Track day novice what I've learnt so far...

[C70R]

SebringMan said:

...
Get an half day or a an open pit lane
...

Don't agree with the idea of being "faster than XXX or beaten by YYY" (your Cadwell summary sounds a bit competitive for me), but I agree that Open Pitlane days are excellent for novices. You get to take your time, go out when you're ready and pick moments when the track is quieter (if you wish).

[moktabe]

mark284811 said:

You will inevitably get overtakn at some point on a track day. Now this is no reflection on your driving ability at all. It's just a fact of life that smoeone will always be there thats either a better driver in a similar car or someone in a much faster vehicle. Perhaps even a race driver in a race prepped car.

All you can do is be prepared for it by noticing them in the paddock before the event. Along with the occasional glance in the rear mirror when on the straights. Stick to the racing line and they'll go around you. If you move off the racing line they will not be expecting this and will likely result in an accident. ( However accidents on track days are RARE ! )

There is always going to be the risk of a complete novice in a £200 track hack that will be sliding everywhere etc however just spot them early and you'll be fine to steer clear of them. There is plenty of companies that offer track cover included in normal insurance.. I used Competition Car Insurance and also Lloyd and Whyte who are both great and offer 5 track days included in the insurance premium. All insurance is for YOUR OWN CAR ONLY !. If you crash into someone else.. It's their own problem to resolve. However an apology is always a good idea. ( Some people even offer a token guesture in these cases to diffuse a situation £50 / £100 )

Best advise.. dont worry about what might happen.. Just go enjoy yourself.

Very helpful, thank you.

[Smitters]

moktabe said:

mark284811 said:

You will inevitably get overtakn at some point on a track day. Now this is no reflection on your driving ability at all. It's just a fact of life that smoeone will always be there thats either a better driver in a similar car or someone in a much faster vehicle. Perhaps even a race driver in a race prepped car.

All you can do is be prepared for it by noticing them in the paddock before the event. Along with the occasional glance in the rear mirror when on the straights. Stick to the racing line and they'll go around you. If you move off the racing line they will not be expecting this and will likely result in an accident. ( However accidents on track days are RARE ! )

There is always going to be the risk of a complete novice in a £200 track hack that will be sliding everywhere etc however just spot them early and you'll be fine to steer clear of them. There is plenty of companies that offer track cover included in normal insurance.. I used Competition Car Insurance and also Lloyd and Whyte who are both great and offer 5 track days included in the insurance premium. All insurance is for YOUR OWN CAR ONLY !. If you crash into someone else.. It's their own problem to resolve. However an apology is always a good idea. ( Some people even offer a token guesture in these cases to diffuse a situation £50 / £100 )

Best advise.. dont worry about what might happen.. Just go enjoy yourself.

Very helpful, thank you.

Just my view, and I'm in no way legally qualified, but I would worry that a court may view a £50-100 token gesture as admitting liability if the other party decided to go to court later on. I wouldn't let the remote possibility of contact put you off trackdays at all though. I've been to has had the "you are responsible for rectifying damage to your car" bit spelt out clearly at every trackday I've been to. Everyone there knows the rules and no one really wants to crash, solo or in(to) company!

[Steve Campbell]

Advice from me, leave your ego in the paddock. It's supposed to be fun. You will be overtaken.

I did a monsoon like day at Anglesey and was overtaken by a bog standard Fiat 500. I drive a Caterham R400 LOL. It doesn't cope well with standing water. I just laughed and waved him through.

[AdiT]

moktabe said:

mark284811 said:

You will inevitably get overtakn at some point on a track day. Now this is no reflection on your driving ability at all. It's just a fact of life that smoeone will always be there thats either a better driver in a similar car or someone in a much faster vehicle. Perhaps even a race driver in a race prepped car.

All you can do is be prepared for it by noticing them in the paddock before the event. Along with the occasional glance in the rear mirror when on the straights. Stick to the racing line and they'll go around you. If you move off the racing line they will not be expecting this and will likely result in an accident. ( However accidents on track days are RARE ! )

There is always going to be the risk of a complete novice in a £200 track hack that will be sliding everywhere etc however just spot them early and you'll be fine to steer clear of them. There is plenty of companies that offer track cover included in normal insurance.. I used Competition Car Insurance and also Lloyd and Whyte who are both great and offer 5 track days included in the insurance premium. All insurance is for YOUR OWN CAR ONLY !. If you crash into someone else.. It's their own problem to resolve. However an apology is always a good idea. ( Some people even offer a token guesture in these cases to diffuse a situation £50 / £100 )

Best advise.. dont worry about what might happen.. Just go enjoy yourself.

Very helpful, thank you.

Ignore his middle para'. With a few exceptions (RMA for instance) the rules for overtaking will be explained in the briefing. The rules are designed to make car to car contact highly unlikely.

Generally they are...
1. Overtaking only on the straights (so no diving up the inside into the corners)
2. Overtaking on one side only (usually the outside of the circuit, so on the left on most tracks)
3. Overtaking only by consent of the leading car ie. they indicate and move over (to the right on clockwise tracks)
4. Cars being overtaken lift. (so you don't give consent then try and out drag them into the braking zone)
5. Watch your mirrors and let slower cars through. (if a car is behind you, then its most probably faster overall even if you are quicker down the straights)

Leave your ego in the pits, pay attention in the briefing, keep your eyes open, take breaks, get some instruction, miss the mad 1/2hr when the track first opens, blag some rides (most fun will be whatever was the most unlikely thing that overtook you), enjoy.

[Bokers]

moktabe said:

Thanks for the advice guys, more than welcome.

Might be an idea to get myself a crash hat, turn up at the odd track day (Donington is on my doorstep) and cadge one or two PAX rides.

Can see how things work then and go from there.

Hello! If you're the same forum named, ex MINI owner I think, then hi pal!
You're always welcome to jump in mine with me if you're ever down to the south east side :-)

As all have echo'd but to be clear...

You'll be full briefed about the days flags, rules, expectations, do's and don'ts before you've even got your helmet on.
TRACK days are not RACE days. There is no racing, no side by side cornering, no overtaking without consent (usually on the left only) and for the person overtaking it is generally considered polite / good etiquette to put your hand up for a thank you too.
Open pit lane is desirable as you can wait for a lull in numbers and rest whenever you need to.
Leave your ego in the pits.

Most importantly though.
Keep yourself hydrated.
Enjoy it.

Finding an organiser that is good and enforces the rules while being fair is useful. Personally OpenTrack and Javelin have been good for me.

[Bokers]

C70R said:

Probably not great advice for a novice, to be fair. As someone coming to trackdays recently, the 'only on the left and on straights' rule provides good structure to make sure everyone is on the same page.

In a funny turn of juxtaposition, it's not always 'fast' cars that get stuck behind. The 206 GTi I share had a couple of very frustrating laps at Woodbridge on Saturday (see my thread for a full write-up), following an Elise who tiptoed around drying corners (while we were able to push quite hard), and then accelerated on the straights. Overall it was only a brief/minor blot on an excellent day. As a bonus, he had a rear-mounted GoPro, so we might actually get some decent footage of ourselves...

I went to Woodbridge recently too, first time there and I was passenger-ing in my friends standard TT. Good track, lots of run off and people behaving well, moving over etc. Cooking the four wheel drive system for a bit was a highlight haha.

[moktabe]

Bokers said:

Hello! If you're the same forum named, ex MINI owner I think, then hi pal!

Guilty as charged on that one :-)

How's you?

[Bokers]

moktabe said:

Guilty as charged on that one :-)

How's you?

Bingo! Good thanks bud and yourself? Get the CSL out on the track, you'll love it :-)

[JoeMarano]

That bit about avoiding the mad first half hour is spot on imo

[Steve H]

I think that's changed, so many people deliberately don't hurry to get out on track that the start of the day can sometimes give some of the clearest laps.

[SonicShadow]

I usually wait and watch for a bit, in my experience the track day heroes like to go out early... Make a mental note of who to avoid!

[james_gt3rs]

Steve H said:

I think that's changed, so many people deliberately don't hurry to get out on track that the start of the day can sometimes give some of the clearest laps.

Quite a few times I've been out in first session and not seen another car for 5 laps.

[AdiT]

james_gt3rs said:

Quite a few times I've been out in first session and not seen another car for 5 laps.

Actually (given it was me that said it) Steve is right on an increasing number of occasions. I guess what I do now is, be ready to go when the track opens if there isn't a rush but remain happy to wait if it is. You can often tell which way it's going to go at the briefing.

[JoeMarano]

This happened on Thursday. (Skip to 4 mins in)

https://youtu.be/HbwtIqq8Sfo

Glad I did what I did am I the only one that thought the evo was a bit aggressive? It was my line imo

[CABC]

JoeMarano said:

This happened on Thursday. (Skip to 4 mins in)

https://youtu.be/HbwtIqq8Sfo

Glad I did what I did am I the only one that thought the evo was a bit aggressive? It was my line imo

Your line, then two went through...
Always a problem after a fast straight, big bhp, big ego and little talent. They fail to realise that a slow car on the straight may actually brake later and actually go round the corner faster

[JoeMarano]

I was very tempted to do a blocking move as I knew I would brake later and probably be faster the next two corners but it's the chance that they then end up rear ending you or worse.

I can see it from their view but just one of those things where I had to swallow my pride or possibly face a nice big bill!

[DocJock]

I don't know Snetterton well enough to know the braking points, but did you brake early to let him through?

Always best to get people who will flout the overtaking rules in front of you asap, especially if they are in a faster car. You did the right thing imo.

[JoeMarano]

I was sort of looking in my rear view to see how it was going to pan out so yes I braked early a bit I think. I'm fairly confident that if I had a diff, track focussed tyres and some decent pads I could have kept them behind me longer

[SonicShadow]

Snetterton mark suggested turn in and apex points with cones. The yellow cone at around 4m03s is the turn in there. Apex is marked with a red cone. Braking point is a fair bit before that as it's a fast straight.

Evo was naughty and fortunately the cam car saw it coming and didn't turn in.