[webwysard]

Thinking about taking the car on a track but know nothing as never been there even for watching. I believe the nearest track where I live is Oulton park which is still around 60 odd miles away. The things I need to know is about the cost for using the track, insurance and the car.

How Much does it cost for a half day or couple of hours, do I need to inform insurance company or can I buy just for that day from some specialist insurers and even in that case do I still have to inform my current insurer ?, last thing is about wheels, what would you recommend the best wheel size for a track and what sort of tyres should I have on the car. Currently I have runflats on 18" wheels.

Thanks for your helpful advice and suggestions

[zltm089]

plus one... i want some basic info aswell.....

[M3-FAST]

Oulton Park is a great and demanding circuit, but any track driving is demanding on the car.

Costs will vary depending on time of year and if it is a weekend or not. I have just paid £130 for Donnington and my last Oulton Park day was £105. As the summer sets in prices double and even triple as demand soars. There are cheaper circuits such as Cadwell Park, Mallory Park and Anglesea (5th gear circuit) which I am yet to try. As for insurance, I don't have any but I know my mate who runs his Aston V12 Vantage on the track has a policy with a 10% of car value excess.Not sure what he pays per year though, but some have a no-claims type discount. The more days you do, the cheaper the insurance gets.

As for the car, RFT tyres will be fine, poss even better than non-RFT due to less 'give' in the sidewall. Wear will be an issue though, especially if it is a hot day and you can give it some stick. There are some high speed corners where you will be turning in at 60mph + plus a couple of points where you will be braking hard from 100mph ish

Brakes will get hot, so make sure your pads have plenty of meat on them, and fluid has been changed at recommended intervals - standard brakes are easy to cook so at least make sure what you have is tip-top.

The thing with track days, is that you can drive at your own limits, but if the red mist comes down, be prepared for some wear & tear!

I did one track day in the M3 and killed the rears - cost me £600 the following day for new tyres! It does give you a real buzz though and hence why I decided to run cheaper track cars instead.

Ran a Pug 306 S16 for a year -full stripped & caged, cut slicks, coilovers, etc... Handled like on rails but wasn't quick enough for me so have just sold it and got a Scooby WRX instead.

I trailer them to track days and chuck em round a lot harder than I would a car worth tens of thousands.

www.focusedevents.co.uk are good for track days - I have booked Donnington for March 13th and then doing a more local sprint track at Curbururgh the week after.