Driving on trackdays, safely and courteously.

mofo sob said:
Chris - I had the same sort of fears as you - looking like a knob - getting in everyone's way etc but once out there on the track with the adrenalin flowing freely I find that it all falls into place quite naturally. See some mad man screaming up behind you the natural reaction is to tuck in on the inside etc It really is a great buzz but most people are not pushing it 100% because for a lot of folk they just can't aford to bend their pride and joy (y)
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I've been on a couple of track days and as Iain has said above, if you see something looming up in your mirrors with a lot more power (and a driver with more track experience than you), you just pull to the left and let them pass. The only time they have to stay tucked in behind you is when going through the chicane's, that can be quite scary as some of the guys behind you will be right on your boot, so not a good time to over-brake! lol!!! It's loads of fun and legalised speeding, so just strap yourself in, make sure you have your skid lid on, get out there and enjoy!!! :) My fiancee Rachel came with me last time as a passenger and loved it. Have fun, stay safe and enjoy!!!
 
jamie_duff said:
Chris have a look on Pistonheads as there is lots of discussion and reassurance for beginners on there. Most of the rules are stated above; overtaking by consent etc. There's a lot of wisdom on PH also about which types of trackday you're best to go on. Lots of the "hot hatch trash" type events are a little too hairy for my liking and involve copious amounts of binnage from people driving beyond the limits of their talent.
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Excellent post Jamie, thank you.

jamie_duff said:
I'd suggest taking Localloon up on his offer by the way. (y)
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I most certainly have! (y)

WildV6 said:
...make sure you have your skid lid on...
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A very good point - I'll need to go and buy one. And put some new shoes on my spare set of wheels...and buy a fuel can...and...LOL
 
Like Jamie says i'd avoid track events like TRAX and the like to start with, Ford Fair is okay as its mostly Ford car nuts.
Bedford autodrome is specifically set up for road cars. Most of the Palmer Sport owned tracks are the best bet ; brands hatch etc.
 
Nice tip, thanks.

Brands is a bit of a schlep, but if there's anywhere good in Beds/Herts/Bucks/Northants then I'll definitely give it a go. Bedford Autodrome sounds interesting, for a start.
 
ginja said:
Which year did I go round then? I'm not in that video
Must have been 2011 I think as the weather was nice lol
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Yup, it was 2011 Matt, when there was me you and Iain on track. That's the year I kinda cooked me brakes...Oops! lol!!!! Alan i.e. Mr Pid did a video, but unfortunately it was of the grassy bank he was stood on! LOL!!!!!
 
ginja said:
Ah yes I recall a bit of OFS filming lol
That was the year that little yellow Suzuki lapped us all three times (just watch the video lol)
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Going slightly off-topic...

I used to go to Santa Pod quite a bit on Run-What-You-Brung days. Some of the results were a bit scary.

There was an enormously fat guy that used to run an early Toyota Starlet converted for RWD. Looked totally standard, and the car actually creaked when he got in it. First time I saw him, he was lined up next to an R34 Skyline.

Now, if you've ever done one of these drag races, you'll know they're very careful to tell you that you're not racing against the guy next to you. You're just trying to clock. Of course no-one sees it that way.

The lights went green and we all expected this Starlet to get destroyed. Nuh-uh. It did a sub-10 second run with its back end flailing all over the place. The Skyline managed 12.4 seconds.

The lesson? I guess it's that you shouldn't judge on appearances.
 
Mako said:
Going slightly off-topic...

I used to go to Santa Pod quite a bit on Run-What-You-Brung days. Some of the results were a bit scary.

There was an enormously fat guy that used to run an early Toyota Starlet converted for RWD. Looked totally standard, and the car actually creaked when he got in it. First time I saw him, he was lined up next to an R34 Skyline.

Now, if you've ever done one of these drag races, you'll know they're very careful to tell you that you're not racing against the guy next to you. You're just trying to clock. Of course no-one sees it that way.

The lights went green and we all expected this Starlet to get destroyed. Nuh-uh. It did a sub-10 second run with its back end flailing all over the place. The Skyline managed 12.4 seconds.

The lesson? I guess it's that you shouldn't judge on appearances.
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Would have liked to have seen that, bet the Skyline driver wasn't amused! lol!!!
 
WildV6 said:
Would have liked to have seen that, bet the Skyline driver wasn't amused! lol!!!
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You'd think not, but he actually laughed his a**e off. :LOL: When something that absurd happens, I suppose you just have to have a sense of humour about it.

There was also a guy who used to run an MG Maestro with something like 450 brake and an RWD conversion. Again, it looked totally standard - even had a (deliberately) bad paintjob - but it smoked everything that went up against it. Definitely a few eyebrows raised up the the hairline when he used to throw it up the track.

:EDIT: Self censoring.
 
Mako said:
You'd think not, but he actually laughed his a**e off. :LOL: When something that absurd happens, I suppose you just have to have a sense of humour about it.

There was also a guy who used to run an MG Maestro with something like 450 brake and an RWD conversion. Again, it looked totally standard - even had a (deliberately) bad paintjob - but it smoked everything that went up against it. Definitely a few eyebrows raised up the the hairline when he used to throw it up the track.

:EDIT: Self censoring.
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Re: MG Maestro - are you talking about the white one? If so, got it on dvd doing some mad quarter miles against some top notch Skylines, Scoobies etc.
 
WildV6 said:
Re: MG Maestro - are you talking about the white one? If so, got it on dvd doing some mad quarter miles against some top notch Skylines, Scoobies etc.
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Yes, that's the one! He used to post over at MGRover.org. To my shame I can't remember his name (Gareth I think?) but he always came across as a decent guy. And the performance of that car was somthing else.
 
We went to Santa pod the one year and a bog standard corsa rolls up wearing wheel trims the lot, smoked a guy in his Scooby for breakfast lol half way down strip before he'd got 1/4 of the way
 
ginja said:
We went to Santa pod the one year and a bog standard corsa rolls up wearing wheel trims the lot, smoked a guy in his Scooby for breakfast lol half way down strip before he'd got 1/4 of the way
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The Corsa is an odd little car. I don't have much experience of V***halls other than my brother-in-law's Vectra and a POS 1.7 Diesel Cav before it, but it seems like they plain knew the Corsa would be modified to hell and back.

There used to be a girl in Chelmsford who ran a standard-looking Corsa which - legend had it - was fitted with something V6-flavoured and 3-litre-ish. God only knows what the spec of the car actually was and if the legends were right, it must have been barely driveable. But I encountered her once on the A12 while I was in a car with 250BHP that weighed 1200KG.

She played for a while, then throttled up and overtook me while she was four up as though I wasn't even moving. I played chase, but backed off when I was doing a speed that would've made Scunny's Essex friends raise their eyebrows.

I didn't feel bad about being chicken because frankly it felt like I'd been racing a car full of ghosts.
 
My 2nd car was a corsa 1.2 8v dropped to the deck on 16s with yoko's, it handled like it was on rails and surprising nippy considering the lack of engine, needless to say I killed that car, just by ragging the nuts off it.....like 17 year olds do! Good, fun little car :p
 
localloon said:
My 2nd car was a corsa 1.2 8v dropped to the deck on 16s with yoko's, it handled like it was on rails and surprising nippy considering the lack of engine, needless to say I killed that car, just by ragging the nuts off it.....like 17 year olds do! Good, fun little car :p
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A good excuse to raise a glass on Saturday night.

You know, like I need one. :beer:
 
localloon said:
My 2nd car was a corsa 1.2 8v dropped to the deck on 16s with yoko's, it handled like it was on rails and surprising nippy considering the lack of engine, needless to say I killed that car, just by ragging the nuts off it.....like 17 year olds do! Good, fun little car :p
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Lol that sounds like Uncle Fester, small, nippy and a lot of fun (bit noisy though)
 
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