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[Tam o' Shantie]

anybody into track days at knockhill etc? is there a practical or cheap way of getting into it, other than buying a sports car and using it on a daily basis, and also taking it down to the track?

I thonk you can take any car to a track day at knock hill as long as it is the right day. eg they have hot hatch day. I think some days you can enter anything, but looking in your back mirror all the time may get tiring.

[Tam o' Shantie]

isn't it a bad idea to take your every day car onto a race track though? it seems like an easy environment for it to take knocks and scratches, however minor. don't you need roll bars etc? insurance? can they provide cars?

I have never done it so i am not sure about providing cars. You do need special track day insurance though. I dont think roll bars are required but helmets are. If i had a car worthy of it (just now i am driving a 17 year old jaguar with1 hp and broken shocks) i would take my own car on as you would know it a whole lot better than any you borrow.

You can buy those gift day things and get a couple of hours in a single seater or a ferrari but it is a couple of hundred quid. From what friends have told me if you are going for a day experience legends are the quickest and most fun.

Knockhill Racing Circuit

[skuzzlebutt]

Originally Posted by Tam o' Shantie

anybody into track days at knockhill etc? is there a practical or cheap way of getting into it, other than buying a sports car and using it on a daily basis, and also taking it down to the track?

80 quid or so (was in my day anyway) will get you 6 laps in an XR2 - with instruction(probably something quicker now) and then 5 in a formula ford... fucking bargain... i've done it a few times... including winning fastest bloke of the day/ class/ something or another.... the instruction is good... the circuit is superb (but short) duffus dip takes a little bit of corage as does the chicane at the top of the hill (which actually turns in exactly the opposite direction as you anticipate on approach).... try and learn the circuit in advance in your head... take it easy to begin with and you will have a ball...

they also have a skid pan course... very useful... and a rally course....

all good stuff....

[Bowl O' Alpen]

I went for my 21st and fancied being a bit of a Flash Harry, so went for the Ferrari option. Have to say even though it was expensive, was worth every single penny (and there was quite a few of them).

You get there, you 'check in' and you sign something, the jist of which was 'if you die, it's your own fault'. Then you get sorted out with a helmet. I was kinda hoping for a full-on racing suit but alas, no. Then you go out for a few laps in a Seat Leon Cupra R, which isn't exactly a slouch when you're tearing along the back straight at 120mph, just to get a feel for the track and try and get used to when to brake, when to turn etc.. Then the first instructor guy took me round showing me what a good lap looks like (basically just really fucking quick) and then what a bad lap looks like (basically just really fucking scary). I kinda assumed there'd be more training for controlling a 350bhp car but no, they just told me to get in and wait for the next instructor mannie. Turns out he was some ex-racing driver but anyway... You get 5 or 6 laps depending on how fast you are and how good you are. There is like a dual-control brake thing but the guy said he only uses it if things are about to go seriously pear-shaped. Highlight had to be going 160mph in 5th and knowing that you could go 200 if you really wanted to...

I'm still smiling just thinking about it. That sounds a bit sad...

[Tam o' Shantie]

sounds fucking amazing!

I'm actually of to knockhill this week to do some testing withe the formula student car (see avatar). Should be fun 80bhp and 220kg and huge sticky racing tyres. We dont use the actual track just the paddock as the events we enter are a whole lot tighter than proper racing circuits.