mallory aftermath

[Martin Keene]

That was kinda where I was trying to go... I think...

[Guest]

i think the major concern although the specific incident needs to be looked at is more who was there in control , was everyone signed on and tagged , was the briefing clear and without doubt . Was there a visable presence to report incidents too.

Who controlled the pitlane exit and under who's instruction ?

[Muttleys V8]

Well......

Havin been away for the weekend, come back to work and find I have missed all the fun.

Accidents do happen on track days, it could be down to bad or inexperienced driving, it could also be down to mechanical failure, S*** happens.

Mark Coopers, you seem to have handled the aftermath very well, pint will be waiting at Harrogate.

To the other members and non members of the forum, please remember Mark walked away lightly from this, there are other people around the world in the present climate who do not have that pleasure. It could have been alot worse.....

Steve

[Blatman]

From what I saw, everyone was signed on and tagged. Their tag was checked and ticked off each time they passed through the paddock gate. There were plenty of marshals and of course the paddock gate official to report to if necessary. Pit lane exit was controlled by a Mallory marshal, who I assume has received the appropriate training and has the relevant experience and competence. The only thing I didn't personally witness was the drivers briefing.

[steveb]

well this is a well written account of the start of the day from another thread :

have thought long and hard about this post.

My son James and I have listened to trackday briefings at Hullavington twice /Basingbourne /Donnington 5 times  /Llandow and Cadwell in the last 9 months, completing just over 600 track day miles.

There has always been a clear emphasis on driving ettiquette. It is always emphasised several times in each briefing that overtaking is ONLY allowed on the left, NEVER IN BRAKING ZONES OR CORNERS, AND BY CONSENT ONLY. It is also emphasised that any infringement will be severly treated.

As some may be aware a driver at a track day was killed recently in a Ferrari and the instructor in the passenger seat is still badly injured. We as a club must take control of the events we organise in a firm way so that these unfortunate incidents are reduced to a minimum. The final instructions were detailed and well presented but??

For those who are able or so inclined/need to test, perhaps the regular pay and test sessions open to race licence holders at mallory and other circuits would be more suitable.

Track days should be non damaging disciplined events where one can explore the limits of ones vehicle/driving skills with your teenage son in the passenger seat, and not be afraid that someone is going to create a problem by overtaking in MY braking area and pushing me off line to the point that I loose control.

Matthew Crisp

In a word appauling , no wonder the day wasn't incident free , leaving 1 man to do the breifing and signing on , not signing on passangers .......... your insurance would be next to worthless as the club did not take the relevant steps in my opinion

For a sensible sounding and regular trackday driver to comment to his son he felt it was to be a free for all shows that the briefing was poor , and things were not well run . Not pointing fingers at the guy that was there to run the day as he was obviously trying his best with little or no help .

I also STILL see no comments from the committee

In summary i would not attend a WSCC track day unless it was run by a proffesional TDO ,i value my safety and that of those around me on track .

I posted my opinion in the other thread, but its basically the same as this.  I totally agree.

p.s. my father is on the phone before every trackday i do saying be careful etc as i chap from my old village was killed in his porsche a few months ago on a trackday.  I alway tell him "I'll take care, as long as i do there will be no accidents"  i ment it because the organisers generally don't take any crap and if someones driving badly they are flagged, warned and sent home if they don't immediately improve.  Trackdays as long as you are responsible yourself should be 100% safe for you and your car.

I feel its an important issue  with this club because 99% of people who buy westfields do so because they intend to go on track.

[Mark Stanton]

*Puts Chairmans hat on*

Please stop and think  

Firstly - I would like to receive any reports and / or complaints from any individual present at Mallory Park last Friday.

Apologies for not being their in person - I was otherwise engaged in Wales.

Full insurance was in place and a set of rules issued to all drivers before the event.

This is not the first year that a car has been written off at a WSCC Trackday - sad and unfortunate as it is - various trackdays organised by many often experience write-offs - yes I agree it is sad and most disturbing - Thankfully no-one was hurt.

My personal apologies to everyone involved in any incident - please submit a report to myself. All information and details contained will be treated with cortesy and confidentiality

*takes chairmans hat off*

Sorry to hear about your car Mark       hope to see you around real soon.

As an aside Bananaman also smashed his cars rear end up at llandow on Saturday - hope you get that fixed as well -

Track use, in whatever circumstances is never without its risks    

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

.... if so then this is the time to look at your car and decide if its worth more than the fifty quid or so it costs for track cover... ??

Glad your ok mark

                 Steve.

Hi-Jack alert!

Steering clear of the minefield, where do I get track day insurance for £50 or so? I was quoted £80 with £600 excess for a single outing at Hullavington with two drivers.

[adhawkins]

where do I get track day insurance for £50 or so? I was quoted £80 with £600 excess for a single outing at Hullavington with two drivers.

Much the same here. Most of the quotes for my old Zetec car were around the £100 mark, and the excess was into the thousands...

Andy

[pistonbroke]

 99% of people who buy westfields do so because they intend to go on track.

Intertested to know where this statistic came from      

[Blatman]

Same as Andy. Premiums are pretty pricey with excess amounts approaching, or in to 4 figure sums. It's a tough choice to decide if it's worth it or not. Despite Marks incident, I will probably still choose to not have insurance for sprinting or tack days...

[adhawkins]

 99% of people who buy westfields do so because they intend to go on track.

Intertested to know where this statistic came from      

Didn't you know? 76.3% of all statistics are made up.

Andy

[Guest]

I pay £25 per trackday for cover on the elise attached to our road policy , all drivers must have a letter from a recognised TDO stating they have completed days in the past without incident , excess £500 and a shunt is likely to be more espensive than a westy shunt ,due to cost of repair to clams at each end.

You may find that when you intially start insuring for track days its expensive but prove yourself and like a road policy it will drop .

Race insurance is much the same , also what you are really insuring is a sum of money not the actual car , so look at what you are likey to replace in a shunt and remeber a starter kit would rebuild alot.

[Blatman]

The only trouble with that is I want to keep my road and any track policy separate because I wouldn't want a shunt on track to affect my renewal premiums. Like you I have several vehicles to insure, and I would be required to declare a claim at renewal time for all of them, as one of the questions asked is "Any accidents or claims in th elast 3/5 years?". In the past I have been required to declare bike accidents when insuring cars, and vice versa...

[Guest]

yep declaring accidents is a real s**t , we had to declare the right off of the last elise , 3rd part blame all costs recovered , still added 100 quid to the policy , which really sucks .

the elise gets insured because a shunt is to costly , the westfield does not ,but might do now its been rebuilt , but as i said there are cheap ways to insure , just don't insure the full value of the car as you would keep it anyway as its not a road policy.

[steveb]

 99% of people who buy westfields do so because they intend to go on track.

Intertested to know where this statistic came from      

I guess obviously    , every westy owner i have ever met in person has had, or has planned to take their car on track.  Except those that buy them in kit build them then sell them, the build bit being the fun.  Personnally i can't see the point of them for anything other than track use.  Waiting to be flamed.