Newbie Questions!

[popkid 16]

Can I ask some dumb questions from those of you who have done this in previous years, I'd really love to get my car on track, but I'm a bit daunted by the prospect.

Do you know if these events are definitely happening in 2016 and dates if they are? (the webpage doesn't seem to have been updated since before the last 2015 round? nothing there for 2016 as yet)

Is it practical to try it if you have no previous track experience? I liked the idea of it being one car at a time, I've never done a track day before because I was nervous of running into someone (or them into me)

What are the safety/legislative requirements to get involved? Insurance? Do you need an MSA license or autoclub membership? Helmet regs? What am I looking at for outlay in terms of entry fees beyond the event fees?

I had a look at the event pages last year before I got my car but only got as far as the first page before I was put off by all the requirements to apply stickers (my car is my daily driver and I didn't want to put stickers all over it) I think I saw a thread where someone had applied them to magnetic panels though, but I can't find it again now?

Thanks for any feedback

Pauly

[Rich 378]

There's quite a few of us going to Bedford Autodrome on the 29th Feb for a normal trackday, that might be a better bet rather than entering the TSS.

Someone else will be along with TSS specifics I'm sure.

[rob275 1817]

Dates are preliminary, hence why we haven't posted them up yet. But they are out yes.

It's also totally feasible for you to join in, infact it's somewhat safer than a trackday imo. To get involved you just need a helmet certified to at least Snell 2010. You also need an IOPD Licence, but you pay for that at the first round you attend.  Regarding insurance, the general consensus is it's not worth it, and unlikely you will get insurance for it as it's a motorsport event.

Each round is £139 iirc now? and you will need day half a tank of fuel and hotel stay preferably which is generally around £30. You can buy a sheet of magnet off ebay and put the stickers on them if you don't want them on your car.

[rob275 1817]

[Lauren 2259]

In regards to worrying about contact with other cars, seriously it's not an issue on a track day. I used to work for a trackday company (Bookatrack) and was stuck on the pitlane for hundreds of track days and very rarely (I could count on my hand) did I see car to car contact. Use a reputable track day organiser and you will have nothing to worry about in that respect. 

The biggest issue with regards to track days is car to scenery contact by a large margin, but obviously it's you driving so you go at a pace that is down to you. You can get insurance, but it is not like ordinary insurance. Typically you take out insurance on value, so if you want to insure your car for say £20k then you will have a 10% excess (so £2K) and it will cost you around £170 or so. Is it worth it? Again up to you. I did when I tracked my car when it was pretty much brand new, but I don't worry about insurance now. 

You will need a helmet whether you do a trackday or the sprint series. You can buy a bike helmet or you can get a car specific helmet which is fire retardant too. Covering your arms and legs is the only other requirement. 

If you are not experienced with regard to going on track I would advise that you go on a track day and book a number of sessions of tuition. Whilst you could go straight into entering a sprint, there is no provision for tuition and you will also be launching on cold brakes and tyres as well. Whilst you are the only car on track at the time, it would simply make sense to get a feel for driving on track on a track day with some tuition first. One of the club days, like the one at Bedford in February would be ideal. Also it's good to get rides out with other members in the same car as you can of course learn (or not!) from what they do and how they drive. 

[Keethos 842]

Welcome to the club Pauly, nice to see someone keen to get on track with their car!

 

Just to add to what others have mentioned above, you can actually hire helmets from the trackday organiser for about £10 for the day which are BS6658 Type A (blue & white BSI sticker), AFR (red & white BSI sticker) or Snell SA2000 certified (which your helmet needs to be if you wish to compete in the TSS, you can use motorcycle helmets no problem on trackdays).  Besides a helmet, as long as your legs and arms are covered and you're car is mechanically sound then there's nothing you really need to worry about, unless you're car is modified and you have a whopping loud exhaust then you might have problems getting on track as each track has a noise limit/restriction.

 

Sprints can be safe as long as you behave and stay within your own limits, you can drive at your own pace without worrying too much about anyone around you.  What you need to be careful of is since you're against a clock, you can quickly build up enough confidence to push yourself harder and harder to chase that time which can lead to mistakes and bad situations, it's something you need to build up to and only really push it if you are willing to accept the consequences (i.e. afford to cover damages etc).  One thing that I would love to have added to the TSS is the ability to hire someone to sit in with you for a lap or two, to give you the lines and tips etc.  That's something I'd highly recommend if you decide to do trackdays, weather you are completely new to trackdays or just new to the track, having that knowledge or even assurance that you've got the correct racing line, braking zones etc helps greatly both driver confidence and safety in my opinion.

 

The IOPD license is either £5 each round or £15 for the year, the sprints are as Rob mentioned about £139 each round if you book early, otherwise it's £159 each round.  You'll need to account for fuel travelling too and from the track and account for roughly half a tank of fuel.  Food at the tracks aren't cheap, plus hotels and evening meals if you wish to stay, otherwise, that's about it.  As mentioned, insurance for the sprint isn't cheap as it's classed as competitive racing, I got  quote from Moris Insurance with mods of cover for the weekend would cost £225 plus 9% tax and £25 admin fee, excess is £1,750.  They do have no claims bonuses so the more you do and don't claim it would get cheaper, this price will vary depending on experience, this years rates etc.  As for trackday insurance, you're looking more towards the £150 mark and as Lauren said, 10% excess, however, if you want to do more trackdays and are up for renewal on your road insurance, have a look at Greenlight Insurance, they strangely have a vehicle value cap of £20 so if you're car is 2nd hand and worth less than £20k, you can get insurance with them, they'll cover mods etc but they'll also cover trackdays for an extra £45 per day plus excess of double your road excess (so road excess for me is £300 where as on track would be £600).  And if you didn't already know, track insurance only covers your vehicle, if another vehicle is involved, you don't payout for their car if it's your fault and vice versa, you are only insuring track damage to your car only.  Some will say it's not worth it but some will say they won't go on track without it, it's a great piece of mind to have it but if you can afford to cover damages if it does go horribly wrong then you can save yourself some money and not worry about it.  Just stay within you're own limits and take it at your own pace, but saying that (and not to try and scare you off or anything) but shit can happen even when you're not pushing it, but that's just when you're mega unlucky like I was.

 

Otherwise, enjoy and hope to see you on track sometime

[popkid 16]

Thanks for the helpful answers everyone, will look into the Bedford day I think and maybe TSS at a later date, there are some tuition options at Bedford I think too which is good, and helmet rental for the first try is a good option until I see if I catch the bug. From your comments it doesn't sound like insurance is worth it tbh, I'd not looked into it before, but for a 10% damage excess and it being limited to your car damage only etc. I think I'd probably risk it.

Pauly

[Rich 378]

Moris quoted me £92 with a £1k excess to cover Bedford (no mods), so that £150 is probably the upper end of quotations. That said the Greenlight deal where you get cheap track day cover is really tempting, nice to know about that!

[Kodename47 446]

Last time I tried Greenlight wouldn't insure the 86, so not tried them since.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX 12]

Hi,

If you would like a quotation at all for track day insurance then please feel free to drop me a line. I'd be only too pleased to try and help.

Regards,

Dan.

[Tareim 343]

3 minutes ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi,

If you would like a quotation at all for track day insurance then please feel free to drop me a line. I'd be only too pleased to try and help.

Regards,

Dan.

I recently done an online quote with you but says it phone for a better quote, do you have any special code for the forum discount?

[nikndel 509]

12 minutes ago, Tareim said:

I recently done an online quote with you but says it phone for a better quote, do you have any special code for the forum discount?

Didn't come any cheaper for me

[Keethos 842]

Moris quoted me £92 with a £1k excess to cover Bedford (no mods), so that £150 is probably the upper end of quotations. That said the Greenlight deal where you get cheap track day cover is really tempting, nice to know about that!

That's a good quote, have you had track experience before and is that stating that you'll have tuition as well as that can bring the premium down.

I could have stayed with Sky as they were about £50 cheaper I think but then if I needed any trackday cover, it would have been 2-3 times the price than with Greenlight so definitely worth it in the long run. Moris also give discount if you bulk book BTW.

[Rich 378]

1 hour ago, Keethos said:

That's a good quote, have you had track experience before and is that stating that you'll have tuition as well as that can bring the premium down.

I could have stayed with Sky as they were about £50 cheaper I think but then if I needed any trackday cover, it would have been 2-3 times the price than with Greenlight so definitely worth it in the long run. Moris also give discount if you bulk book BTW.

I've done one track day before, didn't mention tuition (I did it online and don't recall seeing an option for it).

I noticed the bulk booking, but I decided to go with a one off for now for two reasons. One is that my insurance renews fairly soon anyway, so I might be able to get a policy with greenlight meaning I don't need the Moris cover. The other is that Bedford being late Feb is likely to be a lot more slippery than later in the year due to weather so I reckoned I'm maybe more likely to bin it there than later when it's warmer.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX 12]

20 hours ago, Tareim said:

I recently done an online quote with you but says it phone for a better quote, do you have any special code for the forum discount?

 

If you call us on our clubline number (0800 916 1292) and let the operator know you came from this forum we can apply the discount for you.

Dan