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Easyish first track day?

T

TypeR'imaComing

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409
Been considering a track day for a while but put off by being the slowest driver the tracks ever seen / binning it.

Where would people recommend as a good start point? The old man loves cadwell on the bike but it does seem a bit tight with not that much run off in places.

Hopefully this will let me calm my driving down on the road.
 
Keep your eye out for Novice days. A lot of tracks do them now for people with little or no experience of track driving. A great way of getting into Trackdays as they use cones to show you the best lines and have cars that you can use as spotters that you follow round.
 
I did my first one with Hondas on track, they're all nice guys from my experience. I didnt get any pressure when someone caught me up and on the next straight I just pulled to one side and let them through

www.hondas-on-track.com
 
if your anywhere near brands hatch they do a lot of on track activities for newbies. Plus the indy curcuit is lovely and then run off everywhere, not that your need it
 
Near Sheffield so brands hatch is at the other side of the country. Looks like they do some on run ways, which may be a very safe intro.
 
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Shaenei said:
I did my first one with Hondas on track, they're all nice guys from my experience. I didnt get any pressure when someone caught me up and on the next straight I just pulled to one side and let them through

www.hondas-on-track.com
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TypeR'imaComing said:
Near Sheffield so brands hatch is at the other side of the country. Looks like they do some on run ways, which may be a very safe intro.
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As Shaenei mentioned, sign over on Hondas On Track and see what events you fancy coming along.

The closest circuit to you is probably Croft and they have an even there on 20/07/12
 
Bedford is probably the "safest" UK circuit as there is plenty of run off. However any trackday as long as you drive within your limits will be fine. The trouble with a lot of TDO is that they dont police the people on the day so you will have a huge mix of abilities and powered cars. As a novice having somebody/something like this come up behind you can be very off putting.

A couple of people have mentioned HOT (thanks guy :) ) and the people who help run it (me included) are proud the track ettiquate we have time and time again.

Come along even if for some pax laps (usually free) to see how it all works.

When you do venture out Id also highly recommend having an instructor for at least some of the sessions, its amazing what you will learn.
 
theres a few things to weigh up going into a first track day, your ability/experience,where do you rate yourself and how confident are you. What car will you be using, is it an every day car or simply a track car that you are going to chuck money at or just something cheap and cheerful that wouldnt be the end of the world, heaven forbid you crash it. As you're based in Sheffield have a search for a place called Elvington airfield not too far from you. They often have driver training/ track days. My old race driving coach Andrew McKenna once did race driving instructing there and taught me when I raced a peugeot 106 rallye in 750 motorclub stock hatch and a porsche 944 s2 in porsche club uk. Ive raced at oulton park, silverstone, snetterton, donington park, brands hatch, cadwell and mallory park. Cadwell, yes its a great track but probably a bit tight for your first one. I would describe it as a 'mini nurburgring' not a lot of run off area. Anyway, ask yourself those questions I listed and answer them. Hopefully you will make up your mind and best of luck to you, remember to have some fun and enjoy it, however I will warn you, once the bug has bitten I hope you have plenty of money as it is a very expensive and addictive hobby. Since losing my sponsorship I cant afford to race any more, but still love to attend track days and race meets.

Cheers, Mike
 
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I went along to a HOT Castle Coombe day as a passenger for a couple of rides. It very well run and wasn't over crowded on the track so felt safe and not pressured.

Hopefully I'll be doing the Brands Novice day this year.
 
ive done cadwell a fair few times before and its a great track, i highly recommend it to anyone, try javelintrackdays, they're a local based company that do trackdays allover at resonable rates, we use them a lot and never had anything to complain about, why not try an evening setion as a starter, there open pit lane so you can come on and off the track as you please, no need to worry about being the slowest on a track, its not a race, you get set off out in intervals so youll have plenty of room for youself. cadwell is as good as anywhere but they also do blyton park which has plenty of run off and is pretty much totaly flat so great for beginners, plus its a pretty new track and prices are cheap, get something booked and give it a go, you'll never look back
 
Hi,

When I ran the "Toyota sprint series" I used to use Colin from Javelin trackdays and his team for all my events and found them to be very very good, not only did they provide a very safe enviroment for new commers but they also advised on condition of car and could provide confidence training if required.

They also ran some great clubdays for me when I ran the GT4 Owners club and put on some 1/4 mile stuff as they have some awesome timing gear (Rally style countdown lights)

Sprinting is also very good for novices as you are only up against the clock and this allows you time to learn your car and your abillites before throwing yourself into a pack of cars on track. they have acces to a great little track up in lincolnshire called "Barkston Heath" and regulary on charge £89 for the whole day, Great value.

I hope to get back into some trackdays later this year now I have my TypeR.

Enjoy your cars guys ;)

Baz
 
My first track experiance was at the nurburgring.
As long as you drive to a comfortable speed for you
and take it easy you will be fine :)
 
I have to agree bedford is a brilliant track to start! you can test yourself and the car with alot of run off's!
 
They normally split you into groups for novice, average, expert categories. If you go in the novice category you should be fine.

Theres also quite a few airstrip 'tracks' where there are no barriers/gravel traps and there are just cones and grass. Just as much fun for the first time out.
 
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