December 23, 2019
Track day vs Racing
Before I invested in anything to do with racing, the first thing I did was book a track day. Track days are mainly held at the same circuits race meetings are held at, but the differences on the day are quite large.
Motor racing in the UK is very strictly controlled and falls under the governing body Motorsports UK (previously called the MSA). There are a few barriers of entry to go racing, which I'll cover in another post. The barriers to entry for a track day are much lower. Basically all you need is a road worthy car, a helmet, some common sense and a modicum of driving ability.
There are a load of articles online detailing track days. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, here's a list of some I find useful;
- Evo - Preparing for your first track day
- RAC - Step by step guide to attending your first track day
- MSVT - I'm new to track days
- Driver61 - Track day guide
All the articles I've linked to refer to booking a day with a track day organizer. Since my first day out with bookatrack.com back in 2012, I've attended a few different days. Below is a list of companies I'd used and therefore recommend;
Specialist in open pit lane track days. The company is run by a very personable Dave Woodall. Other than open pit lanes, Opentrack also offer a Caterham for hire, free pics from the track and snacks/drinks at the circuit. Driver tuition is also on offer if needed.
Of all the companies I've listed, MSVT - Motorsports Vision Trackdays (sister to MSVR) are the ones I've done the most track days with. This is predominantly due to the race series I entered when I first started racing, which is run by the sister company MSVR. They offer novice only and no race car track days as well as normal open entry ones. If you want to go to a track that isn't owned by MSV, then you are out of luck with this company.
I only used RMA once, when testing a BMW Z3 at Silverstone (incidentally they seem to have a monopoly on Silverstone track days). They are one of the very few track day organizers that allow over taking on both sides. They also target their days to the more experienced attendees and with that comes a more expensive day as well. They offer car hire, with a vast range to select from. As of December 2019 they range from a Caterham R300 from £850 a day, all the way up to a Ferrari 458 GTC Evo II from £10,495 !!!
https://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackdays/
I've used Javelin for shakedowns of my race car. They run days all over the UK, but they also run at Blyton Park, which is my nearest track (traveling time wise). Javelin have a “spin and in” rule as well. Have an off or spin then you must return to the pits on that lap and cool down before going back out. This seems to help keep red flags to a minimum.
Want 2 Race (Ginetta) took over the running of Bookatrack when Ginetta bought out their Caterham dealership. I've used them a couple of times before the buy out, but not since. Once on my very first track day, and a second time on a Caterham Experience day before MSV took over. The experience day gave me the opportunity to have a lot more instruction in an less powerful Caterham CDX. This worked wonders for my confidence as the instructor said at the end of the day he couldn't see me failing the driving part of the ARDS test.
