Sprinting vs Trackdays
Discussion
Some of the seven guys may weigh in but I think an incident at Goodwood recently illustrates that sprinting can be a shade more dangerous especially in bad weather - cold tyres and timing play their part
Having had a stab at hill climbing I'd agree on the hanging around with little action but it appeals to some - I have a mate who loves it
Having had a stab at hill climbing I'd agree on the hanging around with little action but it appeals to some - I have a mate who loves it
Sprinting is probably the cheapest level of competition in motorsport but you are comparing probably just three of four runs a day against open pitlanes and normal mileages of 150+ so it depends on what you are looking for.
Try asking the same question in the motorsport section and see if they can give another slant..........
Try asking the same question in the motorsport section and see if they can give another slant..........
You don't get much seat time with sprints (or hills) but the competitive nature is a buzz, especially if the times are tight. As you have the track to yourself you can concentrate on lines etc and getting faster.
The problem with trackdays is the other drivers, I nearly was wiped out by a loon, if you go I'd suggest a club organised event to avoid the idiots.
Both have their merits, don't forget that sprints have tighter safety regulations so you will need to buy some kit beforehand (and apply for a licence etc).
At one time I used to do a lot of track days. Got a bit bored with them and wanted a bit of competition so started sprints and hill climbing. Tried it for 12 months but it was a lot of standing around for 4 one minute runs. Got fed up with that. Then decided to go circuit racing and haven't looked back 
NTEL said:
At one time I used to do a lot of track days. Got a bit bored with them and wanted a bit of competition so started sprints and hill climbing. Tried it for 12 months but it was a lot of standing around for 4 one minute runs. Got fed up with that. Then decided to go circuit racing and haven't looked back
Pretty much what my dad says... I went straight in to circuit racing. Wouldn't rule out giving hillclimbs/sprints a go though.HustleRussell said:
NTEL said:
At one time I used to do a lot of track days. Got a bit bored with them and wanted a bit of competition so started sprints and hill climbing. Tried it for 12 months but it was a lot of standing around for 4 one minute runs. Got fed up with that. Then decided to go circuit racing and haven't looked back
Pretty much what my dad says... I went straight in to circuit racing. Wouldn't rule out giving hillclimbs/sprints a go though.
)I am taking part in the Lotus 7 club sprint championship, and was actually there last week at Goodwood, which was abviously a very sad day.
I will be taking part in a few more sprints, and am considering getting a hans device. I was lucky in the respect that my helmet has the hans posts (I got a good deal on it). I'll likely do the ones more local to me where I don't have to stay over the night before (curborough and shelsley walsh), as I did not enjoy camping. Regardles of the weather, I didn't sleep well, and so was very tired the next morning. May look at b&b's for far flung events mind.
I've also done many track days, and so wondered how others with the same experience felt. The jury is out for me at the moment.
I will be taking part in a few more sprints, and am considering getting a hans device. I was lucky in the respect that my helmet has the hans posts (I got a good deal on it). I'll likely do the ones more local to me where I don't have to stay over the night before (curborough and shelsley walsh), as I did not enjoy camping. Regardles of the weather, I didn't sleep well, and so was very tired the next morning. May look at b&b's for far flung events mind.
I've also done many track days, and so wondered how others with the same experience felt. The jury is out for me at the moment.
CraigyB,
I purchased my 7 in 1999 and started doing trackdays in 2002 upto the point when I started sprinting with the L7C club in 2009. I felt that I'd taken trackdays as far as I could go and needed a new challenge. After upgrading my engine over the winter I did a trackday at Snetterton (as 'practice for' Goodwood) on 1 April and although it was good to give the car a shakedown I found that after 3 years of sprinting the whole experience was rather underwhelming.
Another of my reasons for change was that of overall cost, as opposed to costs per mile, trackdays are generally more expensive than sprints plus the additional cost of petrol and wear and tear (tyres especially) for 150 miles etc IYSWIM. Fortunately I don't mind camping at the circuits, after all, after spending a night at Everest Base Camp anything this country can throw at me seems pretty mild!
Any form of driving is as dangerous as you make it, it would be fair to say that I have experienced far more scary moments on the road because of other drivers' poor driving, especially when touring in Europe, than I have on track.
Of course, everything we do is down to personal choice and as we see from this thread already there are different opinions. If you're going to Curborough next week please come and say hello for a chat. Despite the tragic events of Goodwood I won't be giving up sprinting.
RIP Sandra.
I purchased my 7 in 1999 and started doing trackdays in 2002 upto the point when I started sprinting with the L7C club in 2009. I felt that I'd taken trackdays as far as I could go and needed a new challenge. After upgrading my engine over the winter I did a trackday at Snetterton (as 'practice for' Goodwood) on 1 April and although it was good to give the car a shakedown I found that after 3 years of sprinting the whole experience was rather underwhelming.
Another of my reasons for change was that of overall cost, as opposed to costs per mile, trackdays are generally more expensive than sprints plus the additional cost of petrol and wear and tear (tyres especially) for 150 miles etc IYSWIM. Fortunately I don't mind camping at the circuits, after all, after spending a night at Everest Base Camp anything this country can throw at me seems pretty mild!
Any form of driving is as dangerous as you make it, it would be fair to say that I have experienced far more scary moments on the road because of other drivers' poor driving, especially when touring in Europe, than I have on track.
Of course, everything we do is down to personal choice and as we see from this thread already there are different opinions. If you're going to Curborough next week please come and say hello for a chat. Despite the tragic events of Goodwood I won't be giving up sprinting.
RIP Sandra.
I used to do a few trackdays some years back. I got into sprinting at the end of 2009, running in the standard production classes. For me the main advantages are:
1) Cheap
2) Proper competition
3) Events nearby (there are 8 rounds of the AEMC Sprint Championship within 30 mins of my house...) so no overnighting, etc.
4) Good camaraderie at the production end of the field
I did a shakedown of this year's car (Citroen Saxo) at a Rockingham trackday earlier in the year, and whilst it was OK it was a bit boring. You can see if you can keep up with a faster car, you can try to catch up with another car, but ultimately it's just going round and round.
The cost per minute of track time is poor for sprinting, that's true. I guess if I could afford to go circuit racing I would, but then there's the issue of trailers, travelling all over the country, etc. The other problem is that the cost of the gear (helmet to correct standards, race suit, gloves, etc.) is a bit of a barrier to entry. If you want to give some competition a go, you could always try Clubmans Autosolo for which I don't think you even need a helmet, just tape a couple of paper numbers in the rear windows and go.
1) Cheap
2) Proper competition
3) Events nearby (there are 8 rounds of the AEMC Sprint Championship within 30 mins of my house...) so no overnighting, etc.
4) Good camaraderie at the production end of the field
I did a shakedown of this year's car (Citroen Saxo) at a Rockingham trackday earlier in the year, and whilst it was OK it was a bit boring. You can see if you can keep up with a faster car, you can try to catch up with another car, but ultimately it's just going round and round.
The cost per minute of track time is poor for sprinting, that's true. I guess if I could afford to go circuit racing I would, but then there's the issue of trailers, travelling all over the country, etc. The other problem is that the cost of the gear (helmet to correct standards, race suit, gloves, etc.) is a bit of a barrier to entry. If you want to give some competition a go, you could always try Clubmans Autosolo for which I don't think you even need a helmet, just tape a couple of paper numbers in the rear windows and go.
Ive done about 60 trackdays in my time and did my first sprint (excluding an MsV How Fast day last year) the other week.
I think it's fair to say I really enjoy trackdays and love them for the fun and the people, I go with and the chance to drive my car as fast as I dare.
Next logical step would have been racing but can't afford it so as I seemed to be missing the extra spice of competition (which I realised in the MSV How Fast event) I thought I'd go to a couple which I did last year nd then this year try a few for myself.
Positives are that typically your club is local and your sprints are regional at worse, down the road at best. Easy to get a licence and very little modification needed for a road legal car (tow hook and timing strutt) and then regulation helmet, suit and gloves. Cost for the day is around £60-100 and fuel and brake wear and tear are negligible. Couple of number stickers and to join the club an series say £60-150. I can't say yet that there is great camaraderie but certainly friendly and welcoming. My day at trackside was 8am to 3.30pm and we did 2 practice and 3 timed runs of about 2km.
Negatives are that there is a bit of sitting around. Normally about 45 minutes between runs so in real terms 30 minutes x 4 of sitting and 15 mins of queuing. It's certainly a bit lonely and tbh if I continue doing it I would prefer to have one or two mates there with me.
You certainly do get a big buzz Witt he competition element of the timed runs. A bit of adrenaline and you know you have to nail it each time, no warm up which helps me as a typically slow starter, improve my driving by getting on the pace very quickly.
First time out I got a POT for 3rd in class beating a 997GT3RSgen2 who was an old pro but loosing to a V8 TR8
Next time the course is a it more flowing and not stop start so hopefully suit the CSL a bit better.
I think it's fair to say I really enjoy trackdays and love them for the fun and the people, I go with and the chance to drive my car as fast as I dare.
Next logical step would have been racing but can't afford it so as I seemed to be missing the extra spice of competition (which I realised in the MSV How Fast event) I thought I'd go to a couple which I did last year nd then this year try a few for myself.
Positives are that typically your club is local and your sprints are regional at worse, down the road at best. Easy to get a licence and very little modification needed for a road legal car (tow hook and timing strutt) and then regulation helmet, suit and gloves. Cost for the day is around £60-100 and fuel and brake wear and tear are negligible. Couple of number stickers and to join the club an series say £60-150. I can't say yet that there is great camaraderie but certainly friendly and welcoming. My day at trackside was 8am to 3.30pm and we did 2 practice and 3 timed runs of about 2km.
Negatives are that there is a bit of sitting around. Normally about 45 minutes between runs so in real terms 30 minutes x 4 of sitting and 15 mins of queuing. It's certainly a bit lonely and tbh if I continue doing it I would prefer to have one or two mates there with me.
You certainly do get a big buzz Witt he competition element of the timed runs. A bit of adrenaline and you know you have to nail it each time, no warm up which helps me as a typically slow starter, improve my driving by getting on the pace very quickly.
First time out I got a POT for 3rd in class beating a 997GT3RSgen2 who was an old pro but loosing to a V8 TR8
Next time the course is a it more flowing and not stop start so hopefully suit the CSL a bit better.
shim said:
First time out I got a POT for 3rd in class beating a 997GT3RSgen2 who was an old pro but loosing to a V8 TR8
Next time the course is a it more flowing and not stop start so hopefully suit the CSL a bit better.
I think I may be doing the same events as you, and furthermore I think it may be you in my video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...Next time the course is a it more flowing and not stop start so hopefully suit the CSL a bit better.
I used to be in that class (BMW Z4M Coupe) but decided there was no hope with 2x GT3 RS in the class. Ran a Mk2 MR2 for two years in class A2, now in class A1 in a green Saxo. Think I may have walked round some of the NW course with you...
carl_w said:
I think I may be doing the same events as you, and furthermore I think it may be you in my video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
I used to be in that class (BMW Z4M Coupe) but decided there was no hope with 2x GT3 RS in the class. Ran a Mk2 MR2 for two years in class A2, now in class A1 in a green Saxo. Think I may have walked round some of the NW course with you...
You did, and I managed to miss hitting the gate I used to be in that class (BMW Z4M Coupe) but decided there was no hope with 2x GT3 RS in the class. Ran a Mk2 MR2 for two years in class A2, now in class A1 in a green Saxo. Think I may have walked round some of the NW course with you...
He GT3 in my class seems untouchable but I think at the more flowing circuit I may be able to reduce the gap, maybe put on some pressure
shim said:
You did, and I managed to miss hitting the gate
LOL, I collected cones there in 2 of my timed runs.shim said:
He GT3 in my class seems untouchable but I think at the more flowing circuit I may be able to reduce the gap, maybe put on some pressure
That GT3 is *very* light, I believe there's little of it that isn't carbon fibre. I can't help thinking though that an ///M of your sort or mine could be a force to be reckoned with with a supercharger and some uprated suspension and brakes. I was half-tempted to chop mine in for a Noble M12 and run it in that class, but I think it wouldn't make a great road car. I've seen a couple of sub-£50k GT2s, but it's a lot of cash to win some plastic pots...carl_w said:
That GT3 is *very* light, I believe there's little of it that isn't carbon fibre. I can't help thinking though that an ///M of your sort or mine could be a force to be reckoned with with a supercharger and some uprated suspension and brakes. I was half-tempted to chop mine in for a Noble M12 and run it in that class, but I think it wouldn't make a great road car. I've seen a couple of sub-£50k GT2s, but it's a lot of cash to win some plastic pots...
Yep it's certainly lookin on the money. And loads of experience which is also very useful. I reckon I loose a second on the start every time alone!I agree ££ are not the answer, changing class is a good idea to take the ££ out of it, but I'm happy to compete at the moment and try to take up the slack in time.
shim said:
Yep it's certainly lookin on the money. And loads of experience which is also very useful. I reckon I loose a second on the start every time alone!
There was a guy in a CSL last year who used to run with the TCS/DSC/whatever in its intermediate setting. I kept telling him to turn it off completely, as my Z4 only has "on" and "off", and it's a different car once you start sliding it around. Have you tried that?carl_w said:
There was a guy in a CSL last year who used to run with the TCS/DSC/whatever in its intermediate setting. I kept telling him to turn it off completely, as my Z4 only has "on" and "off", and it's a different car once you start sliding it around. Have you tried that?
Mine was off. Just too much wheel spin compared to the rear engined GT3. They always get better slow speed and set off traction! My boot is full of air nd his is full of steelGassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff