Trackday prep.

[Mark Stanton]

Will all this stuff be ok left in the paddock

Yep, along with everyone else's stuff - if anything goes missing one thing for certain is it would be a fellow WSCC member and they wouldn't do that    

[Westfieldman]

Will all this stuff be ok left in the paddock

It's only purple cars that go missing

[felters]

You'll be fine... you won't be short of help on the day. Just don't bother asking the old codger in a yellow Megablade. he know's 'kall about anything. And if you're in group C be gentle with me.  

[adhawkins]

Will all this stuff be ok left in the paddock

It's only purple cars that go missing

And if I'm honest, that wasn't much of a surprise.

And at the the end of the day, it appears that the car hiders actually had my own good interests at heart. They shoved it in the marquee to stop it getting wet!

Andy

[Westfieldman]

in the marquee to stop it getting wet!

You hotel that far away, it rained where you was staying

[adhawkins]

I think it had rained overnight actually, Neil Willis was complaining that his car got wet...

Andy

[nlash]

I think it had rained overnight actually, Neil Willis was complaining that his car got wet...

Andy

It got wet here as well, I did warn him.

[Steve L]

Hi, I just attended my first track day a couple of weeks ago, and it was great. I expected to have fun, but it was even better. But exhausting.

I had read some material about driving on a track, and wanted to put it into practice: Start off slowly and gradually build up lap times; brake late and hard, and then step on the gas quickly.

It was "open pit lane", so people could drive onto and off the track whenever they wanted. I waited until a lot of drivers had gone out, and then waited until a group went by and the straight leading up to the first turn was empty. I had the track to myself, and headed out at a modest speed. Took the first turn alone, went into the second turn alone. Then I was shocked by a roar all around me, and I was passed simultaneously by a car on either side. It really woke me up. My "moderate" pace was really pretty slow. And this is important: check your mirrors *often*. And decide ahead of time where you want to be when fast cars are approaching, so they know on which side they can pass you safely. (Safe for both of you.)

After a number of laps I sort of had the hang of it and began enjoying it. I had no idea how many laps I had actually driven, though. After a while I started feeling tired, so I took a break. I had been out only about 15 minutes, but I was as tired as if I had been driving hours in heavy traffic.

I drove relatively short stints and took a lot of breaks. We had the track for 8 hours, so I was still able to get in more than enough time on the track to satisfy myself.

At lunch, a friend told me that I needed to brake late and hard. Whoa, I thought that I had been doing that. I started waiting even later, so I thought that *this* time, I really am not going to make the turn. But usually, I did. As a matter of fact, I spun out several times, discovering where the limits of the tyres were.

But I improved my lap times by about 10 seconds just with this tip, from about 1:45 to 1:35. (Best lap time was an Elise with slicks, 1.07, just to give you an idea where I was. Slowest on the track.)

Anyhow, I think for an absolute beginner the most important point to remember is the safety of yourself and the other people on the track. Don't be a roadblock, and don't do anything unpredictable for the people coming from behind.

And I am now saving money for my next veture on the track, which will be *instruction*. Driving on a track, in my opinion, is entirely different from driving on a public road.

Have fun!

Steve

[adhawkins]

Interesting account, particularly about being overtaken on both sides.

For someone starting out with track days, I'd recommend you go for an airfield day, or at least one with a TDO that has a good reputation. All the days I've done have had strict overtaking rules (only on a certain side, only on straights, and only with the driver being overtaken indicating his permission) and this keeps things sensible.

Also, being on an airfield means that if your bravado exceeds your talent, then chances are there'll be not too much to hit...

Andy

[Steve L]

Hi Andy,

I live in northern Germany, so nearby events are pretty rare, and there are no airfields in the north. There is one in Bitburg, but that is a long way for me. I was at a proving ground used mostly by Daimler-Benz. The track is a 1:1 copy of what they call the "small" Hockenheim Ring. Not the F1 circuit. I don't know what the original looks like, but this one had huge gravel runouts all around and no high kerbs, so it seemed pretty safe to me.

As I mentioned, my next outing will be with an instructor somewhere. After one day on a track, public roads have lost much of their appeal.

Steve

[adhawkins]

Ah, apologies, didn't realise your location!

Yep, while I still enjoy driving my car on the road, since doing a few track days I've realised that there really isn't the scope for getting the full potential on the road (opens that can of worms again ).

Andy

[Mark Stanton]

WSCC trackdays don't allow overtaking on both sides at once           and it is requested that overtaking be on the left hand side where possible.

Use of mirrors is very important as is moving over to allow cars to pass and NOT hogging the racing lines      

Timing is not permitted neither is racing yer mates      

[John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison]

I'm not sure I would agree about the braking late and hard bit either   I would have thought that could cause a few incidents in itself either for you or those around you.

John

[Mark Stanton]

Very true Mr L      after all they supposed to be friendly track days with due respect to felow drivers and those around you      

[pistonbroke]

Would just like to know if the FULL mallory circuit will be used ?

gerrards , esses,  hairpin etc.