Sessions vs Openpitlane

[Guyr]

OK, lets start a debate on the merits of either approach to trackdays.

This is a personal annoyance to me. I've been doing track-days for a while and I find that whilst there are novices out there all the time, it appears that more more and more of the entrants are regulars, negating the point of novice sessions. What I want to do is Openpitlane trackdays, where I decide how long I wish to stay out and when I wish to go out. My issues with sessions are:

1. The sessioned days mean that to get tracktime, I am forced to go out when sessions start to get a decent run, so the day becomes somewhat regimented.

2. Sessions are often stopped by red flag incidents in which case you lose the session sometimes in entirety, whereas with openpit you can just come in have a break and go out when it's clear. I did a Silverstone trackday last year where it was red-flagged in every advanced session and as a result I got about 45mins on track all day.

3. If I have a friend driving in another session, we cannot share time on track.

4. All the cars go out together on track at the opening of a session, which creates unnecessary and dangerous bunching.

I know the argument is that sessions split driver abilities, but I don't see that in reality, since there seem to be slow and fast in both groups. I also see no more incidents on Open-pit days than on sessioned days.

I have used all the track-day organisers at some point and like many others find myself gravitating towards those that do open-pitlane, my issues is that there are some great days run at great tracks that I will avoid because of sessions. In particular Goldtrack do lots of sessions, so I'd welcome Melindis opinion on this.

Guy

[PetrolTed]

I've done plenty of both and don't have too much of a problem with sessions. I find myself getting a bit too laid back at open pit lane days and find I'm driving less than when I perceive the time as more valuable.

The one annoyance for me is that you might know people in the other group but you don't get to see them all day.

I would like to see open pit lane introduced later in the day. All too often loads of people have left by 3:30pm and sessions become a bit pointless then.

[tertius]

I think they both have their merits. One good thing about sessions is that if you do have a mate in another session you can exchange passenger laps the whole day and have a really full day ... the downside is if you have a mate in the same session you almost never want to do pax laps as it will mean giving up pretty much a whole session.

Overall I prefer OPL as I do find sessions a bit regimented. I would probably do a Goldtrack day at Silverstone again (always sessioned as far as I can tell) but not likely to do any others.

[Ferb]

I prefer open pit lane because I have a big heavy car so I only run for 10-15 minutes at a time, including 1-2 laps cool down. If you run for longer the car gets too hot, tyres and brakes the most obvious. Half hour rest(refilling with fuel) then back out again.
Haven't had to much problem with slower drivers

[DiscoColin]

PetrolTed said:

I would like to see open pit lane introduced later in the day. All too often loads of people have left by 3:30pm and sessions become a bit pointless then.

I have to say, I like that idea: sessions in the morning and open in the afternoon sounds like a good compromise - have any of the TDOs on here considered it?

Personally I don't mind sessions in general, but it is frustrating when your session gets red flagged and as several have said - it can have a definite impact on the social aspect of the day. Consequently I have a preference for OPL, though won't rule out sessioned days if the date and venue suits me.

[Paul_M3]

PetrolTed said:

I would like to see open pit lane introduced later in the day. All too often loads of people have left by 3:30pm and sessions become a bit pointless then.

I've only ever done one trackday (at Snetterton), and this was very similar to how it was.

The morning (from 9am - 1pm) was split up into three groups and therefore 20 minute sessions.

We had lunch, and then after that it was open pit lane.

I thought this worked very well. As a Novice it gave me a chance to learn the track, and get used to watching mirrors etc.
By the afternoon I was more confident and more than happy to be on track with faster cars.
(I was actually quicker than some guys who were in the intermediate and advanced groups in the morning, which pleased me somewhat )

[bionic man]

Open pitlane. Whats the point of having sessions when invariably you get people booking in the quick group who have quick cars but not the driving skills to match and then just become mobile chicanes for the quicker drivers, which makes for just the same driving experience as an open pitlane.
Except you feel obliged to go out when instructed and for an amount of time set by someone else that may not suit your personal requirements for what you want out of the day
The Donnington noisy days I have done have been sessioned which didn't ruin the day but if I was being critical, took some of the enjoyment out of the day.

[willr]

I think sessions are fair at circuits with strict noise limits, where only a handful of cars can be on track at any time.
Open pitlane can be as bad or worse, if the organiser allows too many cars on track.
In a perfect environment, OPL is of course best!

[t11ner]

The max number on track is generally set by the circuit based on noise regs and safety limits.

OPL has to be the best unless the total number of cars booked in is too high in which case queueing starts. Once this happens people quickly join the queue to ensure they can get out in a while and it snowballs badly; same can happen if there are consecutive red flags even if the total numbers are ok.

You can get decent mileage in on a sessioned day but if you have a mechanical fault or prefer shorter/longer sessions then it's not for you and I find it's just too regimented so not as much fun.

Also, I always wonder about sessioned days with a novices group or about novice trackdays - if it's your first time on track is it really the best thing to be surrounded by other drivers with no experience

[kusee pee]

Open Pitlane for me all the way - one of the major enjoyments of trackdays for me is to be able to drive at my (and my car's ) own time.

[Vixpy1]

I won't do sessioned days

[PetrolTed]

Ok

[philevo6]

Ive only ever done open pit,but i think if i did a sessioned day then id be inclined to stay out all session,just to get my monies worth.(knowing id have to stand round for a bit)

Staying out longer than you need isnt good for car and driver.

Most people want the freedom of "when you want,how long you want"

8 laps or 20 mins is well enough for me per outing.

[mrmr96]

I agree that open pitlane is best.

Sessioned means that in my big heavy car 30mins would be to long. Lots of shorter stints is better.

I also would not do a novice day, as being a learner I'd want to be surrounded by experience, not other learners.

[fridaypassion]

TBH As a novice you have a duty to do a novice day. Its all very well saying you want to be surrounded by experience but on your first trackday all you'll be doing is annoying people if you go for an intermediate or advanced day.

[trackcar]

I used to prefer sessioned days when I was just starting out on track days. Now I prefer open pit lane days. There's room for both, what's the problem? If you have an annoyance with one particular style of day just do the day that suits you best, choice is a wonderful thing

Edited by trackcar on Sunday 4th January 10:42

[chrissimp]

I think most of us would prefer OPL track days, which are more laid back and you can come and go whenever you want. However TDOs can get more cars on a sessioned day and consequently offer a cheaper price to the participants (we hope!). It is therefore up to you whether you want to pay more for an OPL day or settle for the minor inconvenience, IMO, of a sessioned day.

[bodgit]

open pit for me everytime,after a few years in competition sprint n hillclimb you get more time on track ,more so being in a car share

[dellow]

As a driver of a slower car I prefer sessions,

it's not nice being on track with GT3's and Ultima's tearing up the inside of you on the entry to corners cos they can't wait till they get on the straight to pass,

and you can't get any enjoyment from spending the entire day looking in your rear view mirror instead of looking through the corner.

[Digga]

I think the danger with sessions is that they can encourage people to 'stay out and get their money's worth' when in the majority of cases both car and driver may not really be equal to 15, 20 or 30 minutes at full chat.

Most road cars on road legal tyres will start to struggle after a handfull of really hard laps - usually due to tyre or brake issues - and certainly most novice drivers will be getting prettty frazzled themselves. If the driver is under instruction, he'll benefit from a bit of time out to think about what the terrified instructor has been screaming at him, before he goes out and tries to correct all his bad habits.

So generally, I prefer open pit lane.