I have definitely been bitten by the track driving bug, it is a fantastic experience getting out there and perfecting lines and enjoying your car on a racing circuit.

So my question to those of you who have been going to the circuit for longer than me is this;

What circuits do you frequent?

Are the smaller circuits favourable like Croft or Pembrey?

Does anybody offer half day track time?

If there are any links to companies you use to book via or if you know of any events that run as part of motor clubs etc I would be very grateful of all information.

Thanks in advance.

I mainly drive at castle combe because it's local(ish) to me.

But I do intend to do donnington, oulton park and hopefully silverstone at some point this year.

Some tracks / company's half days, and full days, others only do full days.

As for who to book with, for combe I tend to use www.apextrackdays.co.uk but others are www.javelintrackdays.co.uk, www.bhptrackdays.co.uk and www.trackdays.co.uk

I tend to try and visit tracks that get the best out of the car.

My VRS was great at Brands Hatch as progress slowed at 120mph and it liked the twisties.

My GT-R is great at Snetterton, Castle Combe and Silverstone as they are faster circuits and you can open it up more.

I don't visit smaller circuits at the moment.

I have had the taster at Castle Combe with the Brisky day out and I have to say it is a quick circuit even if the barriers are close to the track! I have also done Oulton Park and this was an incredible day out, very mixed circuit with different tarmacs too, giving very different feel when going through the corners.

I have a few things bubbling at the minute, we are going to Bedford 1st June, this will be a Fabia event, the final Fabia event as I have the MK III Golf for tracking. I want to get this on a half day somewhere so I can see how it goes.

I have also bought a MK IV V6 4Motion, this is a stock road car at the minute and of course this will need a thrash too, V6 isn't so good for tweaking but the MK IV is galvanised and immune to tin worms, unlike the MK III, so eventually the MK IV may become a 1.8T or 2.0 16V turbo project but in the meantime it will be a just use it car.

So I have short listed, Cadwell Park (the mini nurburgring), Anglesey, Pembrey, Blyton Park, Croft and Oulton Park again.

I will have a look through the websites listed above to see when I book them.

What about an evening event James?

I'm sure tracks do them as I've done Brands Hatch like that before.

You get about three or four hours open pit.

I'm actually at Brands in the evening next Monday.

Now your talking, this would be ideal, I found a full day was wasted as I hadn't planned to do an endurance race lol.

A couple of sessions like you did at CC would be an ideal event or as you suggest an evening event, thanks.

I have this car too now, why I bought it I am not sure..... I think because of the exhaust note, sounds sweet!

Now your talking, this would be ideal, I found a full day was wasted as I hadn't planned to do an endurance race lol.

A couple of sessions like you did at CC would be an ideal event or as you suggest an evening event, thanks.

I have this car too now, why I bought it I am not sure..... I think because of the exhaust note, sounds sweet!

That won't be much use on track.

the front tyre is flat lol

I think it will be a laugh on track, I have 17" wheels to go on it and a new steering rack before it goes anywhere lol.

I think it will make a good base for future projects, who knows what will end up in the front end over the coming years? It won't be the V6 I can assure you, £3500+ for a supercharger and only 50bhp increase.... but the 4 motion will remain in whatever form the engine takes.

As for the flat tyre, the guy who had it before was a budget tyre man, these could be good if inflated too hard and a drifting day was booked

Can the haldex be tweaked so as more drive is sent to the rears?

Yes, with a more aggressive controller that preloads drive to rear meaning it cuts in quicker and spreads the power more evenly.

Not cheap though.

I think the one for my Citigo was around £500 plus.

A brand spanking new Blue Haldex controller RRP is £900 roughly, i bought mine 2nd hand from Clive (CNTUNING) for £400 i think.... But worth every penny and the one of the best mods you can do even before having big turbos etc...

My local ish circuit is Croft which is really good fun... BUT they have a very low noise level of 89db and trackside sensors! a lot of the boys running V-Tec engines get black flagged there and thats just from their induction noise lol! Also Croft is always around £250 for a track day so not the cheapest.

Craig

Good thread, posting to have it in my "participated" list