Donnington, first timer to track and track days

[m60ddy]

After reading egg chasers thread about Castle Combe I would much appreciate the same advice for donnington. I've never done a track day before so a total novice. Obviously the car will be fully checked and prepared but advice on the track would be great. I hear coppice is tricky to get right??

Many thanks

Ps anyone know where the noise monitoring microphones are?

[Terzo204]

Donny is great you will love it. The old hairpin needs respect, you always end up with a wheel on the grass.... Cranes curves are great and so is the double apex corner (cleans?).

Just build it up and get some tuition after you have done a few laps - best to know which way the track goes IMO.

The noise limits are reasonable so unless you have a very loud exhaust you should be ok. I would get your car noise tested first if you are worried.

What car is it and what engine/exhaust.

[m60ddy]

Hmm. Well it's a 4.2 V8 Cerbera with no cats and sports pipes. I know?! I'm getting some DB killers or equivalent and tested before I go.

[AdiT]

m60ddy said:

Hmm. Well it's a 4.2 V8 Cerbera with no cats and sports pipes. I know?! I'm getting some DB killers or equivalent and tested before I go.

Unless it's one of the "noisey days" you'll need to do something.

[pit5top]

Decibel devils are pretty good. You will definitely have to do something. As an aside, it's a fabulous circuit

[edh]

...I might be able to hear you from my house unless you do something about that exhaust

Donington is ace - nice & safe for a first trackday. Take car if wet as it's a very slippery track (they all are TBH) but at least there is plenty of runoff in most places. Coppice isn't a problem, lots of space through there. Craner curves is one of everyone's favourites - you'll realise why when you've been through a few times. An instructor will get you round a lap of Donington much quicker than you'll manage on your own and make you safer as well

I'd be careful exiting the esses before the start finish straight as you don't want to plant the car in the pit wall if it goes wrong..

[pikeyboy]

Actually a very technical curcuit the entry of one coner is the exit of another getting off line can seriously screw up your lap. Redgate Old hair pin and coppice most important coners to get right for a quick lap.

Get an instructor and follow the cones. Be careful on the exit of goddards many people run wide on the exit then spin and bounce off the pit wall.

[MaxFromage]

m60ddy said:

Hmm. Well it's a 4.2 V8 Cerbera with no cats and sports pipes. I know?! I'm getting some DB killers or equivalent and tested before I go.

Even after getting the dBs down, keep to the right hand side on the pit straight

[Cavey]

Yes, avoid high revs at the start of the pit straight. It's a bloody joke though - the last two times I've been there a plane from the nearby airport (East Midlands) has gone over during the part of the briefing where they're talking about noise limits and they have to stop because nobody can hear a thing!

[QBee]

Don't forget your helmet and driving licence

[upsidedownmark]

Having done a rather wet day there a couple of days back (in a very tail happy mx5) with some instruction:

Redgate - very late turn in (service road on L), late apex, try to straighten / drive off.
Hollywood - less of a corner, more of a positioning exercise - be a bit wide for
Craners (right) - wide in, try to position tight to the right coming off the apex/curb for..
Craners (left) - turn in from the far right, try to hug the left side on the way out (being a few feet right seems OK) to position for..
Old hairpin - brake in a straight line from your craner exit to the turn in point, this one is an earlier apex than you might expect as it's quite wide on the way out, not much of a hairpin, and quite fast (was regularly backing into this). No need to come all the way right afterwards, position middle of the road for
Starkeys - clip the apex/flat out, and run steadily out to the curb for
Schwantz - very late turn in/apex, again there's a service road on the right, drag it to the apex at the end of the corner on the far LHS to set up for..
McLeans - another stupidly late turn in, no good markers, more of a guesstimate. straight-ish brake from the schwantz exit and turn in later than you think sane; exit isn't well sighted from the turn in, and is much tighter than you'd think. I was aiming to apex 3/4 of the way round and still wagging the tail off..
Coppice - brake into the hill, turn in just over the brow and clip the first apex. Easy on the throttle and stay mid-road, wait for it to open up; not worth coming all the way back for the second apex, you should be on it by then. Look for the tarmac patch on the exit/off-circuit tall pole/aerial/whatever as an aiming point, and start to release the car towards that as soon as you can.
Chicaney bit - brake early, turn in late and slower than you'd think, hug the first right then release it off a lateish apex and straighten the left, getting on the power earlier for better straight line past the pits.

Rinse and repeat

[edh]

Good lap guide, although Mike Wilds says macleans isn't a late turn, nor are the esses. I was turning in too late for both of them & his (dry) lines were definitely better (not that I'm surprised - he does seem to know a thing or two)

[dapearson]

This was our race there last year, filmed from another car (my camera failed). Gives you a fair idea of the line. Mine is the blue car

https://vimeo.com/39786600

Just take it easy. Donington is all about the exit speed and carrying momentum. For your first time out just concentrate on building speed gradually, get the line right and the speed will follow.

[upsidedownmark]

edh said:

Good lap guide, although Mike Wilds says macleans isn't a late turn, nor are the esses. I was turning in too late for both of them & his (dry) lines were definitely better (not that I'm surprised - he does seem to know a thing or two)

No doubt he knows (a lot) more than me. I was pretty impressed with my instructor (BaT - Stuart), easily the best on-track coaching I've enjoyed. It was also pretty wet, and I was struggling to keep the rear in check off pretty much everything, so straightening the exit seemed to make sense - I would think an earlier apex would be better in the dry / if you're less traction limited.

For whatever it's worth, here's an onboard from me - with apologies for the sunday driver one hand on the gearlever thing - I'm trying to kick the habbit

http://youtu.be/R3GqHQlNjis

Edited by upsidedownmark on Friday 25th October 16:37

[edh]

I'm sure later is safer - particularly in the wet. Looked a bit slippy in your video

[Monumental]

upsidedownmark said:

No doubt he knows (a lot) more than me. I was pretty impressed with my instructor (BaT - Stuart), easily the best on-track coaching I've enjoyed. It was also pretty wet, and I was struggling to keep the rear in check off pretty much everything, so straightening the exit seemed to make sense - I would think an earlier apex would be better in the dry / if you're less traction limited.

For whatever it's worth, here's an onboard from me - with apologies for the sunday driver one hand on the gearlever thing - I'm trying to kick the habbit

http://youtu.be/R3GqHQlNjis

Edited by upsidedownmark on Friday 25th October 16:37

Interesting to watch your vid, you're twitching in all the same places as me when I was there in the wet a couple of weeks ago: clicky here! http://youtu.be/u_k9e3sTHsw

Donny does seem to be a particularly slippy circuit in the wet; I blame all the crap coming out of the jets taking off from EMA. In those conditions you just have to forget about being quick and concentrate on having fun

[HughesR1]

Monumental said:

Interesting to watch your vid, you're twitching in all the same places as me when I was there in the wet a couple of weeks ago: clicky here! http://youtu.be/u_k9e3sTHsw

Donny does seem to be a particularly slippy circuit in the wet; I blame all the crap coming out of the jets taking off from EMA. In those conditions you just have to forget about being quick and concentrate on having fun

Some good advice on this thread, just take your time and you will enjoy it

As already mentioned you definitely want to resist the urge to turn in early on a few corners, especially redgate IMO.

Also 'Monumental', we were on the same day by the look of it, I just watched you video and saw my old man pass you in the Elise and then lose it at Coppice, he kept that quiet!

Another cheeky video from that day, was very slippery on new tyres so I just decided to have some fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mromQrA6Vrw

[Clark3y]

Only place to worry about at Donny is the left hand kink under Starkeys bridge. Seen a few lose it there and some collect the wall in a big way. Mega slippy in wet though, I was regularly getting loose at over 100mph there in a 190hp car. You'd be very unlucky to come to harm at any other part of the circuit regardless how much of a buffoon you drive like.

[shim]

Clark3y said:

Only place to worry about at Donny is the left hand kink under Starkeys bridge. Seen a few lose it there and some collect the wall in a big way. Mega slippy in wet though, I was regularly getting loose at over 100mph there in a 190hp car. You'd be very unlucky to come to harm at any other part of the circuit regardless how much of a buffoon you drive like.

True, I lost it there just with one wheel on damp/one of dry part of the tarmac, but luckily stayed spinning on the black stuff

[edh]

Good point - is a bit slippy through there in the wet. I saw an exige go off in front of me last year & many years ago was a passenger in a Sierra that went very suddenly through there.

Tis slippery everywhere & when it's really wet there's a stream running through Craner which is a bit unnerving as the car seems to suddenly move several feet to the right when you cross it!