I was involved in an accident in a friends car at Knockhill a good few years ago, both cars involved were written off.

Whilst they weren't of high value (2.0 Nova & Fiesta RS Turbo) it was simply agreed 50/50 blame, both drivers (i was a passenger) knew the risks of the trackday, so walked seperate ways and never persued claims from each other etc..

I don't think I would pay, if you take your car on track uninsured your obviously prepared to take the risk of it being damaged.

I have done quite a few track days in the past, never had a collision with another car, I did have a collision with a cone in my Boxster a few years back which cost me £750 to repair, I enjoyed doing the damage so kind of didn't care (although didn't like the expense!) would have been more gutted if someone had hit the car in a car park and driven off (if that makes sense!)

My 968 is insured fully comp for track days under a classic car policy, if I suffer damage on a trackday I would probably expect the claim against my policy for my car no matter what the circumstances. (The excess does increase from £100 to £750 for trackdays!)

What is the approximate cost of insurance for a track day? Surely it would be a hell of a lot less than paying for repairs, i must admit i have not looked into the cost myself so i really have no idea. I would pay for the damage to another car.... but again... if it was something like a Ferrari i hit.... i just dont know.

What is the approximate cost of insurance for a track day? Surely it would be a hell of a lot less than paying for repairs, i must admit i have not looked into the cost myself so i really have no idea. I would pay for the damage to another car.... but again... if it was something like a Ferrari i hit.... i just dont know.

My Policy on the 968 is cheaper than my Skoda on a classic policy with Track cover included, obviously limited on mileage.

I took out a policy once on my Boxster which at the time was worth about £19k, the insurance was £150ish for the day with an excess of 10% (£1900!!!)

I got 2 days track day insurance for my vRS last year, was £60 per day with a 10% excess and the car valued at £6000.

I later found out it was completely useless as I'd bought it as Nurburgring insurance and the Ring is not technically a track day as it's open to the public :(

I've spectated at a couple of track days & perhaps naively, I presumed that everyone on track had to take out some form of insurance. After all, the most expensive part of road accidents is generally not the metal work, it's the damage to the squashy fleshy bits inside.

If I've read some of the above posts correctly, it appears there's no third party cover.

So if there were to be a serious mishap & someone had a life changing injury.

Surely the family of the injured party would take some legal action,

say to provide for financial support through lost earnings, wheelchair ramps in the home etc ..

Or would the court simply say ... they knew the risks

Edited 24 August, 200916 yr by gcr31463

Or would the court simply say ... they knew the risks

thats exactl what the courts have said,and of course there is a legal disclaimer you sign before you go on stating it is dangerous and there is a chance of damage to persons/property if you won't sign it you don't go on.

So I suppose for your own peace of mind, you need to look at how risks might be managed...

I've been to Curbrough which had a strict one car on track policy as it's a narow circuit.

Blyton had a max of 5 cars and no overtaking without consent. Both of which worked well & without incident.

I guess, if it's a "club day" with everyone arriving in their daily drivers, then there's less risk, than someone with a trailered in track special that they can thrash mercilessly.

So I suppose for your own peace of mind, you need to look at how risks might be managed...

I've been to Curbrough which had a strict one car on track policy as it's a narow circuit.

Blyton had a max of 5 cars and no overtaking without consent. Both of which worked well & without incident.

I guess, if it's a "club day" with everyone arriving in their daily drivers, then there's less risk, than someone with a trailered in track special that they can thrash mercilessly.

thats what they usually do,only passing on one side and only on the straights,no diving up the inside under braking ect,i have done many track days and incedents in the dry are reasonably rare,but there are allways idiots unfortunatly,you just have to hope they get black flagged before they cause an accident.

I dont expect someone to pay for the damage to my car when on a trackday or at a competition, its your own risk. The only time I have asked for some money was when someone was driving like a prat in the pits and tried to do a handbrake next to my car and ran over the bonet and spares on the floor next to the car. I only did it because he shouldnt have been acting like a *****. I still had to do all the repair work.

I budget being able to afford to loose the car to a fire and be able to build a new car. If you carnt afford that then insurance might be a good bet, unless its a cheap banger and you dont care.

Some of the historic racing guys have complained about my mate when he has made contact, but we just tell them "dont come racing if you dont want to risk damaging the car".

In the event of a serious injury, surely it is the Trackday organiser or the Track owner who would be the only person that could face a legal challenge? Anyone driving on the track has paid for that privilege. Am I right? I have never been near a track

In the event of a serious injury, surely it is the Trackday organiser or the Track owner who would be the only person that could face a legal challenge? Anyone driving on the track has paid for that privilege. Am I right? I have never been near a track

If i remember correctly from the paperwork for the Hullavington day I did (i clearly read and memorised it well!! ) theres a line absolving them of liability too. they will do their best to make sure accidents don't happen but there is still a possibility of things going wrong.

I've done loads of trackdays (and races)...most recently always in my BMW M3.

I can get trackday cover with my classic car policy and it isn't too expensive...but it comes with a huge excess.

I've never bothered...Partly because I am reasonably confident that I won't stack it and partly because if I do hit something soild the scenary is covered by the organisers' insurance and you pay for it through the entry fees...My own car I'll just have to fix as and when I can...It will be a shame, but it's only metal!

I probably wouldn't persue or expect anyone else to pay for a collision unless they were being ****s...then I might do.

Same goes in reverse...I wouldn't expect anyone to persue me for fixing their car...If you (or they) are driving within their and the cars' limits, accidents will be few and far between...

The only trackday accidents I have seen (in about 50-60 trackdays) are:

Goodwood: my old BMW 2002 got a nasty smack to the front o/s (same place I damaged it in a race) by a friends' brother in-law who tried to take St. Marys' flat in top!

Silverstone: BMW CC drivers' day many years ago...an M1 out early in the morning got caught out by a damp patch at Copse and ended up in the tyre wall! Ouch!

Silverstone again: another BMW CC drivers' day...E36 M3 spun on a greasy surface at bridge after a brief shower...damaged rear quarter, but still driveable...

can any one recommend a reasonably priced UK track day insurer?

This is the key. You sign the disclaimer and you know the risks. No one is responsible for anyone elses costs. You have to play spot the idiot and drive defensively near them. If you do then you can have a dam good day with mimimum risk but accidents do happen especially if you overestimate your own skill level (you are the idiot), it always pays to get some on track training, which is available at most track days, on your first day and build you skills.

Edited 3 January, 201016 yr by Octavia5

Trackday insurance will only cover your own car...

I have it on my insurance (mainly because was pretty cheap) but as said above, the excess will be bigger, and it has alot of caveats (only so many a year, with specific trackday companies/tracks, no nurburgring etc)

To a point its up to the marshalls to weed out any idiots who are likely to be a risk... last time i was at anglesy there were a bunch of hondas there, and some tit in a chavved up prelude who (apart from having his grooved brake disks on the wrong way) would spin his car at the same point every lap.. he did this consecutively about four times before he was removed from the track.

in the main, uk trackdays are well run and well marshalled.. and 99% of the drivers are courtious and will yeild when theres someone faster behind.. the same CANNOT be said about the ring, some of the drivers on there (mainly in GT3s lol) are downright dangerous. (check this vid at 2:40 for a example) - i was pretty much commited for the overtake just before the slight left bend, but the **** in the porker steamed past anyway and cut in front just before the kerb.. i had to hit the brakes to avoid the porker either taking my front end off or ending up on the grass.

TBH i think the Ring is getting to be overrated now.. ive been twice.. dont think ill go again, its far too busy, very expensive, full of knobheads... the total cost of one ring trip would give a whole season of UK trackdays.

Oh and actually back on topic:

No i wouldnt pay for anyone elses damage.. its a risk, **** happens and if you cant accept the risks then you shouldnt be on track.

german insurance covers the ring under the normal policy. but normal german road laws apply. so if your doing ssomething extreme or overtaking on the wrong side, you wil be liable. i also believe iirc that my german insurance policy was only liable upto 150km/h after that insurance was void

just for the ring. Seems not too bad should the worse happen but its only for one day and maxuim of 8 laps per day

http://www.nurburgmotorsport.com/Insurance.html

I'd say thats well worth £99.

More than 8 laps in a day takes some commitment anyway. You'll certainly be starting to get tired, and possibly a little too confident after that many laps in short succession.

just for the ring. Seems not too bad should the worse happen but its only for one day and maxuim of 8 laps per day

http://www.nurburgmotorsport.com/Insurance.html

Would be hard pressed to get 8 laps in a day.. think the most i managed was 5.. i spent more time queuing up to get off the track when it kept closing then i did actually going round it!

Would be hard pressed to get 8 laps in a day.. think the most i managed was 5.. i spent more time queuing up to get off the track when it kept closing then i did actually going round it!

True last time I went I only got 6 laps over the whole weekend, I would doubt I would do 8 laps but some are probably more hardcore than me. :p

just a question about the "ring" if I was hit by a german driver would their insurance cover? - Stupid question its answered above

To be fair with the fabia the "loss" possibilty is alot less than it is woth the octavia I somewhat put off by the though of some plonker writing off my 21k car. I have no doubts about my ability on the track as I would not and do not push that hard but after last time some of the other drivers can be Charlie, Osca, Charlie, Kilo, Sierra

Worth also looking on that site about the MOT and modification issues that the German Police are clamping down on!

Edited 21 February, 201016 yr by polocoupe

As for the Nurburgring - it would be interesting to know how many of the GT3s and the like are insured? You just have to be careful, if someone is all over you move over, watch your mirrors and drive within your limits. I would never be put off lapping the ring, I think its part of the appeal the fact it can be dangerous. Its a truly magical place if you like your cars

The Ring is different as it's a public road most of the time which means you are liable for damage you cause, I would be interested to know how many of them are insured - I'd expect more than on a track day because of it being a public road and also simply because it is genuinely a very dangerous track with a much higher risk of a bad crash than most other race tracks. Insurance for the Ring which isn't covered by standard policies (even if it doesn't specifically mention it) is pretty expensive, on a Clio Sport 200 the excess was a scary 8,000 Euros plus another 5,000 Euros if there's any third party damage.

If I went to a standard track day I'd make sure I could get some sort of insurance and if not possible I probably wouldn't do it, it was bad enough driving with a 13,000 euro cost amongst all the big cars so I'd hate to be doing it knowing that I could land myself with a bill I couldn't pay off anytime soon as I'd feel obliged to pay it. I'd have thought you'd have to sign legal papers for going onto the track to make you liable?

John

The German cars on the Ring are all insured as part of their normal road insurance. That's one of the reasons why Germans in particular pay such high car insurance premiums - because the insurers are having to underwrite cars driven on unrestricted Autobahns and the Ring. The UK cars on the other hand are another matter...

I wish I could share geordie_21s outlook on the Ring but after doing it in my own car I take the view that I was just f***ing lucky nothing really bad happened and the only way I do it now is as a passenger in someone elses car or in a track prepped (German registered and insured) hire car.

At least for a UK trackday you have the luxury of (overpriced) insurance to cover it.

Edited 28 July, 201015 yr by chicken_eyebrow

Firstly, i would not do trackdays without insurance, and if this insurance only covered my own vehicle then no i would not pay damage to any body else's vehicle. In fact the organisers of trackdays should not allow anybody without correct insurance on to the track, or they should have insurance available on the day for anyone who has not got the correct insurance. In fact i would be surprised if allowing uninsured vehicles on to their tracks doesnt invalidate their own company insurance.

Sorry to appear a killjoy , but track day organisers are making money from these events therefore they are liable to ensure that they are run and insured correctly.

Firstly, i would not do trackdays without insurance, and if this insurance only covered my own vehicle then no i would not pay damage to any body else's vehicle. In fact the organisers of trackdays should not allow anybody without correct insurance on to the track, or they should have insurance available on the day for anyone who has not got the correct insurance. In fact i would be surprised if allowing uninsured vehicles on to their tracks doesnt invalidate their own company insurance.

Sorry to appear a killjoy , but track day organisers are making money from these events therefore they are liable to ensure that they are run and insured correctly.

As ColG has said further up the thread, the onus is on the individual to cover themselves for being on track if you so deisre. AFAILK the responsibility for your own insurance does not lie with the company organinsing the event.

I have done a number of airfield track days, and several laps of Castle Combe all without track day insurance. The way I see it is that if you are not comfortable with the risk you shouldn't do it. Or to look at it another way, if i stuff my car then hey I'll have had fun doing it.

If someone else were to stuff my car then, hey, I knew that was a risk when I drove over the start line.

Edited 29 August, 201015 yr by Jonny5ive