My first track day, any advice?

Will be this Sat at the Bedford Autodrome. The only fast driving I have done before is on our nations glorious public roads, so this will be the first time I have been able to go over 70mph.

Anyone been there before? Do I need to take out extra insurance? What's it like in the wet? Any advice from anyone? I'm in a stock (yes, stock!) Jap TT auto...

http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk are superb for track insurance, it costs me around £100 for a days track insurance with an agreed value of £10,000

the best advice i can give you is start slow, you have a full day on track so dont try and break any records in your first session!

the supra has absoloutely superb handling as stock and you will be amazed how far you can push it, be carefull in the wet as it can be a bit of a handfull at speed.

dont be afraid to knock the car into 2nd for extra engine breaking and stability in slower corners.

oh and have fun mate, im willing to bet it wont be your last track day

Also have a coast down lap to cool the brakes before pitting, and make sure the oil is on the full mark.

-Ian

My advice..

1) Get instruction from a trainer

2) Take it easy and learn the track

3) Never drive beyond your ability

4) Make sure your fluids are in good order, esp your brake fluid!

5) Make sure you have spare brake pads

6) Smoothness is key, sudden movements only upset the car

7) Read up on cornering technique on the web, esp for a RWD car. Slow in with early throttle application (fast out) will be the most rewarding.

8) The Advanced session are usually filled with ego's and few people that can actually drive...avoid the ego's and assume you are a novice.

9) You will get over taken - there is always someone faster

10) Obey the rules...don't assume you know best.

Etc... HTH

don`t crash

i`ve been up there on a bike and as i remember theirs a lot of run off area.

if you don`t mind me asking how much is a track day there,as im only 15 minutes away.

As long as you've got plenty amount of pad and disc left, good brake fluid (that won't overheat after a few laps) & lots of tyre tread then no worries.

Build up your speed once you've worked out the correct lines on the track.

If you're a novice driver (in track terms) then do all your brakinig before the corner before you turn in. But don't be afraid of carrying a bit of speed into it.... you'll be surprised how much grip there is on the Supra.

When it comes to throttle ... be gentle and feed it in.... as long as you're gentle start feeding it in as soon as you hit the apex of the corner. You should be on full throttle when you're on the next straight.

In general just build up a rythm keep it smooth and then fine tune it as you get more used to it.

How smooth is Bedford? Does anyone know how it compares to the tarmac at say Silverstone? I ask as that's the only track I've driven round and absolutely loved it

I think it was about £250, our lass got it for my xmas pressie. It's here http://www.rma-limited.com. Add insurance + petrol it looks to be an expensive day out but I am sure it will be worth it just to have a go at pushing the loud pedal through the floor for once without worrying about plod! THANKS for the advice guys.

If you cane the brakes with stock pads they WILL fade, so be aware your lap times will be brake limited. HOWEVER, it's very unlikely you will be faster than the brakes, if you see what I mean, on your first track day at a new venue, so just bear it in mind. If the pedal takes more effort to press, or starts to sink you MUST give them a good 20 minute breather to cool off the pads, discs, fluid and hub bearings.

Bedford is a relatively new surface and totally smooth like Silvertone, maybe better.

Don't follow anyone unless they know what they are doing and are slower than you. Then use them to learn the right lines. You may be able to opt for instruction from a pro driver. Very worthwhile. You have a car that is potentially going to be one of the quickest there, so don't get carried away trying to prove it on your first track day, if you try TOO hard you will A: Not enjoy yourself. B: Write it, or something else, off.

Have a great day, it's a narcotic like experience for many!

Dont do as i did last year by pushing it too hard on crap tyres you will finish your day at lunch time as i did.

Enjoy yourself, go at your own pace and dont be intimidated by anybody else on the track, even if you know your car could outpace them tenfold. Drive to your personal limits, you will only improve as the day goes on

how did you get on mate?

Wow what a day. Sunny and dry, a huge flat racing track, totally smooth, and about 50 or so high-end cars glimmering in the sunlight. This was an open track day, where you turn up with your car and fly around the track as much as you want. Tyre hire & mechanics are on hand if you need them. My TT Supra was the only Supra there, and bought at £12000 it was probably the cheapest there too by a long way. Here are some cars that took part:

Lotus Seven

Lotus Elise - quite a few of these, very fast and nippy little buggers

BMW M3, Z8 - glad to see one of these beemers have a spin (no harm done)

Aston Martin Vantage - not as fast as it could have been, I think the guy was just posing

Honda S2000 - do not underestimate the speed of these unassuming little things

Audi A6 - this thing looks like a rubbish family car but believe me it is VERY fast!

Ferrari Modena - registration W10 00W (!!!) - sounded fantastic and I was glad to see it driven hard like cars of this type should be driven

TVR Tuscan - held its own against the Ferrari (above) BUT had a crash and had to be taken away. I didn't see it happen and I don't think the driver was hurt or any other cars involved, but it does bring you back down to earth for a bit

Porsche - all sorts, too many to mention, I reckon 50% of the cars there were porkers. What stood out though were the five GT3-RS. These things are unbelievably quick!!! They just owned the whole field - end of story!

Subaru - a red one with SCOOBY written in big letters across the back, and a silver one, both driven hard by nutters. IMO they look awful but they were extremely fast, there is no doubting their speed and agility

Mitsubishi dunno what it was, looked like a scooby, prolly the slowest thing there, even slower than me

Jaguar racing 'le mans style' car - pissed all over everything including the GT3-RS. But it is a racing car not a road car, so in my book that doesn't count.

Toyota Supra TT. That's me. This was my first ever time on a track, and it took a while to get used to the track layout, and the speeds. When I first entered, it was like getting on the German autobahn for the first time - you have to speed up or you're in everyone else's way!

Learning the correct speed and approach to a bend is critical, but as you learn the course you get the hang of it. You learn with each lap, but it is hard work, I was only doing 3 or 4 laps before having to have a rest. I think the brakes needed a rest too, and probably the engine seeing as I was rarely below 6000rpm. By the end of the day I was really throwing the car around, caning it into the corners and flooring it out of them. And the back end didn't go at all, although I did let it happpen for fun, just to see if I could do it at a hairpin, and it was OK and not hard to correct. One thing I have learned is that the Supra really can handle corners and I am a LOT more confident now than before when cornering, although I do realise that is on dry roads only! Having said that I really was no match for any of the other cars there, I think a lot to do with it is driver ability - this was my first session - the only place I held my own really was on the straight where we'd reach 120+mph. Apart from the GT3-RS which flew past me even at that speed. Awesome!

So that was my first session, it was expensive (£250 for the day, £100 insurance and the full tank of petrol I started with gave me only 120km of track - less than 10mpg or something?) but mucho fun and when I have bought some new brake pads and changed the oil I will start thinking about saving up for another go...

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the day....

Im glad you enjoyed it mate, track driving is the only way you can really find out what cars like the supe are capable of. i love it sounds like you had a brilliant time

my track session on saturday was slightly different to yours (it was heaving down with rain!)

Im glad you enjoyed it mate, track driving is the only way you can really find out what cars like the supe are capable of. i love it sounds like you had a brilliant time

Totally true - for instance I had no idea that I could get 110mph out of second gear (I wasn't concentrating and thought I was in D!!! Duh ) and that a restrictor would automatically cut the engine until I changed up a gear. If I had done that in a manual there would be tears....

my track session on saturday was slightly different to yours (it was heaving down with rain!)

That is sad, but then again you'd have had a chance to gain experience in the wet - pretty important with this car as I'm sure you know

it was good fun actually, it was an action day where you turn up and pay for 20 minute sessions so it wasn't like it had cost me a lot of money. i actually really enjoyed exploring the cars limits in the wet in a relatively safe environment, oh and i love getting the back end out too

Anyone got anymore company names for track insurance quotes besides, Competition Car Insurance.