Timing on a trackday

Timing on a trackday

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Discussion

theboyfold

Original Poster:

10,921 posts

227 months

Monday 27th February 2006
quotequote all
Couple of questions for the gathered masses this evening:

1: If you could pay to time your car round the track, by getting a transponder put into the car and then getting lap times, sector times and speed traps, would you be interested?

2: How much do you think would be a fair price to pay?

3: And how would you want this data, would a print out once you are back into the pits be enough?

4: As you are being timed does this change the terms of the trackday organisers insurance? because on the MSV trakcdays I've been on they have expressed that they should be no form of timing the laps, what so ever.

Cheers!

iguana

7,044 posts

261 months

Monday 27th February 2006
quotequote all
theboyfold said:
Couple of questions for the gathered masses this evening:

1: If you could pay to time your car round the track, by getting a transponder put into the car and then getting lap times, sector times and speed traps, would you be interested?

2: How much do you think would be a fair price to pay?

3: And how would you want this data, would a print out once you are back into the pits be enough?

4: As you are being timed does this change the terms of the trackday organisers insurance? because on the MSV trakcdays I've been on they have expressed that they should be no form of timing the laps, what so ever.

Cheers!





You can't officially time on TDs as it not only invalidates the organisers insurance but also anyone there with car insurance that excludes timing, which is pretty much all of them.

If you want to time go on test days, if you are curious about how quick you are lapping then just look at the timer on the video after the event.

GreenV8S

30,209 posts

285 months

Monday 27th February 2006
quotequote all
I can't see the market for this to be honest. Obviously the main problem is that all track days explicitly forbid anything of the sort. But even setting that aside, what would the transponder times give you that you can't get for free using an old fashioned stopwatch? If you're serious about analysing what you're doing wrong you need far more than just a lap time, but one of the most effective tools is just an in-car camera that shows how you were driving as well as the elapsed time at any point on the circuit. Given all this information available more or less free, why would anyone pay you just to be told their lap time?

stringer_m

152 posts

251 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
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theboyfold email me on max.stringer@track-club.com and I can share with you our experience of attempting to setup a very similar idea (and the pitfalls thereof!).

daydreamer

1,409 posts

258 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
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Bedford used to do something similar - having a timed trackday then publishing the results. Appears to have fallen by the wayside though

cross-eyed-twit

8,468 posts

261 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
quotequote all
interesting point that when Clarkson tested a new 911 it had a lap timer on the dash to do just that. How would insurance see this?

GreenV8S

30,209 posts

285 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
quotequote all
Bedford also used to do an unofficial sprint day didn't they, where lap day entrants were timed and there was some sort of prize? Rather surprising if that got past the MSA or the insurance bods, personally I'd hate to be on a track day where people were positively encouraged to be competitive, its bad enough with everyone being told to take it easy.

zumbruk

7,848 posts

261 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
quotequote all
GreenV8S said:
Bedford also used to do an unofficial sprint day didn't they, where lap day entrants were timed and there was some sort of prize? Rather surprising if that got past the MSA or the insurance bods, personally I'd hate to be on a track day where people were positively encouraged to be competitive, its bad enough with everyone being told to take it easy.


They do this on corporate days, not that I've ever been on one.

CombeMarshal

2,030 posts

227 months

Tuesday 28th February 2006
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As said, the organisers insurance would be void, BUT you can just video it and work out the time later!
But who really cares on the time, just have a good day!

anonymous-user

55 months

Wednesday 1st March 2006
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theboyfold said:

1: If you could pay to time your car round the track,


forgetting all the legal stuff which i'm pretty sure would stop you anyway.

1. why would i want to pay? if i wanted to i'd just use a stop watch or buy a dl90 and get full telemetry.

2. it's totally the wrong environment. very rare to get completely free laps where you dont get held up (or even letting faster cars by loses time). would lead to much frustration and aggressive overtaking.

Turby

5 posts

238 months

Thursday 2nd March 2006
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AFAIK data loggers (not integrated into dash display) are allowed as they do not provide visual feedback to the driver. You can then analyse the data afterwards.

CombeMarshal

2,030 posts

227 months

Thursday 2nd March 2006
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I'm sure any form of timing is banned, it's not to do with distraction, more to do with making you push harder