Bedford Autodrome - non-corporate days?

Bedford Autodrome - non-corporate days?

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Discussion

garycat

Original Poster:

4,382 posts

209 months

Sunday 17th May 2015
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I'll soon be 50 years young and to celebrate the milestone I'd like to do one of the Bedford trackdays where you drive lots of different cars, but the only events I've seen are corporate days for many attendees. Is it possible to go as a single person and if so what is the best value option (I know it will be expensive)

upsidedownmark

2,120 posts

134 months

Monday 18th May 2015
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Yes, look at the website and book.

IMHO the evening with the two racecars and an atom (and karts) is/was the best bang for buck.

QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
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An alternative is to go with someone like Book-a-track and hire a Caterham for the day.
Looks expensive at first sight, but shared with a friend (to halve the cost each) you will get plenty of track time in a car made for the track.
They deliver the car to the track, give instruction, provide fuel, the track booking, and the mechanical repairs are their problem.
The advantage of just driving the one car is that you have much more time to get used to the car and enjoy it.
My wife offered me a supercar driving experience for my birthday - I chose a morning in a Lotus Exige over a few laps in Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

Track days are not cheap.

A full day at Bedford for me in my own track prepared car costs £159 to enter, I do 8mpg on track, will cover say 160-180 miles on the day, so that's £120 of fuel, then I have track insurance, tyres at £500-800 a set that do 6-8 track days, so £100 worth of rubber, oil, servicing, upgrading etc etc. I reckon a full day's track day costs me £300-500, and I drive for around 3-4 hours in that time. Share a car and you will drive around three hours each (and passenger with each other too), and come away with a grin on your face and totally knackered. Remember, that's three hours totally flat out. Last time at Bedford I did 185 miles on track and had to stop three times on the way home to wake myself up!

McSam

6,753 posts

174 months

Tuesday 19th May 2015
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QBee, rather than track days, I think we're talking about the Palmersport event. In which case, go for it, it's absolutely superb. I could write for a long time and not quite do it justice, and I've tried a lot of driving events as well as doing track days and sprints myself. There are plenty of "shared" days which are for individuals rather than corporate bookings, and you'll just get put in a team of likeminded individuals.

There's a group of PHers who go in August every year, if that might be the right sort of time for you.

Humour

297 posts

150 months

Wednesday 20th May 2015
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QBee said:
Share a car and you will drive around three hours each (and passenger with each other too), and come away with a grin on your face and totally knackered. Remember, that's three hours totally flat out. Last time at Bedford I did 185 miles on track and had to stop three times on the way home to wake myself up!
He isn't lying on that one lol. Unless extremely fit, you will tire. We did close to 300 miles in one day on Bedford GT in March in our track car and burned through 2 full 80 litre tanks. Two drivers sharing the driver's seat in turn, each of us did 4 x 45 minute sessions in one day. I can tell you from experience after 45 minutes you get slower not quicker lol and the drive home required a coffee hit at the nearest service station.

Palmer events are a hoot. I did a corporate day out but was lucky enough not to have to pay. Highly recommended if affordable for individuals.

Humour

garycat

Original Poster:

4,382 posts

209 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
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McSam said:
There's a group of PHers who go in August every year, if that might be the right sort of time for you.
Yes I've been contacted by one of them and hopefully I'll be joining them this year, hopefully not to be too much of a mobile chicane.


Edited by garycat on Thursday 21st May 15:55

McSam

6,753 posts

174 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
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Perfect! I'm not going to be joining them this year, running my own track car now but did three years in a row and loved it more every time. It's a great group, and they have lots of experience to share and help you make the most of the day smile enjoy.