what does "open pitlane" mean?

[matt 2LT]

basically im a complete novice and have never done a track day before, and am looking to do one in a couple of months.

so what does this actually mean, how does it work?

does it mean that when it is open, i can just go out when i like/ pit when i like? or do you still go out in groups, and have lots of waiting to get on the track.

thanks for any info on this,

matt

[matt frost]

Trackdays typically come in 2 formats...open pitlane or sessioned.

Sessioned is where they will normally split the cars into 3 groups and you have 20 minutes every hour and will go out at the same time each hour for only 20 minutes, then the other 2 sessions run. i.e if you are in the first session you go out at 9-9.20, 10-10.20 etc etc.

Open pitlane means you can come and go as you please in and out as many times as you want and for as long and short as you want.

Simple answer, its much better

[matt 2LT]

ahh i thought that's what it meant.

i was looking at castle combe, and on there website its £170, but it doesn't say open pitlane, so im guessing that its sessioned.

but on a differen't website, its got a castle combe open pitlane for £200.

so i think it would be well worth the extra £30 to go with the other website, and get open pitlane.

[LordGrover]

If you've not done it before, 20 minutes per hour is very hard on both you and the car so it's not as bad as you may think... Brakes cook really quickly and engine temps rise similarly when driven at full tilt.

[fivesixseven8]

LordGrover said:

If you've not done it before, 20 minutes per hour is very hard on both you and the car so it's not as bad as you may think... Brakes cook really quickly and engine temps rise similarly when driven at full tilt.

Even on open pitlane days I only tend to do 20-30 minute sessions then come in for a cool down. Tyres and brakes will need a rest long before the 30 minutes though!

[silverthorn2151]

We don't like the sessioned days, but that's partly because there are 3 of us driving the same car. We find that we don't do long sessions though and let the car rest in between. Open pit lane allows us to do that as and when we please.

Running in sessions does, IMHO mean that there is a bit more frantic activity to get the most from your day by some participants. Our plicy on open pit lane days is to ignore the first hour or so anyway. You'd be suprised how many cars are overcooked or broken in that time.

Beware Goodwood though, fabulous circuit to drive, but even open pit lane there means no more than 5 cars on the circuit at one time.

I think it would be worth the extra £30 at Coombe. Everyone was a novice at some time. Go, drive within yourself and your car, watch your mirrors and you'll have a great day.

[NeilC]

Sessioned days do have the advantage that the cars can be split up into different experience levels though (ie novice/intermediate/advanced). This means that there is less of a speed differential making it safer.
Also you can normally fit more cars on the day making it slightly cheaper but that's neither here nor there.

[speedychrissie]

the answer has been given above but I just want to add that if the day is busy you may still have to queue even if it is open pit lane. The organisers are only allowed to have a certain number of cars on track at once so if the track is "full", you need to wait for someone to come in before you can go out.

Personally I much prefer open pit lane as there is no time pressure and I am happy doing shorter sessions (ie about 15 minutes) and then coming in rather than feeling I have to stay out for hte full 20 minutes. If two people are driving the same car it definitely works a lot better too.

[RatBoy M3CS]

For a total novice i would suggest a sessioned day is the way forward..
In the novice group..

When your on it. it can be a bit frustrating getting held up in the slower traffic...

[MK INDY]

Another problem with sessioned events is,say there 7 hours of track time,so your out for 20 minutes each hour thats 7 20minute sessions,if someone breaks down,or puts oil on the track or has an off,and they close the track,you loose your session,so it can realy eats into your track time,if that happens,and it could happen more than once,and more so if your in a novice group.

[PhillipM]

That and if you sit down for some dinner or need to go for a piss you might well loose out on your session.

Open pitlane days are far less frentic IMO.

[_Neal_]

I did a sessioned novice day as my first track day and it was excellent. Well-organised and decently-matched standard of driving, no track closures.

Bear in mind there's 40 minutes between your sessions, so if you want to go to the loo/have some food just go straight after your session and you won't miss out. I found that novice sessioned days tend to be substantially cheaper than open pit lane days.

My novice day was with MSV at Brands Hatch. Get some instruction in your first session too, that'll set you up well for the day.

Edited by _Neal_ on Friday 26th June 14:43