Newbie - Track days

[MAT911]

Hope I'm not asking a drainer of a question but I have heard all sorts of stories regarding how to get your car on a track. I'm sure there might be a few guys out there wondering what they have to do to get your car on a track. I'm guessing you can't just rock up to a track and away you go.... Or can you?

I'm not a member of any car club (yet). I'm only a young feller and with all these vic hoon laws you'd be silly to risk having your porsche impounded and let's be honest it's not hard to get 30+kmh over the speed limit in these machines.

So can someone guide me, please give me a little advice on what the easiest ways to get onto a track are?

I am due for some new rotors and pads so I won't be intending to go anywhere until I have my brakes sorted out.

Thanks guys and sorry if it's a bit of a silly question!

[oldblade]

Noticed your in Vic I only really have info for the nsw tracks but a quick search gave me the below

http://www.driveevents.com.au

For Phillip Island

You will love the track and be warned it is addictive

[hugh]

Hey Matt, there are no silly questions!

There are a few ways you can get onto a track, some are more expensive and risky than others. I would recommend you join a club as they tend to offer good value and an opportunity to get to know others with similar car tastes etc. They can also be helpful with offering instructors and assisting where as other 'open' track days don't always cater for new drivers.

Typically you will need a cams licence as minimum and a road worthy car, then depending on the club you will get put into a group and off you go. Porsche club Vic have cheaper rates for new drivers and offer coaching etc. to help you get to know both the tracks and your car. I tend to prefer these club type events as they generally attract drivers looking to enjoy their cars rather than just a track full of hoons that may not have as much respect for their cars (or yours).

Have a search for a few clubs, I'm also a member of the Maserati club and can highly recommend their events, well organised and a good bunch of cars and people. Best of luck, cheers, Hugh.

[9fan]

Hi Matt,

Topic has been covered in the Forum - Track and Rally General - Track Talk - Tracking a Car,whats involved.

Any Questions further to that feel free to ask.

[Dubai944]

My advice is before you get involved in car club or open event type of  track days, get your first track experiences in some type of dedicated advanced driving instruction course where you can spend time on track with an instructor from the beginning. You will learn faster and learn properly and it will pay off in the long run. I don't know what's in Victoria but I see there are schools like John Bowe's at Calder for example. Good luck.

[hugh]

^^^ + 1

[MAT911]

Thanks everyone for the info, I'll look into joining a club. I have had one of those v8 super car experiences and to drive they give you a course on the track, braking, racing lines ect and then the driver gives you tips as your driving and that was awesome and very helpful. I do when I get time take my go kart out on the track so as for picking lines ect I have a fairly good idea. (it would be similar)

But thanks again. I'll start looking into some clubs and how to get my cams!

[qstoria]

A few years ago I did a drive day at Winton with Peter Fitzgerald and found it to be very rewarding.  Numbers are quite low on these days (from memory there were only 8 or 9 cars)  The cost is a little more than other club days where you can get 30 cars but the extra track time not to mention the advice and driver training from Peter was well worth the extra cost.

 

I did this in my 2.0L Honda CRX and had a blast.  I can only imagine how much fin it would be in Porsche though

[9fan]

If anyone knows Winton and Porsche it's Pete !   Money well spent.

[Kammo]

If you're just doing track days at Winton and Calder you can also get an AASA license. These don't require you to be a member of a club and you can usually sign up to an AASA sanctioned day and buy a license on the spot. An AASA license doesn't let you do Sandown or Philip Island though.

 

Winton is a good track to start on, it's technical and not overly fast. I reckon you'll pick up more at a track like that versus Sandown or Philip Island. 

 

Driver Dynamics do an OK track day at Sandown, it's not as expensive as the JB days but you get less training - http://www.driverdynamics.com/pages/trackdays.php

[nath]

I started with Burrows days at EC, they run a similar thing in Melbourne. No license required and loads of instructors around to come out with you on track, all that's required is a road resisters car and a helmet that you can hire on the day. Learnt a lot from Ian Dyke (spelling?) the first couple of times and still have fun when I get the time on track. For a few hundred it's a great way to start in your own car before all the CAMS pieces, and as a driver training event ie not timed nrma honour your insurance on the day....