Is Lydden Hill worth the long drive ?
Discussion
looking to do a trackday next weekend and Lydden is the only option I can find for someone London based - I of course remember Lydden from the old motor cross coverage on Grandstand but have not seen any people posting about it on this forum
I know its a short circuit and that it will be a poorer option than its near neighbour Brands but if people feel its ok will do it as a warm up before goldtracks Silverstone day the following wed 30
I know its a short circuit and that it will be a poorer option than its near neighbour Brands but if people feel its ok will do it as a warm up before goldtracks Silverstone day the following wed 30
It's a two hour drive for me and I've done that many times for track days and sprints. ONly you can say whether it's worth your time and money. You already know it's a short circuit (basically four corners), the bad news is you won't get much variation, the good news is the same corner comes back so quickly it's very easy to remember what you did wrong last lap and improve your technique. (Longer courses like Silverstone GP I find much harder to learn because it takes so long to get back to the corner and there are so many corners to remember in detail.)
During cold/wet weather watch out for the left kink at the end of the main straight. It's the first bit to get wet and the last bit to dry out, and it tries like mad to get you out of shape as you come over the crest and brake downhill on the approach to Chessons. As long as you can get it turned into Chessons you have miles of tarmac to play with, but if that kink steps the back out you're pointing straight into the tyre wall. Other than that there are no real dangers and the risks are all obvious.
To be fair, I was only quoting a pal of mine that visited the track a few years back ( he lives in Dorking so the distance to cover there and back is similar from London ) and at the time he was using an Ultima. He said it was a bit boring and to short but if it is just for a shakedown and the only track available that fits your time schedule then it can't hurt I guess. I did a similar thing with a newly aquired track car earlier this year and visited Hullavington ( £99 ) prior to a Goodwood T/D ( £320 ) for a shakedown and guess what?, the clutch failed after a dozen laps or so and that gave me the time to get things sorted in time for Goodwood and it turned out to have been the correct course of action 
Whatever you choose to do, good luck fella
Whatever you choose to do, good luck fella
just back from Lydden Hill
anyone thinking of doing one of their days should be aware
- overtaking is allowed on both left and right
- overtaking is allowed in the corners
- today up to 26 cars were on a 1 mile long track at once
- no apparent noise testing or scrutineering
a very different experience from my recent outings with PCGB and Palmer - and hopefully from what I will experience at Silverstone on Wed with Goldtrack
cars mainly track dogs, kit cars and racers
fun but takes some getting used to as needs a different approach from a more standard track day !!
anyone thinking of doing one of their days should be aware
- overtaking is allowed on both left and right
- overtaking is allowed in the corners
- today up to 26 cars were on a 1 mile long track at once
- no apparent noise testing or scrutineering
a very different experience from my recent outings with PCGB and Palmer - and hopefully from what I will experience at Silverstone on Wed with Goldtrack
cars mainly track dogs, kit cars and racers
fun but takes some getting used to as needs a different approach from a more standard track day !!
exactly Jimmy - met some great folk and had a lot of fun but better tackled in a track dog than a porker of reasonably recent vintage - its near as dammit racing but without the requirement of a race licence
not knocking it - clearly a very popular format - I posted this simply so others thinking of popping down can get a sense of what its like beforehand - I searched and found nothing that mentioned that they allow overtaking at any point
not knocking it - clearly a very popular format - I posted this simply so others thinking of popping down can get a sense of what its like beforehand - I searched and found nothing that mentioned that they allow overtaking at any point
Who were the organisers? What you're describing sounds more like a test day than a track day, but that would usually be restricted to license holders and I wouldn't expect to see that many cars on track. It's very unusual for track day organisers to allow overtaking on both sides and in the corners etc because it's so dangerous. The only track days that I've seen allowing that sort of thing have been the Castle Combe/Knock Hill ones which seem to be aimed at chavs in old bangers.
Lydden run their own events and it seems today's experience is the way they always do it - the head steward said so in terms - I spoke to lots of people who were regulars - its clearly very popular
to repeat I am not knocking it - £150 for 8 x 15 minute racelike sessions could be seen as good value if that's what you want
just trying to help others make an informed decision whether its for them - if I had known what was involved I would probably have passed
to repeat I am not knocking it - £150 for 8 x 15 minute racelike sessions could be seen as good value if that's what you want
just trying to help others make an informed decision whether its for them - if I had known what was involved I would probably have passed
Sorry, I've only just seen this. I take it that your 911 was the 54 plate car? I don't know what group you were in, but there does seem to be a few local heros that like to be fastest in the slow group.
There are some track sl@gs there - I bought my Beemer specifically for Lydden, and wouldn't have taken my old Boxster around there. However, I think you're being unfair to the two 996 Turbos, the M3, two Cobras and a Corvette amongst others, in the inter group. Last time they ran one, a GT3 managed to leave the track, and was probably totalled. Today was also odd, as there was a session dedicated to drifting - that's the first time it's happened this year.
Overtaking on both sides and in bends may seem a bit daunting to you, but for some of us it's so much better. There's yet to be a coming together, and less people will try a dodgy overtake through the frustration of being held up by a 'point and squirt' merchant (and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here).
As I say, shame I didn't see this before tonight, otherwise I could have warned you about some of this before. Did you have a good day? I did.
Araf (Gold 325 Compact)
BTW, that's the busiest I've seen it there, this year. We have been down to 8 in a group at times.
There are some track sl@gs there - I bought my Beemer specifically for Lydden, and wouldn't have taken my old Boxster around there. However, I think you're being unfair to the two 996 Turbos, the M3, two Cobras and a Corvette amongst others, in the inter group. Last time they ran one, a GT3 managed to leave the track, and was probably totalled. Today was also odd, as there was a session dedicated to drifting - that's the first time it's happened this year.
Overtaking on both sides and in bends may seem a bit daunting to you, but for some of us it's so much better. There's yet to be a coming together, and less people will try a dodgy overtake through the frustration of being held up by a 'point and squirt' merchant (and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here).
As I say, shame I didn't see this before tonight, otherwise I could have warned you about some of this before. Did you have a good day? I did.
Araf (Gold 325 Compact)
BTW, that's the busiest I've seen it there, this year. We have been down to 8 in a group at times.
Edited by ARAF on Saturday 26th September 21:07
thanks ARAF and yes it was my C2S on a 54 plate
I think we now have a thread here that others searching for info about Lydden can find - as I have said above I am not having a go simply trying to draw out how they choose to run events so others can make a fully informed decision - I suspect we have reached that point so will let it drop
agreed there was some nice machinery out there but with the balance more towards the track prepared/caterfield/kit car/racer end - some of which was very tasty
I think we now have a thread here that others searching for info about Lydden can find - as I have said above I am not having a go simply trying to draw out how they choose to run events so others can make a fully informed decision - I suspect we have reached that point so will let it drop
agreed there was some nice machinery out there but with the balance more towards the track prepared/caterfield/kit car/racer end - some of which was very tasty
I went earlier in the year - the day when that GT3 was totalled, a right mess.
We had a fantastic day (306 GTI-6). Great for lower powered cars, even Brands Indy I found a bit frustrating in the Pug, but at Lydden it is non-stop action. The overtaking rules etc were a little daunting at first but by the end of the day I was loving it. Much better value for money than Brands MSV but in terms of facilities, track quality etc it doesnt compare. Absolutely destroyed a set of fronts...
We had a fantastic day (306 GTI-6). Great for lower powered cars, even Brands Indy I found a bit frustrating in the Pug, but at Lydden it is non-stop action. The overtaking rules etc were a little daunting at first but by the end of the day I was loving it. Much better value for money than Brands MSV but in terms of facilities, track quality etc it doesnt compare. Absolutely destroyed a set of fronts...
Flying Trotter said:
thanks ARAF and yes it was my C2S on a 54 plate..... ......agreed there was some nice machinery out there but with the balance more towards the track prepared/caterfield/kit car/racer end - some of which was very tasty
Pictures are up http://www.mikesavagephotography.co.uk/ and I've just noticed that we were in the same group. Closest to racing you can get on a trackday. We think its fantastic, you can find an evenly matched car and have a great battle.
You feel like you have achieved more at the of a session instead of having to let people past or get blocked. Everyone still respects each other so it works really well.
Great fun!
You feel like you have achieved more at the of a session instead of having to let people past or get blocked. Everyone still respects each other so it works really well.
Great fun!
Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff