First timer

[leeson660]

Hi guys.

I have had my m3 cs for a few months now and I'm now really looking to letting her loose on a track as its clearly what the car is built for really is a glorious drivers car in my opinion.

Basically I'm doing a bit of research and trying to find out if its something I'm going to want to do in my beloved CS and if so where?

A few questions. I really don't know much at all about track days so apologies for the stupid questions.

Are they generally very busy and crowded?

Roughly what costs am I looking at for insurance for track day?

What circuits would you recommend for a newbie to track days? I live in wild west cornwall so everywhere is a long way away!

Any information and advice would be greatly appreciated.

iit may turn out I just stick to the fantastic roads we have down here but it would be amazing to push the car without having to worry about sheep, cows and horses!!

Cheers

James

[shim]

bedford GT

youll need big break kit

[Spadey1]

Given where you live and for a first foray I would try an airfield day first. Motorsport Events (http://www.motorsport-events.co.uk)run days at airfields in Wiltshire.

I have done a couple at Hullavington in my car (and before that driven other peoples cars at Silverstone)and have found them to be good days. There is generally less to hit than on the track, they are much cheaper (about 100 quid), it will not be as far to go for you and, in my experience at least they tend to be reasonably quiet with plenty of track time (MSE do tend to run on Fridays though and I imagine a weekend would be busier.

Do the usual stuff to the car, i.e. check fluid levels, tyre pressures through the day etc, but for a wagon like yours, provided you dont go mad out fo the box, you will be fine without modifications.

Good luck

[MikeATD]

The other option is to go to see how a trackday is run simply as a spectator and then decide. Try to blag a passenger ride as well to see for yourself the track etiquette. You are welcome to come to any of our days. I can organise a run round the track no problem.

Mike

[framerateuk]

We've got a nice small track near Cardiff called Llandow which is pretty good for a first timer. They always run in groups in the morning so you can jump in with the novices and just enjoy the drive. It's a short ovalish track with two main straights and a few other bends added in. Enough run off where it matters and a fantastic "Oh st" lane if you miss the braking point on the main straight.

It's probably a little nearer for you than some of the other tracks...

Just remember to take it easy, the car could become quite tail happy if you give it some boot and that's not what you're looking for on your first trackday .

[e21Mark]

Wherever you go, just take it easy first time out. It's all too easy to get caught up in the moment. Try not to be intimidated by faster cars/drivers either.

Most of all though, have fun!

[DiscoColin]

For whatever my opinion is worth... For a first time out I would say that a novice day would be the best option just because of the kind of traffic that you will be sharing the track with. Regardless though - book a couple of sessions of instruction (first thing in the day and early afternoon if possible). As for venue, I reckon that Silverstone, Bedford or Snetterton would all be optimal (having nice wide straights to clear faster and slower traffic without much drama and being relatively flat to give you a little less to worry about).

Or you could just jump in feet first and go to the 2 day DN track day at the Nurburgring the week after next... [Which for all the obvious dangers and causes for concern will {due to its length} probably have the lowest density of other traffic that you will find on any organised track day and due to the 2 days for one is serious value].