Hi all, Im thinking about building a track day motor based on a mk2 gti, any tips? Im quite interested in racing competatively, can anyone outline the official process I would need to go through to make this happen. Also does anybody know of any clubs/circuits in the Notts/Lincs/Yorks areas? Cheers in advance for any help! Mike.
To start racing, first contact the MSA for a 'Go-Racing' pack. Their website is http://www.msauk.org. The pack costs about 40 and contains everything you need to apply for your National B race licence. For you to gain a licence, you must first pass an ARDS test.Details of how to book this are within the pack. It can cost anything betwen 200-300, depending where you go.It's a bit like taking your driving test, but on a circuit. They will evaluate your racing line, observation and track etiquette. The emphasis is on safety.There's alsoa theory exam, which you have to pass.You'll also have to get a satisfactory medical, which varies in cost, around say 50. Next, become a member of a reputable club, who will organise the series you want to compete in. There are hundreds of clubs, who organise a variety of formulae, so it depends what you want. Good Luck!
if you are looking at getting into racing then you would be well advised to go take a look at Keith's website - Keith is one of the two people racing VW's in the Stock Hatch championship - one of the most cost effective racing series in the country. My first tip for you though - you need to decide early on whether you want to build a car for racing or for trackdays - trackdays have no real limits to the mods you can carry out, however for racing the mods are limited by the series in which you enter. If you choose to go racing then pick which series you want to race in and then build the car to suit the series.
if you decide you wanna go racing (rather than trackdays) you may find it very useful to do a intensive race school course...it really will speed up your learning curve incredibly, but will cost a lot...IMO its worth it, and i suspect keith will agree as we've both done one.
Absolutely! Nothing else gives you asthoroughandvital grounding into the sport as the Silverstone course! You even compete in a proper race at the end! It is expensive, but what you learn in a week can take an entire season to learn for the average novice. I certainly wouldn't be doing as well as I am now had I not gone. If and when you get a 'Go-Racing' pack from the MSA, there should be a DVD in there all about the course. Keith
just out of curisoty keith, how much did the corse cost you? Not that Jsy had a circuit to race on but i'd still be very intersted in the course (cost depending)
The onlything with trackday tuitionis they use cones to mark brakingand turn in points. This tends to make you focus on the cones instead of using your vision to look through the corner. On the course, they teach you that using your vision is vital to a good racing line. Edited by: Keith R
There's some pics on my site (under 'school' section) from the race at the end of the course. You'll be able to see what you'd be driving. You spend much of the course in them!
Hi Mike I too am just starting out racing my own car. I was involved with Formula Woman who paid for me getting started in racingie licence etc so I was lucky in that respect. I now work for them as aninstructor in the Caterhams so it's amazing what doors open when you start racing. Unfortunately like most newbie racers I'm struggling with sponsorship. I have a few but not enough to be able to race a full season next year but I've not given up yet. I'm hoping tocontest the LMA Euro Saloons 2006 as it's another great starting point in racing, and cheap. If you go to my website at http://www.rabbitVWracing.com and I have a section on how to get into motorsport, althoug it's still incomplete as there is so much to write. Anyway, have a look and join the RR Club for free and all the information is there. Good luck and if there's anything I can do, just email me and I'll be glad to help. I'm developing the business into helping new/inexperienced people get into racing who don't have the usual racer's finances and also helping more ladies into the sport. Any input/help from people will be greatly appreciated. Kaz X
Just curious Keith, but now you've had plenty of chance to put into practice what you learnt at the race school, what would you say the top 3 most useful things you learnt were?
I started out racing with Torbay motor club and doing hillclimbs and sprints. Which is an excellent way to get into racing and one of the cheaper options. I paid 15 membership to TB-MC 30 for a non race national B licence from the MSA Had to get FIA approved helmet and racing overals which cost about 150 Then I raced in the standard road production class so all i needed was a car which was road legal! The entrace fee for most events was approx 70 Now my only downfall to this is which hills and sprints there aint alot of racing most hills I competed in could be done easily in under a minute. SO eventually I gave up spending the money on this and found public trackdays to be better value for money! However I miss the competition and the buzz you get from doing it
Wow! That's a hard one believe it or not! I guess the first thingI learntwas achange in attitude to performace driving, and to throw all my boyracer tendancies out the window! Being able to drive fast round a circuit is not about being aggressive, but about being smooth and composed, both mentally and physically. Remember the components of speed: Smoothness, Accuracy and Consistency. These things only come from patience, plenty of practice and a level head. The second would be an appreciation of the physics that come into play when a car is on the limit and howweight transfer affects the handling and contact patch of the tyres, things I utterly took for granted before. Understanding the causes of under or over steer, how torecover these counter-productive states and how to use them to your advantage.Things like not coming off the brakes too suddenly prior to turn in,whichcreates a sudden rearward weight transfer, causing understeer andalso braking intoa corner to counter understeer by keeping the weight forward, particularly in the wet, were just some of the useful tips we learnt. Finally, using you vision. They teach you that it is so important for a racing driver to have a long field of vision, to look through the corner. On approach to a corner, you should not be looking where the bonnet is pointing, but as far round the approaching corner as you can. Your vision should always be one step ahead of where the car is. The same applies when trying to recover from an understeer situationor a spin. Look to where you want to be going, not where the car is pointing. When all said and done, it's hard to put these techniques into practice. I still find myself reverting back to boyracer mode in the heat of a situation when the adrenaline is pumping. It's human nature I guess and doesn't come immediately, but with practice it will.
well typed keith ...though i got taught that vision was the most important (don't really matter...all are essential).
Cheers, mate! They weren't in any order of importance, just the order they popped into my head!You're right though, vision is key, not just for the reasons I've stated, but also to avoid possibly being collected up in someone elses incident further up the track.
Thanks Keith! To my mind, vision & long distance observation is the key to good driving anywhere - it's just all the more critical when you're driving flat out with everyone else around you doing the same!
