2020/21 Ducati Monster 1200 S First Impressions
Lottery Win Fantasy Car Garage
1. They must all be chosen to be used, to fulfil different needs. Strictly no investment opportunity garage Queens (and no-one in their right mind would choose ten supercars).
2. Only one car per manufacturer.
Great Driving Roads: A835, near Inverness, Scotland
Track Day Advice Guide
This relates to non-competitive UK track days although some of the advice will undoubtedly be the same, whichever country you’re in. To give you an idea of my experience level, I’ve done around 25 motorcycle track days and 4 car ones.
You can check out the video and gallery from my most recent car track day here.
What do I need on the day?
Obvious ones first: a vehicle and a licence!
You can hire bikes and cars for use on track but they won’t come cheap at all. The vast majority of people use their own machines and you must ensure that it’s roadworthy. If you’ve got pieces of plastic hanging off it, then don’t be surprised if you’re not allowed on track.
It’s a good idea to take a tool kit, so that you have things available to make impromptu repairs with.
You’ll likely need a helmet, even if it’s a car day (and definitely for a bike day!). Make sure that it bears the British Standards kitemark, to be safe. These can often be rented from the organisers at car events. For a motorcycle day, you’ll also need gloves, boots, and one or two-piece (zipped) leathers.
What can I expect on the day?
It’ll likely be an early start, with registration commencing around 7:30am. If you have a long way to travel you may wish to consider a hotel the night before. Leaving home at 5am, spending all day on track and then travelling home afterwards is likely to be quite tiring.
Signing in will involve registering your attendance, having your licence checked, signing disclaimer and liability forms, and collecting a wristband. The latter will be checked each time before you’re allowed onto the circuit.
There will be a briefing about an hour later, where a member of the organisation team will talk about the circuit’s layout, etiquette, weather conditions, timetable for the day etc. They will also run through the different flags and what they mean. It is compulsory to attend this, even if your name is Valentino Rossi or Lewis Hamilton.
Some days will have ‘open pit lanes’, meaning you can come and go as you please onto the circuit. Remember to limit your track time to sensible levels; giving you and your vehicle time to recover. The abuse that a vehicle takes on circuit is far, far in excess of that which it’ll take in normal day-to-day driving (especially on components like tyres and brakes).
Other days will have everyone assigned to a group, and you often choose that group when booking. Novice, Intermediate and Fast are three fairly normal designations and should speak for themselves. It’s designed to keep people of similar skill levels together; no-one wants to be spooked by a club racer on their first track day. If you’re reading this for notes, then you should probably book yourself into Novice but don’t worry, if you turn out to be a track god you’ll get moved into a more appropriate group. Alternatively, if you think that lapping the local roundabout makes you Marc Marquez but, in reality, you hold up five bikes into every corner in the fast group, you’ll get moved too.
The groups are announced normally over a PA system and will go out for 15-20 minute sessions. This means that you'll get 30-40 minutes break in between your sessions out on track. There will be an hours break for lunch and then the previous timing arrangement will continue until about 5pm (or failing light, depending on time of year). Expect to get somewhere in the region of five sessions during a day. It may not sound a lot, but you will be tired when you leave. On one day at Donington Park I managed 160 miles on track, although that was unusual.
Normally there will be instructors on hand for free advice. If you're quick enough (I mean running, not on the track) you can grab one for some free tuition. They’ll watch your lines, braking etc. and give you advice and how and where to improve.
There may be a tyre supplier/fitter on site and sometimes a suspension service offering customised adjustments for you. These are certainly common on bike days.
Finally, aside from the medics and marshals, there will be a photographer so that when you get a cool action shot you can post it on Facebook and amaze all your relatives.
My biggest advice on the day? Relax and enjoy yourself. You won't break any lap records and you won't be the fastest person there, so don't try. You'll either end up frustrated or in A&E. If someone passes you, let them go, they're faster. If you give chase you run the severe risk of outstretching your ability and crashing.
Will there be refreshments?
Undoubtedly. This will vary in scale from a burger van to a fully stocked canteen with hot meals, but there will be something. Don't eat so much that you're lethargic and bloated (especially at lunch) but do keep yourself hydrated.
Will there be fuel available onsite?
This will vary. Some tracks have onsite petrol stations (which are not always open) and some don't. Someone will be able to direct you to the nearest petrol station should you need some during the day and there isn't any onsite. Bear in mind it can be a pain in the backside to re-attach mirrors, number plates etc. If you can, fill up as close to the track as possible in the morning. The other option is to fill a jerry can and take that with you (if you’re in a car, of course).
Do I need to "track prep" my vehicle?
You don't need to do anything. However, on a bike I would advise that firstly you remove or tape up your mirrors; you don't need them. There is absolutely no need for you to be looking behind you. If someone wants to overtake it is their responsibility to do so safely and without impeding or unsettling you - this is not racing. Looking behind you will only draw your attention from what is in front of you, which cannot be a good thing. Removing the mirrors (rather than taping them) means one less thing to replace should you stack it!
Some people remove or tape up their number plates. Why? Well, maybe they want to be in a position to claim from insurance should they crash and don't need evidence popping up at a later date showing that they actually crashed on a track day and therefore making the claim fraudulent. There are also rumours that people from insurance companies visit track days for this very reason and make notes on vehicles. It could be that you could have an entirely legitimate claim turned down if the company saw you on a track day a couple of days before your real accident. It's unlikely, but why risk it? There are plenty of insurance companies who will insure you for the day so, if you’re concerned, don’t risk it.
Check tyre pressures and you may wish to drop them. Normally there will be a tyre van at the track and you can generally ask them (or an instructor) for some free advice. The tyres will be working a lot harder and getting a lot warmer than they ever do on the road. As they get warm the pressure will increase, and you don't want over inflated tyres. Someone will have a pressure gauge if you don't. Don't be afraid to ask around; people are normally very helpful at these days.
It goes without saying that you should have checked your oil levels, tyre wear etc. before the day.
What do I need on the day?
Obvious ones first: a vehicle and a licence!
You can hire bikes and cars for use on track but they won’t come cheap at all. The vast majority of people use their own machines and you must ensure that it’s roadworthy. If you’ve got pieces of plastic hanging off it, then don’t be surprised if you’re not allowed on track.
It’s a good idea to take a tool kit, so that you have things available to make impromptu repairs with.
You’ll likely need a helmet, even if it’s a car day (and definitely for a bike day!). Make sure that it bears the British Standards kitemark, to be safe. These can often be rented from the organisers at car events. For a motorcycle day, you’ll also need gloves, boots, and one or two-piece (zipped) leathers.
What can I expect on the day?
Signing in will involve registering your attendance, having your licence checked, signing disclaimer and liability forms, and collecting a wristband. The latter will be checked each time before you’re allowed onto the circuit.
There will be a briefing about an hour later, where a member of the organisation team will talk about the circuit’s layout, etiquette, weather conditions, timetable for the day etc. They will also run through the different flags and what they mean. It is compulsory to attend this, even if your name is Valentino Rossi or Lewis Hamilton.
Some days will have ‘open pit lanes’, meaning you can come and go as you please onto the circuit. Remember to limit your track time to sensible levels; giving you and your vehicle time to recover. The abuse that a vehicle takes on circuit is far, far in excess of that which it’ll take in normal day-to-day driving (especially on components like tyres and brakes).
Other days will have everyone assigned to a group, and you often choose that group when booking. Novice, Intermediate and Fast are three fairly normal designations and should speak for themselves. It’s designed to keep people of similar skill levels together; no-one wants to be spooked by a club racer on their first track day. If you’re reading this for notes, then you should probably book yourself into Novice but don’t worry, if you turn out to be a track god you’ll get moved into a more appropriate group. Alternatively, if you think that lapping the local roundabout makes you Marc Marquez but, in reality, you hold up five bikes into every corner in the fast group, you’ll get moved too.
Normally there will be instructors on hand for free advice. If you're quick enough (I mean running, not on the track) you can grab one for some free tuition. They’ll watch your lines, braking etc. and give you advice and how and where to improve.
There may be a tyre supplier/fitter on site and sometimes a suspension service offering customised adjustments for you. These are certainly common on bike days.
Finally, aside from the medics and marshals, there will be a photographer so that when you get a cool action shot you can post it on Facebook and amaze all your relatives.
My biggest advice on the day? Relax and enjoy yourself. You won't break any lap records and you won't be the fastest person there, so don't try. You'll either end up frustrated or in A&E. If someone passes you, let them go, they're faster. If you give chase you run the severe risk of outstretching your ability and crashing.
Will there be refreshments?
Undoubtedly. This will vary in scale from a burger van to a fully stocked canteen with hot meals, but there will be something. Don't eat so much that you're lethargic and bloated (especially at lunch) but do keep yourself hydrated.
Will there be fuel available onsite?
Do I need to "track prep" my vehicle?
You don't need to do anything. However, on a bike I would advise that firstly you remove or tape up your mirrors; you don't need them. There is absolutely no need for you to be looking behind you. If someone wants to overtake it is their responsibility to do so safely and without impeding or unsettling you - this is not racing. Looking behind you will only draw your attention from what is in front of you, which cannot be a good thing. Removing the mirrors (rather than taping them) means one less thing to replace should you stack it!
Some people remove or tape up their number plates. Why? Well, maybe they want to be in a position to claim from insurance should they crash and don't need evidence popping up at a later date showing that they actually crashed on a track day and therefore making the claim fraudulent. There are also rumours that people from insurance companies visit track days for this very reason and make notes on vehicles. It could be that you could have an entirely legitimate claim turned down if the company saw you on a track day a couple of days before your real accident. It's unlikely, but why risk it? There are plenty of insurance companies who will insure you for the day so, if you’re concerned, don’t risk it.
Check tyre pressures and you may wish to drop them. Normally there will be a tyre van at the track and you can generally ask them (or an instructor) for some free advice. The tyres will be working a lot harder and getting a lot warmer than they ever do on the road. As they get warm the pressure will increase, and you don't want over inflated tyres. Someone will have a pressure gauge if you don't. Don't be afraid to ask around; people are normally very helpful at these days.
It goes without saying that you should have checked your oil levels, tyre wear etc. before the day.
What happens if it rains?
On a bike, you'll get wet. It takes a lot for the entire day to be cancelled (I've only known it when there was snow and ice on the track) so the chances are you'll be allowed on track at some point. Whether you go out is up to you, many people don't on bikes. If it gets really bad during the day they might stop letting people out until it clears (this will vary greatly between organisers and tracks). If the day goes ahead that's the end of it; no refund, no rebooking.
Will I get laughed at for being slow?
Chances are, there will always be someone slower than you. I have seen people at track days on bikes never designed to go anywhere near a circuit and riding with three inch chicken strips. I’ve seen people in family SUVs wobbling from side to side, all over the track, through corners. Are they slow? Yes. Do they hold people up? Of course not. It's a race track. There is so much room in most places you won't believe. Donington Park, for example, is 10 metres wide; if someone can't get past you it's not your problem.
Flags
It’s not essential that you know these as they should go through them on the day (although not all people go through all the flags, so it can't hurt to know them beforehand).
Green: Everything is okay, carry on.
Yellow: There has been an incident; slow down, observe and no overtaking. Maybe someone has fallen off around the next corner and is lying in the middle of the track. Do not assume that if you pass one crash that it is all clear - there could be another. Wait for a green flag before proceeding as normal.
Red: The session has been stopped prematurely. This means that an incident has occurred that is serious enough for the circuit control to end the session. Slow right down and head straight back into the pits. Strictly no overtaking. The longer that bikes are out on track, the longer it could be taking to get an ambulance out to someone in need of attention.
Blue: There is someone faster behind you. Safely let them by.
Yellow/Red Stripes: Slippery surface or potential reduction in available grip. Only normally used in certain areas where the hazard occurs. Maybe somebody crashed and left a trail of oil, or maybe it's rained at one part of the track. Check the track for the hazard when you see the flag and continue cautiously.
Black: This will be waved at one specific person. That person must come into the pits. It could be that their dangerous and the circuit control want a word about their behaviour. It could be that there's something wrong with their vehicles (e.g. leaking oil, something hanging off). If you think it might be you they're pointing to, come in, they'll soon send you back out if not. Repeated black flags for dangerous driving/riding will get you kicked off for good.
Chequered: End of the session, waved at the finish line. Finish that lap and then come back into the pits.
