Donnington on Monday - 2nd June

[RMac]

Just popped up on the Bookatrack site. Looks like one of the quietest days so far.

Should see some of you there. Can't wait.

[Elderly]

£295 (or £250 if you book early) !!

Isn't that VERY expensive for Donington on a MONDAY ??

[jleroux]

compared to what? as far as i'm aware there are no full-day open-pit-lane quiet-usage track days at Donington all summer. The price for circuit hire has increased considerably this year - putting off most of the 3rd party track day organisers.

Compared to last year I agree it's expensive but take a look around and by all means let me know if you can find a better priced equivalent event!

Jonny
BaT

[ian964]

I think £250 is pretty good for Donny this year - PCGB do have an OPL day there on Sunday 8th June, that's £285 (£225 for members). Noisy days there even more expensive, the PCGB one in October is £340/£400!

I'd go for this if I wasn't already at Brands GP on the 2nd.

Edited by ian964 on Thursday 29th May 13:22

[Elderly]

Maybe it's just my perception?

But I've always thought of Donington as a really good value track compared to say Silverstone
which has historicaly always been a lot more expensive than Donny.

I've also always thought of weekday track days as costing a lot less than their weekend equivalents.

So a price of £295 combined with my two *perceptions* above, made me ask the question

You asked compared to what; direct comparisons are difficult but for £4.00 more, a 30 minute sessioned Silverstone GP day would give me all the track time I could cope with
(I don't want to start a Which Track, and OPL v. Session discussion).

As you rightly say, track hire costs have gone up, but has Donington raised its prices (since its change of ownership) more than other circuits?

[RMac]

when I started doing track days I rarely paid more than £99 for the first 12 months of them. A couple of weeks ago I paid £400 to go to Silverstone. I simply wouldn't entertain anything other than open pitlane these days.

Compared to taking a day off work, running costs on your car / dedicated track toy and or any interest you may or may not be paying on the large loan for said track day car, the price of the day itself to within £100 is fairly inconsiderate unless you do one every week.

I have found you tend to get what you pay for and I think anyone who uses RMA, Goldtrack and Bookatrack on more than a one off basis will agree with me.

I have tried pretty much every organiser out there btw.

[RMac]

oh - and based on current numbers, I would be suprised if there were more than 25 cars on the day so it will potentially feel like a private day with next to nothing else on track. I reckon that's worth much more especially as more and more people are doing track days, quiet ones are few & far between.

[hifihigh]

Can you hire crash helmets at this event or do you have to bring your own?

[jleroux]

we'll have plenty of helmets for hire - £10 for the day. no need to pre-book - just see us at sign-on for them.

cheers,

Jonny
BaT

[the atomic punk]

I did my first day at Donington a couple of weeks ago with BAT, and I have to say that it is a great circuit, and despite pretty awful conditions I don't think there was a single red flag all day.

I would put the quality of the circuit and the facilities on a par with other "expensive" circuits (Brands, Silverstone etc), and the management of the day ver good, I guess in part down to the clientelle and their behaviour - which in general I have found to be better on more expensive days.

I think that alongside other options Donington is worth the price.

[lower]

I was there in the evening in the Bookatrack R400.

Was a good session. Couple of red flags but they didn't take too long to clear and it was a nice quiet evening.

[RMac]

you were going well too.

[lower]

Thanks. It's a seriously quick car!

What were you driving?

Edited by lower on Tuesday 3rd June 14:25

[RMac]

red peugeot.

[lower]

I followed you for a few corners a couple of times.

Seemed to have quite a mobile rear end!

I didn't think you were meant to be able to drive FWD cars like that

[pugster]

RMac said:

red peugeot.

The red 306 Rallye?
Came to have a look but couldn't find you in the pits.

Tried to gap you a couple of times (we were in the red 205) but just couldn't quite match your pace.

Had a slight issue with the car "fluffing" early on (excuses excuses) but the old warhorse ran a lot smoother once the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.

As previously mentioned a good night with plenty of track time despite the stoppages.

Cheers.

[RMac]

yes it's the rallye. Good fun little car. I was hoping for rain as you don't mind the lack of power so much then but it came about 2 hours too late!! Luckily for those in caterhams etc.

I wasn't around much when not driving as I went out for a few passenger rides.

See you next time.

cheers

Rich

[pugster]

RMac said:

yes it's the rallye. Good fun little car. I was hoping for rain as you don't mind the lack of power so much then but it came about 2 hours too late!! Luckily for those in caterhams etc.

I wasn't around much when not driving as I went out for a few passenger rides.

See you next time.

cheers

Rich

Yep a bit of rain may have levelled the playing field a bit (although i imagine the indicators would have then spent more time on for the evo's and scoobys than the caterhams / atoms at that point )

Probably the best evening session we have had at Donington TBH.
Partly down to the numbers attending but we had just changed from Colways to Toyo's which transformed the car.
Craners was still flat chat but considerably less "nervous" and we were taking the old harpin in fourth with the added traction.
Macleans and Coppice were a bit odd as we found that they were almost between 3rd and 4th gears. Played around with those two corners most of the night but still hadnt reached a conclusion as to the best gear with ten minutes to go, at which point the brake fluid decided to boil like a kettle!!

Cheers and hopefully see you at the next one.