MSVT Oulton Park Drift Day
Discussion
On Friday, I went to Oulton Park to do a drift day with MSVT. There wasn't too much information online about this type of event and most forum threads that did have some information were over 10 years old so I thought I'd do a writeup about the day.
The event takes place at the two tarmac rally stages/circuits on the infield of the race circuit - I would estimate that each circuit is around half a mile in length. I've never done any drifting but this feels like a good place to dip your toe in the water, or just have a bit of fun. I took my Mk1 MX5 which I use for trackdays. It's not too aggressive, a good balance between road and track for me. Standard power (1.8) with coilovers, better pads, Michelin Pilot Sport 3s and a roll bar with bucket seat.
There were three main groups of people in attendance:
1. People in standard cars (MX5s, Caymans, M4s etc.) looking to improve their car control
2. Trackdayers looking to try something different (I'm in this category)
3. Drifters, typically arriving with trailers and spare wheels
There were a good mixture of cars in attendance. Quite a few MX5s, plenty of ratty old BMWs, more presentable newer BMWs, even a wild blue and pink Lexus with massive tyres and a fantastic sounding V8.
You spend the day sliding around the tracks in an open pit lane format. You can queue up for either circuit at any time. I tended to focus on one circuit per session but I observed people going back and forth between stages during a session. Both circuits are good in different ways, I'm not sure I have a favourite between them.
The timings of the day were similar to your typical trackday. Sign on from 7:30, briefing at 8:30, sighting laps at 9, 1 hour for lunch. Sign on is in a black wooden hut next to the rally circuits (via a gate), not too far after the bridge as you enter the circuit. If you end up at the restaurant, you've gone too far; I had to consult the venue map to work out where to go.
The sighting laps were a good opportunity to understand how to enter/exit the rally area and where each circuit went. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube but it looked very different to how it looked on the videos, more different than when I visit a new circuit for a trackday.
People started with different levels of experience. I'm not a drifter but I am comfortable with controlling a slide on trackdays. I started off gently, sliding individual corners, transitioning between corners where it felt easy to do. I was trying different things - sliding in different gears, using the handbrake, linking different corners together etc. I learned lots in a short space of time and felt happy linking up corners and entering corners with more speed. I spun a fair few times throughout the day but so did everyone else, it happens.
Around once per hour, a tractor with a water tanker sprays the circuits with water to keep them wet. This is to stop tyre squealing, hopefully keeping the neighbours happy. It also means that tyre wear is minimal which was the big attraction of the event for me. Trackdaying an MX5 (often with a passenger coming along), I don't bring a spare set of wheels so I can't afford to shred tyres for the fun of it. I didn't measure tyre tread before and after but I can't notice the wear visually.
Once they wet the track again, remember they'll be nowhere near as much grip as your previous run. I, like many others, got caught out by this with far too much throttle after the change in conditions! Wetting the tracks only takes a couple of minutes so you're not losing out on much track time.
My MX5 has an open diff which while isn't the best, I could still slide the car and had plenty of fun. I felt the open diff made the transition from one specific hairpin into another challenging - one wheel kept spinning and the car straightened up at the apex of the second hairpin. While this caused slight frustration, I adapted to this by using weight transfer to minimise the issue and got on with the day. Don't be put off if you have an open diff, there's not much grip on the tarmac so it's nice and easy to skid around.
There was a Porsche Club GB trackday taking place on the same day. The lunchtimes between us and the trackday was slightly staggered so I spent the second half of lunch spectating the trackday. This bench on the inside of Lodge Corner was a great place to watch and eat lunch:
Don't bother cleaning your car before attending. I like to give the car a clean before a trackday so it looks presentable but you're wasting your time for this event, it gets more filthy than a certain Miss Blue. This is due to a combination of spray from the wet tarmac which gets mixed with dirt as people spin as well as your own excursions off the circuit. The car definitely got a few funny looks when I stopped on the motorway services - people don't expect a little red convertible to look like it's gone off roading!
This was a great day and was a good change to a trackday. I'm certainly not going to be a professional drifter but after looking through some of my GoPro footage, I can definitely see my progression throughout the day. It's something I'd definitely look at doing again. I've put together some onboard footage from the day:
The event takes place at the two tarmac rally stages/circuits on the infield of the race circuit - I would estimate that each circuit is around half a mile in length. I've never done any drifting but this feels like a good place to dip your toe in the water, or just have a bit of fun. I took my Mk1 MX5 which I use for trackdays. It's not too aggressive, a good balance between road and track for me. Standard power (1.8) with coilovers, better pads, Michelin Pilot Sport 3s and a roll bar with bucket seat.
There were three main groups of people in attendance:
1. People in standard cars (MX5s, Caymans, M4s etc.) looking to improve their car control
2. Trackdayers looking to try something different (I'm in this category)
3. Drifters, typically arriving with trailers and spare wheels
There were a good mixture of cars in attendance. Quite a few MX5s, plenty of ratty old BMWs, more presentable newer BMWs, even a wild blue and pink Lexus with massive tyres and a fantastic sounding V8.
You spend the day sliding around the tracks in an open pit lane format. You can queue up for either circuit at any time. I tended to focus on one circuit per session but I observed people going back and forth between stages during a session. Both circuits are good in different ways, I'm not sure I have a favourite between them.
The timings of the day were similar to your typical trackday. Sign on from 7:30, briefing at 8:30, sighting laps at 9, 1 hour for lunch. Sign on is in a black wooden hut next to the rally circuits (via a gate), not too far after the bridge as you enter the circuit. If you end up at the restaurant, you've gone too far; I had to consult the venue map to work out where to go.
The sighting laps were a good opportunity to understand how to enter/exit the rally area and where each circuit went. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube but it looked very different to how it looked on the videos, more different than when I visit a new circuit for a trackday.
People started with different levels of experience. I'm not a drifter but I am comfortable with controlling a slide on trackdays. I started off gently, sliding individual corners, transitioning between corners where it felt easy to do. I was trying different things - sliding in different gears, using the handbrake, linking different corners together etc. I learned lots in a short space of time and felt happy linking up corners and entering corners with more speed. I spun a fair few times throughout the day but so did everyone else, it happens.
Around once per hour, a tractor with a water tanker sprays the circuits with water to keep them wet. This is to stop tyre squealing, hopefully keeping the neighbours happy. It also means that tyre wear is minimal which was the big attraction of the event for me. Trackdaying an MX5 (often with a passenger coming along), I don't bring a spare set of wheels so I can't afford to shred tyres for the fun of it. I didn't measure tyre tread before and after but I can't notice the wear visually.
Once they wet the track again, remember they'll be nowhere near as much grip as your previous run. I, like many others, got caught out by this with far too much throttle after the change in conditions! Wetting the tracks only takes a couple of minutes so you're not losing out on much track time.
My MX5 has an open diff which while isn't the best, I could still slide the car and had plenty of fun. I felt the open diff made the transition from one specific hairpin into another challenging - one wheel kept spinning and the car straightened up at the apex of the second hairpin. While this caused slight frustration, I adapted to this by using weight transfer to minimise the issue and got on with the day. Don't be put off if you have an open diff, there's not much grip on the tarmac so it's nice and easy to skid around.
There was a Porsche Club GB trackday taking place on the same day. The lunchtimes between us and the trackday was slightly staggered so I spent the second half of lunch spectating the trackday. This bench on the inside of Lodge Corner was a great place to watch and eat lunch:
Don't bother cleaning your car before attending. I like to give the car a clean before a trackday so it looks presentable but you're wasting your time for this event, it gets more filthy than a certain Miss Blue. This is due to a combination of spray from the wet tarmac which gets mixed with dirt as people spin as well as your own excursions off the circuit. The car definitely got a few funny looks when I stopped on the motorway services - people don't expect a little red convertible to look like it's gone off roading!
This was a great day and was a good change to a trackday. I'm certainly not going to be a professional drifter but after looking through some of my GoPro footage, I can definitely see my progression throughout the day. It's something I'd definitely look at doing again. I've put together some onboard footage from the day:
Boxsterjon said:
I was on the Porsche track day and very much enjoyed watching you drifters during the lunch break. The pink and blue Lexus was just ridiculous! It looked like a lot of fun (as was the track day).
I enjoyed hearing the sound of Porsches in the background all day! The Lexus knew how to drift, had the technique nailed straight away.They are great days, just wish they'd do something about the drop-off at the side of the tarmac. They seem to get bigger every year!
You aren't kidding about the dirt though. It gets absolutely everywhere.
Taught me a lot about weight transfer in the R8. I've done the days previously in front engined rwd cars, but doing it in the Audi was a very different experience.
You aren't kidding about the dirt though. It gets absolutely everywhere.
Taught me a lot about weight transfer in the R8. I've done the days previously in front engined rwd cars, but doing it in the Audi was a very different experience.
Wh00sher said:
They are great days, just wish they'd do something about the drop-off at the side of the tarmac. They seem to get bigger every year!
It’s been a few years since I was last on the rally/drift tracks but I used to hire them regularly to run drift days; ultimately gave up because the damage from the drop offs was getting too severe and I couldn’t persuade the circuit to fix it. This was over ten years ago. Shame because it’s a great facility for car control practice, and fun driving.
SkinnyPete said:
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve seen these drift days before. Perhaps it doesn’t come across well in the video, but some of the barriers look a little close? Especially if you’ve got a more meatier car that needs more speed momentum before it starts to slide.
That surface does not need much speed/momentum to slide as it's very low grip and is usually watered too. You'd even break traction in a straight line in something beefy.I’ve seen these drift days before. Perhaps it doesn’t come across well in the video, but some of the barriers look a little close? Especially if you’ve got a more meatier car that needs more speed momentum before it starts to slide.
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