What would you rather drive on a track?

[Jakg]

Circuit - Thruxton.

Car choices:

A - 9 Laps:
4 Laps in a Cayman,
5 Laps in a Formula Renault.

B - 14 Laps:
2x 7 Laps in a 160 BHP MK3 MX5.

C - 14 Laps:
7 Laps in a Mazda 3 MPS,
7 Laps in an MX5.

All the same price.

Cayman sounds good, but I think the FR's limit will be way to high to be that much fun, and not many laps. Plus they will probably want me to nanny the thing...

MX5 sounds good but a bit anaemic compared to the Cayman.

Mazda 3 is FWD with 255 BHP, so will not only make the MX5 feel a bit slow, but also probably understeer like a bh in the process.

Leaning towards the hairdressermobile. Opinions?

[Don]

If this is one of those "experience" days and you haven't done a lot of track driving: go for the maximum number of laps.

It doesn't matter how quick the car is - it's the driving it that's fun.

At Thruxton they used to 14 laps in an Elise - nowadays it's an MX5. Cracking little cars.

[Don]

Oh...MX5 all the way.

[balls-out]

If you have never driven a single seater , its an experience to try!

[Marf]

Hard decision

With 14 lap in the MX5 you'd probably be able to gel more with the car over the course of the day, but I'd be more tempted if it were a 160hp mk1/2.

Love the Cayman, and the chance to drive a Formula would be hard to pass up I think.

[RobbieB]

Jakg said:

Circuit - Thruxton.

Car choices:

A - 9 Laps:
4 Laps in a Cayman,
5 Laps in a Formula Renault.

B - 14 Laps:
2x 7 Laps in a 160 BHP MK3 MX5.

C - 14 Laps:
7 Laps in a Mazda 3 MPS,
7 Laps in an MX5.

All the same price.

Cayman sounds good, but I think the FR's limit will be way to high to be that much fun, and not many laps. Plus they will probably want me to nanny the thing...

MX5 sounds good but a bit anaemic compared to the Cayman.

Mazda 3 is FWD with 255 BHP, so will not only make the MX5 feel a bit slow, but also probably understeer like a bh in the process.

Leaning towards the hairdressermobile. Opinions?

I've done 3 days and a few bits and pieces at Thruxton, so I'll give you my 2 pence:

Mazda 3 is fun.
MX5 is very fun.
Elise is immense.
Cayman was rubbish.
Formula Renault was immense.

All the supercars are obviously fun but a lot more expensive. I would go for the MX5 day and if you can pull together some extra cash, take the Formula Renault out for a spin. HTH

[soad]

Choice A or B for me - leaning towards the latter it being 3 laps more.

[anonymous-user]

Definitely B

You'd never get used to a formula renault in just 5 laps and the Cayman won't be as fun as the mx5.

[briSk]

assuming b and c cost the same then probably b so you can really build up experience/consistency.

i am coming around to the view that the 3mps is a good road car but i can;t see it being as much fun as mx5 (even mk3) all day.

[130R]

B probably but the Formula Renault will be fun (although you'll be flat out basically for the entire back section!)

[varsas]

A. Fairly easy/cheap to replicate the other options (well, pretty much...) plus I do/have done track days in similar cars anyway but driving a Cayman and, especially, a single seater isn't something you can do outside a special experience day like this.

[Chris_w666]

b)

The MX5 will be fun and you should get to know the car better than you will any of the others in those laps and it's a cracking car.

The Cayman, Renault would be my second choice but you will be out of the Cayman before you even get near its limits and the Single Seater would require a lot longer to get the best out of.

[Gad-Westy]

Option A for me. I don't think a MK3 MX5, 160 BHP or not is going to be that much fun. The Cayman may not be hugely entertaining on track but it'll be worth it for the Formula Renault alone.

[bazking69]

A single seater is simply so totally different to any road car. Difficult, frantic, bumpy and challenging. It's an experience so far detached from a road car.

[marcosgt]

I did a similar thing there last Summer.

A ride around in a Mazda 3 with an instructor to see the line.

A few laps with an instructor in a Cayman

5 laps in a Dodge Viper (that was good )

5 laps (I think) in a FR

The Cayman was totally forgetable, I'm afraid, so I'd probably not bother too much with that - Although it may be that I was concentrating too much to notice much about the car.

The FR was a mixed bag. The point about driving a single seater being a totally different experience is very true, but they seem to restrict the FRs quite a lot - They're really not terribly quick, although they are fun to experience.

I'd probably go with option A, if you've not driven a single seater before. If you're a Formula Ford regular, just do lots of laps in one car - option B.


M.

Edited by marcosgt on Monday 10th May 15:47

[Chris71]

Depends how much track drivign you've done. If the answer is none I'd go for the 14 laps in the MX5. The mk3 might not be the most exciting car out there, but, if you haven't done it before, one lap in a Yugo would still leave you grinning like an imbecille.

If you've been on track before I'd go for the Cayman/Formula Renault. A proper single seater is quite an experience.

[briSk]

slight aside but at silverstone to go in a lotus they still say you have to be <16 stone and <6'4".

i am pretty much this! or with a big jumper and a decent breakfast a touch over i'd have thought ( )

i guess it's really just to disuade proper pie men rather than just 'bigger people' - but do you really reckon i'd get shown where to go..?

[doodles19]

I did the exige experience at thruxton, was a brilliant trade off between a fast car and a resonable number of laps.

[briSk]

doodles19 said:

I did the exige experience at thruxton, was a brilliant trade off between a fast car and a resonable number of laps.

are you> 16 stone though that is the question..!

[james_gt3rs]

For my 18th I drove the Exige for 14 laps, then the Formula Renault for 5 laps, all in the pissing rain.

Brilliant fun, well recommended if you have no track experience.