Why £10 for passengers at trackdays?
Discussion
Perhaps I am being a little nieve, but why do you have to pay £10 for each passenger in your car. I think its really distgusting that you pay £200 for a trackday, and then you get charged more, to let someone sit in a passenger seat. We pay for the fuel, and all costs associated with having that person in the car not the trackday company. In the event of an incident, yes two people is trickier than one.
But why on earth, if I want to do 7 laps each, with 5 different people, do i need to pay another £50. Maybe if you had one person all day, they could add a tenner, but come on...
I'm not sure I see where the cost to the trackday organiser is.
Lets face it, it gives you the incentive to cheat, and do the old swap wristbands, (I am not condoning this!!!)
Bit of a rant, but it irritates me. Im sure someone will have a perfectly logical answer now and make me look like a prat...
But why on earth, if I want to do 7 laps each, with 5 different people, do i need to pay another £50. Maybe if you had one person all day, they could add a tenner, but come on...
I'm not sure I see where the cost to the trackday organiser is.
Lets face it, it gives you the incentive to cheat, and do the old swap wristbands, (I am not condoning this!!!)
Bit of a rant, but it irritates me. Im sure someone will have a perfectly logical answer now and make me look like a prat...
elderly said:
Not really on topic but what really annoys me is paying quite a lot extra
for a second driver at a SESSIONED Track Day.
You are not alone in that one, & yes the extra for passengers has always annoyed me greatly too, thus unless there is no other option I tend to avoid doing a day where you have to do either.
>> Edited by iguana on Thursday 16th March 18:58
JonRB said:I don't think so .... there's an annual specialist car supplier's track day at a well known circuit that I go to which does not charge
Is it an insurance thing? £10 for the passenger to be covered on their policy or something?
for pasengers, but they still have to sign a waiver and wear a wristband.
Guys
I think it's down to greed by the organisers, particularly where the day is already fully booked. If it's not fully booked then I can see them trying to recoup some lost income through charging for extra drivers.
BTW not all trackday organisers levy the charge, but increasingly they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.
>> Edited by paulburrell on Friday 17th March 10:10
I think it's down to greed by the organisers, particularly where the day is already fully booked. If it's not fully booked then I can see them trying to recoup some lost income through charging for extra drivers.
BTW not all trackday organisers levy the charge, but increasingly they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.
>> Edited by paulburrell on Friday 17th March 10:10
BookaTrack don't charge for spectators, passengers or second drivers - bring along as many passengers as you like.
>> Edited by jeremyc on Friday 17th March 10:14
>> Edited by jeremyc on Friday 17th March 10:14
Having run track days for a good number of years, I can confirm that it certainly isnt the insurance.
The margins are very tight when it comes to making a profit. Weather and choice of venue are a major factor, especially as the Brands circuits took a major hike! Personally I think it is disgusting that these guys are allowed to charge as much as they do.
So with that in mind they look to increase their profits hence the charging for additional passengers. I followed a very similar vein to BAT and only charged for the car, but then others maybe need to pay for that extra villa in Spain!
The margins are very tight when it comes to making a profit. Weather and choice of venue are a major factor, especially as the Brands circuits took a major hike! Personally I think it is disgusting that these guys are allowed to charge as much as they do.
So with that in mind they look to increase their profits hence the charging for additional passengers. I followed a very similar vein to BAT and only charged for the car, but then others maybe need to pay for that extra villa in Spain!
AtomicRex said:It's a free market, they should be free to charge what the market will bear. The 'problem' is that the same group own so many venues that they effectively have a monopoly. I guess it's very difficult for anyone to compete against that, and going to get harder as the NIMBYs put more and more restrictions on this sort of event.
Personally I think it is disgusting that these guys are allowed to charge as much as they do.
GreenV8S said:
Personally I think it is disgusting that these guys are allowed to charge as much as they do.
This is very true, but we don’t help by allowing the said owners to raise the prices through still turning up to the trackdays. I’m not sure what the prices are now, but it used to be cheaper to rent the Nurburgring with marshals, and that is the North loop and the GP circuit than it is to rent Brands.
The councils don’t help the matter with their restrictions because someone near the circuit complains, yet most of the circuits were there before them, so they could hardly say they didn’t know. Goodwood and Castle Combe have really suffered from this!
So yes it is a free market, but rather than accept the increase in prices why don’t the trackday companies and the racing clubs refuse to pay? How can the circuits justify the increases?
The supermarkets haven’t pandered to the whims of others, they dictate the market place. That way there is a freedom of choice, so if one company wants to add £10 for a passenger go with the one that doesn’t.
Hold on .. if you take an extra driver then *you* shouldn't be paying the extra .. the second driver should, so no extra cost to yourself.
Similarly with a passenger .. if they want to go round in your car then *they* should pay the extra tenner not you! Or are you all extra charitable people paying for everything yourself? lol.
For sure I too moan about the rising costs of track days .. the track costs, the higher and higher fuel costs, etc etc But I'll still continue to go .. I might be more selective over which venues I drive and do fewer track days a year (last year I did 25 I think) .. but tend to stick to cheaper airfield days with cheaper end organisers. Motorsport-events are one of the best out there I've found (but then I loved Track Action and they no longer exist
)
IOt would be a shame if track days became so expensive that only people pottering around in polished F40s could afford them .. street racing might make a return and that would be a sad day. In fact I think track days shoud be government subsidised .. make it so attractive to do a track day that racing on the street would be a thing of the past. If a track day was 20 quid the country would be a safer place?
>> Edited by trackcar on Saturday 18th March 08:36
Similarly with a passenger .. if they want to go round in your car then *they* should pay the extra tenner not you! Or are you all extra charitable people paying for everything yourself? lol.
For sure I too moan about the rising costs of track days .. the track costs, the higher and higher fuel costs, etc etc But I'll still continue to go .. I might be more selective over which venues I drive and do fewer track days a year (last year I did 25 I think) .. but tend to stick to cheaper airfield days with cheaper end organisers. Motorsport-events are one of the best out there I've found (but then I loved Track Action and they no longer exist
) IOt would be a shame if track days became so expensive that only people pottering around in polished F40s could afford them .. street racing might make a return and that would be a sad day. In fact I think track days shoud be government subsidised .. make it so attractive to do a track day that racing on the street would be a thing of the past. If a track day was 20 quid the country would be a safer place?
>> Edited by trackcar on Saturday 18th March 08:36
trackcar said:
but tend to stick to cheaper airfield days with cheaper end organisers.
If a track day was 20 quid the country would be a safer place?
Airfield days tend to have a LOT of gravel dotted around - much more risk of stonechips. Plus the surface-changes at some airfields can throw a car off-balance if already near the limit.
To your second point - I would say 'no', because you'd have a load of chav's going in their Saxo's. They'd hoon around there (probably stuff their car up and spoil the day for everyone else), pay little attention to the rules (and spoil the day for everyone else), then if by some miracle they got back on the roads at the end, they'd drive the same on-road, as they'd think they REALLY WERE M. Schumacher!
I'm not saying make them elitist, by any means. But having experienced the cheap-end and the pricier-end, I'd rather pay more and get a better-organised day with fewer cars on-track.
trackcar said:I was talking about SESSIONED Track Days.
Hold on .. if you take an extra driver then *you* shouldn't be paying the extra .. the second driver should, so no extra cost to yourself.
......... Or are you all extra charitable people paying for everything yourself? lol.
As it happens I pay for my son as a second driver but that's no big deal.
But our individual track time is cut in half, and combined we pay the TDO extra!
I have NO objection for a reasonable extra driver charge (whoever pays) at an open pit lane event.
>> Edited by elderly on Saturday 18th March 09:54
atomicrex said:
So yes it is a free market, but rather than accept the increase in prices why don’t the trackday companies and the racing clubs refuse to pay? How can the circuits justify the increases?
The circuit organisers charge as much as they do because the track day companies are willing to pay. The track day companies pay because their punters are willing to pay. If you aren't willing to pay, then don't go. If enough people agree with you then track days will either get cheaper, or cease altogether. That's how the free market works.
GreenV8S said:
So yes it is a free market, but rather than accept the increase in prices why don’t the trackday companies and the racing clubs refuse to pay? How can the circuits justify the increases?
The circuit organisers charge as much as they do because the track day companies are willing to pay. The track day companies pay because their punters are willing to pay. If you aren't willing to pay, then don't go. If enough people agree with you then track days will either get cheaper, or cease altogether. That's how the free market works.
I think this is why the ATDO was set up, I joined for a year at some stupid sum, and gained nothing from it! In fact I still to this day dont know why it is there, it does nothing other than get rich!
It is a free market, but one where the little person, like us get dumped on from a high height!!
If your loyal to your track day organisers then you will be treated and charged fairly.
I track with Goldtrack and Merlindi has always been "fair". I suppose you get what you pay for, Silverstone on Thursday was a very well run day lots of track space educated drivers who adhere to the rules and now that Mannings insure you on Goldtrack days i think its good value for money. Also if you attend the noisey days you get some quite exotic cars tracking. Thursday at silverstone there was a DB5 and a Porche Carrea GT, 360's Austin Healy 3000 plus the usuals. The day with wear and tear costs £500.00 for 4 1/2 hous track time i dont think thats bad.
I track with Goldtrack and Merlindi has always been "fair". I suppose you get what you pay for, Silverstone on Thursday was a very well run day lots of track space educated drivers who adhere to the rules and now that Mannings insure you on Goldtrack days i think its good value for money. Also if you attend the noisey days you get some quite exotic cars tracking. Thursday at silverstone there was a DB5 and a Porche Carrea GT, 360's Austin Healy 3000 plus the usuals. The day with wear and tear costs £500.00 for 4 1/2 hous track time i dont think thats bad.
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