps before we go down this road we need to know how much people are prepared to spend on a trackday - if it is too expensive for general consumption then the premise as a whole falls flat.

[Nick]

I would happily contact Goodwood (my own nearest track) to look into the feasibility of such a venture.

It appears that their open days are restricted to 25 cars with 5 cars on the track at a time and cost £165 half day / £320 full day which is I suspect something like the parameters we would be looking at for this venue.

Hi Adrian,

That would be a good day out, so please have a chat with them and see if there are any dates available.

Nick

[Adrian Hunter]

Ok Nick,

Watch this space!!

[sirion]

Might I make a suggestion. As £320 is quite a lot to pay for a track day, particularly on a smallish track, there could be other options.

Some clubs / forums use dedicated track day companies to run the day for them. Also filling a whole track day may not be easy, however some organisers will hold a date open for a set period for a club to get as many of their members on as poss, then if there are not enough they can open it up to the public.

Cheaper still would be to just use a date already open to the public but book early and fill as many spaces as possible, that way you would be halving the cost, and have the opportunity to sample great national circuits like Silverstone, Donington etc. for around the £150 - £200 mark

Just a thought

[rapidstu]

How about bedford autodrome? quite central ( and near me ).

[R_D_Olivaw]

Hi Adrian,

I too have never done a track day and would probably be in line behind you with the pre-track apologies, but it sounds like a good idea especially if the price is right (£150-£200). This may not appeal to the more serious petrol heads but to novices like me it's just what I've been looking for.

All the best,

RDO

[Adrian Hunter]

All,

As an alternative..... if people want a good day out rather than an traditional track day (also saves putting the pride and joy at risk!!!) then most tracks offer 'experiences'

A for instance.... Thruxton offers 3 instructor diven laps (2 instruction + 1 fast), 3 laps in a cayman (see the cunning Porsche link ) and 5 laps in a formula Renault single seater. Half day for £160 per person for a group of 10-18

Of course this is probably less laps for similar money as the Goodwood Trackday already discussed, but it should be fun

I am sure that similar things could be sourced around the country.

It all depends what really what we want as a way to spend our hard earned money!! This said, I suppose there is no reason why both types of event couldnt go on the calendar if there was the interest.

Answers on a postcard......

[garyw]

I did a novice day in 2009 at a small track in LLandow(South Wales), not a big or fast circuit and possibly a little too small for the 911, however it was a friendly circuit that you could view the whole circuit from the paddock/carpark/pits and was not a lot of money to hire.
No additional costs for passengers and we split the cost between those that attended, cost about £125 per car in the end but took some commitment from the membership.

We found it a great introduction for those that wanted to try a trackday or taster session, the other advantage was its vicinity to the Black Mountain road and other great drives on the following day
I guess it depends where you want to start...

garyw

[Adrian Hunter]

As suspected Goodwood would be very close to £320 per car for the day.

Dates available in 2012

March: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 28th
April: 18th
June: 4th, 5th
August: 2nd, 6th, 11th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 28th, 30th
November: 19th, 20th, 21st
December: 1st, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th

To be honest this is no better than one of their open days in terms of cost

[Nick]

Dates available in 2012

Probably best to pick a day and see what interest there is.

Please note the only weekend available clashes...... August 11-12th is Prescott.



Nick