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The petrolhead’s bible to getting on track...
TRACK DAY GUIDE
a set of 4 Avon tyres worth £350
your car g in r a p e r P • ’ll need u o y it k e h t • All ing advice iv r d d e c n a v • Ad
ircuits c K U f o Z o •At an buy c u o y s r a c • Track day ontacts c l u f e s u f o • 100s ow ticket h s r a c E E R •F £15 inside worth
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003 Introduction:Layout 1
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UK Guide to Track Days
Start Line S
peed cameras. Pot holes. Traffic. There’s no longer any fun to be had driving on the road, some say. Actually, despite having assembled the UK Guide to Track Days, I don’t agree. I think there’s still ample opportunity to get your kicks from road driving. Despite coming from this standpoint, I utterly believe that nothing compares to driving on track. Your favourite B-road provides nowhere near to the thrill of driving for continuous miles on circuit. You’ll be constantly on the limit, honing your skills and driving quicker than you ever have before in an environment that’s much safer than the road. Having raced for a few seasons and done numerous track days at various venues around the UK, I’m addicted – and I want to share the experience with as many petrolheads as possible. Later in this guide, we have highlighted a number of kit cars that are ideal for track days. There are a number of reasons why a kit car is perfect for track day use – whether you build it yourself or buy it in turnkey form. With their light weight, they offer excellent performance per pound. In addition, driving a kit car is a pure experience. Whether it’s a Fisher Fury or a GD T70, it’ll be bereft of nannying electronic controls like ABS and traction control. These are undiluted driving machines that offer a combination of performance and connectedness you won’t find anywhere else this side of a racing car. What’s more, many of them use common donor components, so they’re cheap to maintain. Lightweight cars are easy on brakes and tyres as well. Cheap to repair, too, should the worst happen; compare the price of a cycle wing and nosecone for a kit car to the eye-watering cost of replacing a bumper and headlight on something like a Mitsubishi Evo. One other point. If you take a brand new production car on track, you’re likely to invalidate your warranty. Since kit cars are, by and large, designed with track day use in mind, you won’t have the same problems. But it’s not just about the cars. The UK is fortunate in having a vast number of venues to drive quickly. Whether its Goodwood, preserved in its 1960s form, the thoroughly modern F1 facility at Silverstone, the tight and twisty Cadwell Park or one of many airfield venues, there’s somewhere to match your level of skill. We also have a fantastic free competition for you to enter on page 58 and below is a FREE ticket worth £15 to the Donington Performance Car Show which promises to be a great day out for all pretrolheads. The information contained in this guide will arm you with the knowledge to start out in this captivating, exciting leisure pursuit. It also provides a useful reference to those who are more experienced in circuit driving. From the gear you’ll need, to the circuits and the cars, let us guide you into a world of adrenaline fuelled fun. Adam Wilkins Editor
✂ FREE Entry Ticket worth £15
DONINGTON Performance Car Show Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd September 2012 Please cut out and keep safe. This printed coupon entitles the owner upon presentation at the show box office, free entrance for 1 adult. Photocopies or scanned copies will not be accepted. The value of entry to the show is £15 for one adult ticket however this may not be exchanged for cash or any other item and does not include camping or refreshments at the show. Coupon is valid for either 2012 or 2013 show and is valid on either day i.e. Saturday or Sunday. We look forward to seeing you there!
Cover photo: Alex James Photography
PERFORMANCE PUBLISHING T: 01903 236268 E: adam@performancepublishing.co.uk W: www.completekitcar.co.uk A: Performance Publishing Ltd, Complete Kit Car, Unit 12 Thesiger Close, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2RN
Sorry, but lack of time prevents us answering technical queries over the phone. We would much prefer you contact us by e-mail or write, enclosing an SAE for a reply. While every effort is made in compiling the editorial and accepting only bona fide advertisements in UK Guide To Track Days, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any effects arising therefrom. Freelance features and photographs are submitted at the owner’s risk and, whilst every care is taken, no responsibility for loss or damage can be taken by the publisher or their agents.
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3 | UK Track Day Guide
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Contents
The cars Full details and specifications on the following track day cars...
3 Introduction The editor introduces this latest edition of the UK Track Day Guide. Also have a free ticket on us to the Donington Performance Car Show.
30 Car preparation Any road legal car is eligible for a track day. Here’s how you can make yours safer, faster and more reliable.
8 Your first track day Want to know what to expect at your first track day? Here’s your introduction. 14 Driver preparation Use our handy buyers’ guides to get yourself kitted out in the right circuit gear.
32 Seatbelts Your harness options are surprisingly wide. Here’s our buyers’ guide.
60 61 62 63 64
AB Sabre Autotune Can-Am and Gemini Caterham Seven Dax Rush Furore F1
65 66 67 68 69
GBS Zero Luego Viento MEV Exocet MEV Sonic7 and Rocket MK Indy
36 Brakes If you want to go faster, stopping quicker is a good way to do so. Pads, calipers and discs covered.
16 Race suits and underwear A useful reference to race suits and flame resistant underwear. Not compulsory, but they add safety to your circuit work.
40 Fire extinguishers Hopefully you’ll never need to use it, but it’s a worthwhile purchase for peace of mind.
17 Race boots If your car’s footwell is tight for space, race boots improve your agility on the pedals.
42 Trailers Prefer to tow your car to and from the circuit? Here are your trailer options.
18 Gloves Proper race gloves are always a benefit. Here’s what to expect for your money.
70 MNR VortX 71 Raw Striker 72 Roadrunner SR2
46 Video cameras Relive those exciting moments by capturing the on video. Here’s our rundown of the equipment that’s available.
20 Crash helmets Compulsory on all track days, crash helmets vary enormously in specification and price. 22 Further reading Reviews of two books dedicated to the subject of track days. 24 Focused Events The editor joins Focused Events for a track day at Snetterton, and drives one of the company’s Tiger R6 hire cars.
4 | UK Track Day Guide
73 74 75 76
SDR WR3 V-Storm Spire GT-R Toniq CB Westfield
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UK Guide to Track Days
The circuits A run-down of 19 great UK circuits you can drive in your own car. 80 81 82 83 84
Anglesey Bedford Autodrome Blyton Park Brands Hatch Cadwell Park
50 Dataloggers They’re not permitted on all track days, but capturing lap data is both fascinating and can make you quicker. 85 86 87 88 89
Castle Combe Croft Donington Park Goodwood Knockhill
52 Unconventional lines Nigel Greensall explains why the traditional racing line isn’t always the quickest. 54 Owl vision Ben Edwards on why something as subtle as the position of your head can make a difference to your corner speed. 56 Track day organisers A listing of track day organisers. 56 Insurance Your road insurance won’t cover you on track, and track day insurance isn’t compulsory. Here’s how it works.
90 91 92 93 94
Llandow Lydden Hill Mallory Park Oulton Park Pembrey
95 96 97 98
Rockingham Motor Speedway Silverstone Snetterton Thruxton
58 Competition WIN a set of Avon Tyres worth £500.
5 | UK Track Day Guide
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Intatrim Creators of Comfort in Motion
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Tiger’s fantastic road cars are also Tiger’s fantastic Track Day cars!! However, if you want to go that bit further, go straight into Tiger’s Race Series
The R6 you use on the Road, is the R6 you can use on the Track! (or vice-versa)
With a Tiger you have the best of both worlds - An exhilarating road-going sports car and a highly competitive track car all in one!
Aviator
The majority of R6s are built for road use. However, the awesome performance and handling of this model makes it an ideal track car when fitted with a few safety upgrades.
The AviatorTM is a high performance road or track car with advanced aerodynamics to give it the extra edge at speed.
Tigers at Lydden
Tiger have an 8 model line-up ranging from the classic styled HS6 with a 50bhp Triumph Spitfire engine to the seriously Combined with the legendary handling and stability of our race-bred R6, it builds still further on our already very impressive racing successes. quick RS6 with a 260bhp Duratec and full sequential shift. For full details of our Model Range, Track Day Events and the Tiger Race Series, please ask for our 52 page brochure, or call Jim at Tiger Racing.
6 | UK Track Day Guide
Tiger Racing Ltd Unit 10, Anglia Way, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 2TY Head Office/Sales/Parts: 01945 466200 / 461423 e-mail: jim@tigerracing.com
www.tigerracing.com
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Drive your car on some of the most exciting circuits in the UK with Opentrack in 2012
Snetterton 300 Cadwell Park Oulton Park
Brands Hatch Blyton Bedford
Have a look at our website and see what makes us the BEST! Prices include • Tuition • Garaging • Snacks
T: 01954 202588 M: 07531 709657 E: davidwoodall@ntlworld.com
www.opentrack.co.uk 7 | UK Track Day Guide
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First Track Day
On The If you’ve never been to a track day before, the idea of turning up at your first and heading out on track can seem a little daunting. It doesn’t have to be – here’s an overview of what to expect at your first event. here are decisions to make before you even book a place on a track day. You’ll be asking yourself questions like... What sort of venue would you prefer to start with? Would a novice session be preferable? Will you favour sessions or an open pit lane? Making the right decisions at the outset will make your first foray into track day fun less daunting and more enjoyable. So let us lead you through that first track day, and give you an idea of what’s involved before you have a wristband clicked in place and you’re waved out on track for the first time...
T
Right: Keep an eye on tyre pressures throughout the day. They’ll vary a lot, especially if the weather is hot.
Choosing the venue There are essentially two different kinds of venue at which track days are held – circuits and airfields. After you’ve sampled each, you’ll develop a personal
Below: Day will either be broken up into grouped sessions or run with an open pit lane. Queues on the latter tend to subside in the afternoon.
Day preference. Airfields are the natural choice for a track day first-timer. They’re always flat, which means you won’t have tricky cambers or gradients testing you. With courses marked out in cones, a total lack of armco and huge run offs,
8 | UK Track Day Guide
you’re also pretty safe if you do make a mistake. Generally, if you spin off there are very few obstacles to hit. On the other hand, don’t be deterred from going on a circuit for your first track day. There are many people – this
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What To Expect
writer included – who feel happier following a ‘natural’ circuit than negotiating cones on a wide open airfield that has few reference points. Some circuits are more difficult than others, and our Circuit A-Z towards the back of this guide will give you an indication of which ones are more difficult.
Formats When you book a track day, the organiser will be able to tell you whether the day will be run with sessions or an open pit lane. Those terms are pretty self-explanatory. With an open pit lane, you can go out on track and come back in whenever you choose. There will always be a limit to
9 | UK Track Day Guide
Above: Always a good idea to check the car over between sessions. Fluid levels should be topped up at all times. Below: The drivers’ briefing is compulsory. Rules and process of the day will be run through.
the number of cars permitted on the circuit at any one time, so each time a car returns to the paddock another is let out. In the afternoon, the track usually becomes quite quiet and queues are short if not entirely non-existent, meaning you get a lot of time at your own discretion. It’s usually advisable to limit the time spent on track at any one time: brakes will fade and driver fatigue will set in. With sessions, you’ll be in a group of cars and let out for, say, 20 minutes at a time. The downside to this system is that if the session is red flagged (because of an oil spillage or recovery truck on track) it will eat into the time you have on circuit. On the plus side, the sessions are usually organised into levels of track experience. For a beginner, this means you’ll be out with other first-timers and novices. Many track days will be run as a combination of sessions in the morning and an open pit lane in the afternoon once everyone has had a chance to learn the circuit. Other variations include novice-only days and track evenings. The latter are run on light summer evenings for a few hours at a time, and the price to book is cheaper than it is for a full day. This can be a great way of getting
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Pic: Paul Reeves
First Track Day
a feel for a track day without going to the all-out expense of booking a whole day. On the day All track days will begin in the same way – with sign-on (where you’ll have to show your driving license) and a drivers’
Above: Trailers are optional, but can add peace of mind. Below: An official will check for your wristband and noise test sticker before allowing you out on track.
briefing. This is where you’ll officially be told the workings of the day. You’ll be given general hints on how to drive the circuit, a run-down on what the flags will mean, pointers of where the marshal posts are and an explaination of overtaking etiquette. Nearly always, overtaking will only be permitted on the
10 | UK Track Day Guide
straights (not in the corners or braking zones) and on the left. As most circuits are clockwise, this gives the faster car a better line into what is likely to be a right-hand corner. Overtaking is usually only by consent – the driver ahead must indicate that he has seen you so that you can be sure he is going to give you room to pass. Unlike in racing, the flags have slightly different meanings from one venue to another. As a rule of thumb, they’ll be used for approximately the following purposes: yellow for slow down, red for session ended, chequered for the end of the session and the black to signal to one particular car to pit. The black flag is used to bring a car in either to tell the driver to moderate his behaviour or because of a mechanical fault that may not be obvious to the driver. Once you’ve been through the drivers’ briefing. you’ll be given a wristband and, often, a sticker to identify your car. This combination will be checked each time you go on track. You’re not ready to go on track yet, though. All circuits have a noise limit (whether self imposed or dictated by local authority) that has to be strictly enforced in order for the venue to retain its license. Your car will be tested
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What To Expect
for decibels before you’re allowed out. Some tracks have additional trackside noise meters to measure drive-by noise as well – so make sure your silencer is well packed! Quite often, there will be two or three processional laps led by a safety
car so that everyone knows which way the circuit goes before being let loose. When that moment comes, it’s tempting to go for some hubristic quick laps straight away, but it’s better to ease yourself in gently. Better for the car, too, to warm it up (engine oil, tyres
Above: What it’s all about – having fun on track. Below: As well as on circuit action, track days provide a social side in the paddock.
and brakes) before giving it the all. Gradually increase corner speeds and reduce braking distances until you begin to find the limit. It’s not a qualifying lap, so tenths of seconds don’t matter. Besides, I often find that a few steadier laps at the beginning of the day result in quicker ones later on. One other thing to consider is whether you want to take the car to the track on a trailer. It will give you extra peace of mind should you suffer a mechanical breakdown, although it does add to the cost of the day (whether you buy a trailer or hire one). Car care You’ll be putting your car under more stress on track than it’ll be subjected to on the road. Before the day, it’s a good idea to have a spanner check and have a ‘day zero’ on all the nuts and bolts – including the wheelnuts! Check the tyre pressures before you go out (and again when you come back in to see how much they’ve increased by) and ensure all the fluid levels are topped up. It’s easy to overlook the fuel level at this point, but don’t. Some venues threaten a fine for running out of petrol because it’s an unnecessary interruption to track time for everyone else. If you have a removeable towing eye (unlikely with a
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First Track Day Left: First job is sign on. You’ll need to present your license and sign a disclaimer. Below left: Your car will also be tested for noise.
Below: Don’t worry if you’re a complete beginner. After your first sessions you’ll fit right in with tales of clipped apexes and unintended oversteer.
kit car, we know), fit it as you never know if you’re going to need to be towed back to the paddock. Assuming you’re on your way back to the paddock under your own steam, remember to have a cooling down lap. This is less obvious than a warm up lap but just as important. High gear, low revs and minimal braking will help everything cool off before return to park. If you have a turbocharged car, you’ll probably already be used to letting it idle before switching off the engine. It’s useful to do the same with a naturally aspirated engine to let the water keep circulating. Leave the handbrake off, too. You don’t want the brake pads to fix themselves to hot discs as it can lead to warping. Just leave the car in gear to prevent it rolling away. Will I be fast enough? Whether you care to admit it or not, this concern is likely to occur to you when planning your first track day. The answer is yes, you will be fast enough. You can drive at whatever pace you like on a track day. As long as you’re going
12 | UK Track Day Guide
quickly enough to enjoy yourself, that’s quick enough. All you need to do is remember to keep an eye on your mirrors and move over for anything that’s coming up faster than you. Consideration and etiquette is much more important than outright pace. It may be the case that a car behind is quicker than you through the corners but slower on the straights. If that’s so, ease off the throttle to allow them to pass on the straight. Relax and have fun! Any anxieties you may have in the build up to your first session or two will soon melt away once you begin to relax into the rhythm of things. If you’re a keen driver on the road, a track day offers the same experience but turned up several notches. It’s not all about driving on track, either. Socially, it’s a great day out and you’ll soon be swapping anecdotes in the paddock and comparing lines and braking points. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has tried a track day and failed to enjoy it. Join in – and we hope to see you on track in 2012.
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13 | UK Track Day Guide
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Driver Preparation
Gear The only compulsory bit of track day wear is a crash helmet, but you may choose further protective clothing. We’ve also selected some potential further reading material.
Up!
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Buyers’ Guides
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Buyers’ Guide
What
To Wear Casual clothes are permitted at track days, but some prefer the added safety of motorsport clothing.
S
ome prefer the protection of wearing a fireproof race suit on a track day, others feel it looks a little pretentious. Whatever side of the fence you sit, it’s worth considering the safety implications before deciding how to dress on a track day. If you’re going to wear civvies, avoid anything that contains Nylon. In the event of a fire, it will melt to your skin and exaccerbate any burns. You should always opt for something natural like cotton and, if you’re in an open car, almost all track day organisers insist that you have covered arms when on track.
If you’re going to opt for a flame retardant suit, there are essentially two options. A Proban suit will cost as little as £45 (though we were unable to find an example in time for inclusion in this feature). This is made from cotton and treated with Proban during the manufacturing process. These suits aren’t permitted for racing use, so if you’re thinking of moving on to racing at a later date you’ll need to replace it. A Nomex suit will offer greater protection. What we really mean by that is that you have more time to get out of the car before the flames will start to harm you. Nomex suits come in two or three-layer forms and start from around £300. If you don’t want to go for the whole Stig look but still want greater protection than your normal clothes,
it’s worth wearing flame retardant underwear. As well as being more subtle than a full suit, it’s also cooler to wear and a lot cheaper. Again, avoid wearing Nylon with it. Other items of clothing you can opt for, namely boots and gloves, will improve your control over the car. Thin-souled race boots give you much more feel of the pedals, while they’re narrow width is ideal for the small pedal boxes of many kit cars. As a bonus, they often have an extention of the soul on the right foot to help heel and toeing. Prices start from £30 and rise to £70 for a pair with flame retardant lining. Gloves also improve your control over the car by offering better grip. Sounds obvious, but the difference when you try them is surprisingly stark.
Race Suits Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Sprint 6 Material: 2-layer Nomex Colours: Black, blue, red or grey Price: Around £270 General: FIA approved, floating sleeves, hard wearing outer layer. An entry level offering from a brand name.
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: GP-T Material: 2-layer Nomex Colours: Red/black, blue/black, black/grey, grey/black Price: Around £500 General: FIA approved, mesh Nomex inner lining, flexible lumber area. A mid-range offering from Alpinestars.
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Clothing
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: GP Tech Material: Three-layer Nomex Colours: Blue/white, black, black/white, white, red/white, silver Price: Around £950 General: FIA approved, the GP Tech is amongst the most expensive race suits you can buy and probably overkill for a track day! It has a 100 per cent Nomex construction and the arms and legs are patterned specifically to offer their optimum comfort in the driving position. It’s the same suit as worn by the Stig.
Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Technica X-7 Material: Three-layer Nomex Colours: Red/black, black/red, blue/red, grey/red Price: Around £840 General: The Sparco Technica X-7 is a top of the range offering. Three layers of Nomex are very breathable and there are lots of features to increase the comfort, such as the fully floating sleeves and ‘Aramid bellows’ which aid movement.
Nomex Underwear Manufacturer: Sparco Item: Top Price: Around £120 General: Soft-touch Nomex is more comfortable than the regular material, making it ideal for a track day where you’re likely to be wearing it all day underneath everyday clothing. Soft touch material offers the same level of protection as regular Nomex.
Manufacturer: Sparco Item: Balaclava Price: Around £30 General: As well as providing an extra layer of fire safety, a balaclava is also easier to wash than the inside of a crash helmet.
17 | UK Track Day Guide
Manufacturer: Sparco Item: Long johns Price: Around £100 General: Like the top on the left, long johns can offer discreet fire resistant protection under your ordinary clothes – or an additional layer of protection underneath a race suit.
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Buyers’ Guide Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: SP Colours: Black, red, blue or white Price: Around £130 General: A new entry level boot for 2011 from Alpinestars. Made from a suede and leather mix and featuring a perforated tongue. Uses Alpinestars’ own compound for the rubber sole, which is suited to use both in the wet and the dry.
Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Slalom SL-3 Colours: Red, blue or black. Additional grey detail at extra cost Price: Around £110 General: Amongst the cheapest brand name boots. In common with current F1 trends, it is all lace fastened (as opposed to part lace, part Velcro) for a secure fit. Very lightweight, FIA approved.
Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Top Driver SH-5 Colours: Red, blue or black. Price: Around £150 General: This is a high cut boot that offers plenty of ankle support. Twin Velcro closure with lace-up bottom section. Water resistant treatment to upper suede part, rubber sole is resistant to oil and fuel.
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: Tech 1-T Colours: Red, black, white, blue, silver, pink Price: Around £160 General: Recently revised heel shape with better fit for wider feet. Extremely light and streamlined for ultimate performance with form fitting suede and full-grain leather upper construction and Nomex lining which has been revised for improved shape and fit. Lateral forefoot support built in for improved stability and protection. Newly developed Alpinestars outsole with exclusive rubber compound for improved feel, vibration absorption and grip.
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: Tech 1-Z Colours: Black, black/gold, brown/gold, pearl white Price: Around £220 General: This extremely lightweight Kangaroo leather shoe features a streamlined cut and Alpinestars exclusive rubber compound sole for outstanding grip, heel to toe feel and vibration resistance. Single large Velcro secured ankle strap for shoe stability. Exclusive quick lacing system with Kevlar reinforcement, developed from Alpinestars MotoGP technology for a precise secure closure. Thin flap closure together with thinner laces make the fit extremely comfortable and precise. Built in lateral forefoot support for improved stability and protection. Thin, fire retardant heel and counter delivers stability to the foot and allows precise switching between brake and accelerator. Lightweight, microporous padding around the heel and insole is comfortable for driving and walking alike and built in foot bed which has been engineered for greater feel and precision.
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Clothing
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: Tech 1 Colours: Red, black, blue or white Price: Around £100 General: High level of design has gone into these gloves. They have a Nomex main construction and fire resistant lining. The fingers are pre-curved for comfort and they have knuckle padding built in. The palms and fingers are treated with silicone for extra grip. FIA approved.
Manufacturer: Alpinestars Model: Tech 1-ZX Colours: Black, blue, white or red Price: Around £115 General: External seams and wide cuffs for extra comfort. Grip is provided by textured leather and silicone printing in strategic places.
Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Land Gloves Colours: Black, blue or red Price: Around £50 General: These gloves have the same level of FIA approval as the Sparco race suits, so they offer a great level of flame resistance as well as giving good grip (and extra control) on the wheel.
Manufacturer: Sparco Model: Arrow Colours: Blue, black, red or white Price: Around £100 General: FIA approved gloves with external seams for greater comfort. Features ‘HTX’ high grip material strategically placed on the palms and fingers. Pre-curved fingers to help prevent fatigue.
Useful Contacts Alpinestars: W: www.alpinestars.com AWS: W: www.advanced-wear.co.uk OMP: W: www.ompracing.it Simpson: W: www.simpsonraceproducts.co.uk Sparco: W: www.sparco.it
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Buyers’ Guide
Put A
Lid On It We help you choose that track day essential – a crash helmet.
A
crash helmet is a vital bit of a kit for any track day – you won’t be allowed on circuit without one. Some track day organsiers hire out helmets but it’s much better to invest in your own. Not only will you not know whether it has been dropped (a dropped helmet should be disgarded and replaced) but you’ll also know that it contains only your own sweat! If you already have a motorcycle helmet, it will be permitted by most track day organisers but it’s not ideal for car use. The impacts sustained in a car accident are different to those in a motorcycling off, and helmets for the former are designed to withstand
multiple impacts in one area. This is because in a car you’re strapped in and the helmet is likely to repeatedly strike the same part of roll bar/cage or door. There are two kinds of approval marks to look out for – British Standard and SNELL. These are as follows: BS6658-85 A is fine for track day use but is very limited for motorsport use. BS6658-85 A/FR has flame retardant lining and is accepted for almost all forms of motorsport. The numbers to look out for with SNELL approval are SA2005 and SA2010. The latter is the latest approval and will have a longer shelf life if you’re looking to move into competitive motorsport. You can buy both open and fullface helmets with all levels of approval. If you’re driving an open car, a full-face
helmet is a must but with a closed car you have the option. An open face helmet will offer a greater field of vision but less protection. Ideally, you should try a helmet for size before buying but it’s not a necessity. Many helmets are sold by mail order and, if you’re going to buy one like that, you should measure the circumference of your head just above your eyebrows and ears. Finally, when deciding how much to spend on your crash helmet the advice is simple – spend as much as you can afford. In general, the higher the price the better the standard of helmet. You only have one head so you want to look after it! The range we’ve highlighted here is by no means exhaustive, but it does give a clear overview of what you can get for the money.
Model: Sparco Club Price: £109.56 Approval: BS6658-85A General: This is an entry level open face helmet with a shell made from thermoplastic. It is suitable for track days in closed roof cars, but cannot be used for any MSA or FIA motorsport events.
Model: Bell Mag 1 Price: Around £210 Approval: SNELL SA2010 General: This is an open face helmet made from fibreglass which gives much higher levels of protection than thermoplastic. The liner of the Mag 1 is made from a flame retardant material so it is suitable for motorsport events as well as track days.
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Crash Helmets
Model: Sparco ClubX1 Available from: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Price: Around £90 Approval: BS6658-85A General: New for 2012, the ClubX1 is not suitable for motorsport as it is not fire resistant. However, it’s perfectly acceptable for track days and offers good value if you’re not sure how much use you’re going to get from it.
Model: Bell Sport 5 Available from: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Price: £390 Approval: SNELL SA2010 General: This popular full-face helmet is suitable for track days and motorsport and has a shell made from a carbon/kevlar/glass composite for very high levels of protection. The liner is made from a flame retardant material.
Model: Arai GP5-W Available from: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Price: £719.99 Approval: SNELL SA2010 General: This helmet offers the protection of a full face helmet but without the visor for closed cockpit cars. The visor aperture is wide enough to give a better field of view. The GP5-W is made from a lightweight and very strong composite material giving very high levels of protection. Fit and comfort levels are high and the liner is made from a flame retardant material.
Useful Contacts Arai: W: www.araihelmet-europe.com OMP Racing: W: www.ompracing.it Stilo: W: www.stilo-helmets.com Racelidz: W: www.racelidz.com Simpson: W: www.simpsonraceproducts.com
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Further Reading
Track Day If you’ve been inspired to find out more about track days, why not get hold of one of these books dedicated to the subject? Title: The Track Day Manual Published by: Haynes Publishing Author: Mike Breslin Pages: 168, hardback Price: £18.99 Published: 2008 Available from: Performance Publishing. T: 01903 236268. W: www.completekitcar.co.uk
T
he Track Day Manual was published in 2008, and it provides a good all-round reference point for those who are looking to make their first steps into the track day scene. As well as plenty of information for beginners, it also provides enough detail for those who are more experienced. It’s a book you can constantly return to for tips and refreshers on all aspects of track days, driving on circuit and preparation. It opens with general introductory chapters on what track days are all about, and gives advice on issues such as insurance. Later in the book, it goes into greater depth on driving techniques. Although it can’t go into the same detail
Books on driving techniques as books that are dedicated to the subject, it’s detailed enough to provide a handy reference. In the same way that it would be useful to browse the Highway Code every now and again for road driving, so The Track Day Manual can provide the same function to regular circuit-goers. We were a little surprised that the chapter on track day cars provided no information on kit cars (with the exception of a mention of Caterham). Considering that so many of the pictures throughout depict kit cars, it’s very apparent that they form a significant part of the track day scene. The overall impression of the book is that it’s well laid out, nicely
Title: Race and Track Day Driving Techniques Published by: Veloce Publishing Author: Dave Hornsey Pages: 128, paperback Price: £14.99 Published: 2011 Available from: Performance Publishing. T: 01903 236268. W: www.completekitcar.co.uk
D
ave Hornsey has been racing since 1995, and is a qualified race instructor who has given tuition to racers from club level right up to F1. He has also worked for a number of race schools as well as Porsche and Ferrari. He holds a position with Aston Martin’s worldwide driving events team. His new book, Race and Track Day
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photographed and written in a clearly knowledgable yet very accessible tone. One to have on the shelf if you’re going to do a season or more of track days.
Driving Techniques, was released last year as part of Veloce’s SpeedPro series. It covers everything from basic skills to advanced techniques, including information on why certain things work. It lets its readers progress through at their own rate and contains additional guidance on other techniques, such as drifting and J-turns, as well as how to prepare yourself metally and adapt to wet conditions. It’s nicely written, easy to follow and imparts what is obviously deep rooted knowledge within the author, meaning those at all skill levels will be able to pick up useful, practical guidance. If anything lets the book down, some of the diagrams are poorly produced and the pages have an overly busy, cluttered appearance. But that doesn’t detract from this being a very useful reference for those seeking to improve their driving skills.
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Tel: 01132 426359 Mob: 07899 801391 Clutch specialists with 25 years experience supplying and manufacturing performance clutch kits.
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THESE UNITS ARE ultra light weight all aluminium design and the components used are C.N.C machined to a very high standard, they are then anodised in clear and black to give maximum protection and presentation. All units are hand built to order. totally have design features Pro-Tech 400 series er tur fac nu ma er different from any oth
PRO-TECH 400 series are made from 45 m/m dia 6262 specification aluminium with adjustable spring seat platform for 1.9" I.D. or 2 ¼" I.D. springs and has a single adjustable knob which adjusts both bump and rebound valving simultaneously. Pro-Tech Shocks Ltd
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Unit 10, Lysander Road, Bowerhill, Melksham, Wiltshire, SN12 6SP T: +44 (0)1225 705553 F: +44 (0)1225 706663 E: info@protechshocks.co.uk
www.protechshocks.co.uk
It is always advisable to rely on a Specialist when having a Propshaft manufactured or modified. With an item weighing anything from 5-75kg spinning at speeds of up to 10,000 r.p.m. just inches away from the drivers thighs protected only by the vehicles bodywork you need to be sure that the “Specialist” is the best available. Since 1977 Bailey Morris Ltd has concentrated on its core product of universally jointed Propshafts and Driveshafts, whether it is small batch quantities for original equipment manufacturers, one off specials, prototypes, repair or modifications we have the ability to offer a product that is correct. Engineering improvements allow us to upgrade the original universally jointed products. With many options available for universal joints, tubes and flange connections, we offer upgrading and weight reduction with bespoke machinery including automated welding, post straightening and dynamic balancing all to ISO specifications. Supplying shafts to the standards demanded by Original Equipment manufacturers we can offer you the best options available at competitive prices.
hould do! s t” s li ia c e p “s a t a h Which is exactly w Little End Road, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, Cambs. PE19 8GE. T: 01480 216250 F: 01480 403045 E: sales@baileymorris.co.uk
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Track Day Hire
If you want the track day experience but don’t want to take your own car on the circuit, you can hire a car built for the job. Adam Wilkins tried Focused Events’ Tiger R6.
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Focused Events
I Faster Than A Hire Car
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t’s 4am when the alarm clock sounds. You need a good reason to be up that early at the weekend. On my way out of town, almost everyone I see is still finishing off their Friday nights, not starting their Saturday mornings. Even the radio broadcasts seem to be aimed at latenight revellers rather than early starters. The unsportingly early start is mostly down to the geographic compromise of my south coast home. If I’m to stand any chance of getting to Snetterton in time for the sign-on and briefing, a liein is most definitely not on the cards. On the plus side, I’m not having my senses bombarded by a no-compromise track day car, and neither am I having to tow a trailer. Today, I have the luxury of turning up to find my track day weapon already in the paddock. Having previously had a fleet of Renaultsport Clios to hire out, in 2010 track day organiser Focused Events replaced them with the altogether more exciting prospect of a pair of Tiger R6s. As I near Snetterton on the A11, daylight has broken and the traffic has taken on a performance-oriented bias. Audi R8s, Focus RSs, Lotus Elises… they’re all heading the same way as me. In fact, the diversity of cars I find in the paddock is surprising; Focused Events seems to attract a broad cross-section of customers, united only by their petrolhead proclivities. First job is to sign an indemnity in the paddock office. Ten minutes before I arrived at Snetterton, I realised I’d forgotten my driving license. Fortunately, circuit owners Motorsport Vision are able to put in a call to the DVLA in Swansea to confirm I do hold a license and, for a fiver, I’m given the OK (and, more importantly, a brightly coloured wristband) to go on track. But not before the compulsory drivers’ briefing that’s held in the Tyrrell’s Restaurant. Assisted by the marshals, Operations manager Richard runs through flags and other rules for the day. We’re also introduced to instructor Dan and photographer Alex James. As extras for the day, you can purchase instructional sessions and a CD of photographs. The former is highly worthwhile, while the latter is a nice momento of the day. Once that’s complete, another wristband is awarded and it’s almost time to head on track. Today’s event is being run as an open pitlane. There are essentially two ways of running a track day; an open pitlane allows drivers to choose when they go out on track and how long they stay out. The other option is to divide the day into sessions. Drivers are put into groups (usually according to self-
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Track Day Hire
Above: Snetterton is just one of the many venues Focused Events runs track days. Below: Tiger R6 is one of two on the firm’s hire fleet.
before heading out for quick laps. It doesn’t matter whether you’re driving or a passenger or even what car you’re in; you just need to complete the laps. Because the Tiger hasn’t yet been unloaded from the trailer, I take out my Mazda MX-5 road car. It’s not in the
All action shots: Alex James Photography
determined skill level) and go out for sessions of usually around 20 minutes. Before the track day begins, each participant has to go out for three sighting laps. Following Dan in convoy for a ducks-and-drakes session, it’s a chance to see where the track goes
rudest of health, with a poor air fuel mixture curtailing its power at anything below 4000rpm. The ‘steady paced’ sighting laps turn out to be as fast as the sick Mazda can go, almost the entire lap being taken in second gear. Although I’ve raced at Snetterton in the past, the sighting laps were a very valuable exercise. Over the winter of 2009/2010, the venue was radically altered to create three different circuits. Snetterton 300 is the one we’re using, which cleverly has an extra mile looped into the former infield. Spectating has been improved in the process, although it’s still no Brands Hatch-level spectacle for those on the pedestrian side of the fence. After its ordeal, the poor old MX-5 is parked up for the rest of the day and I head over the R6, which is being rolled out of the Brian James transporter. The Tiger is fairly typical of a track day focused kit car. Interior fitments are limited: there’s no carpet and the only padding on the fibreglass seats is there to adjust the driving position for shorter drivers. In other words, this is the real deal – a raw, lightweight driving machine with just one priority. Neither of Focused Events’ Tigers have even
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Focused Events
been registered for the road. With a couple of foam pads in place, I thread my way through the full rollcage in readiness for my first session. The cage looks like a climbing frame, and needs to be treated like one – despite looking unnecessarily
gymnastic, I find the easiest way in and out is through the top. Four-point harnesses adjusted and mirrors set, it’s time to prod the 2-litre Ford Zetec engine into life and head out on track for my first session. Well, almost. I head down the
Below: Power courtesy of a 2-litre Ford Zetec.
pitlane ready for action, but then I’m diverted for a noise test. As expected, it’s comfortably below the prescribed limit so I cruise back down the pitlane and this time I’m waved out. Traffic is light, so I quickly have my own space to start feeling my way into the R6. Although it’s dry, the Tarmac is cold and, until the Toyo T1-Rs get some heat into them, it’s easy to spin away the Tiger’s 180bhp out of the slower, lower gear corners. Breakaway is nicely progressive, actually, allowing some indulgent oversteer. The car’s set up feels relatively soft for a track car, so it gives plenty of warning and is enjoyably benign when you’re over-doing things. A particularly good place for tail-out exuberance is the exit of Montreal. That’s one of the corners which is new for Snetterton 300, and it leads into a big complex of new bends. Picking a quick route through the new corners takes plenty of experimentation, and even after half a dozen laps I’m kicking myself for turning too early on many corners. A late apex is best for bends like Palmer, as instructor and Snetterton local Dan describes later on. Another area to think about for those used to
Focused Events T: 0845 0267 272. E: info@focusedevents.com W: www.focusedevents.com
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Track Day Hire
the old Snetterton is the reworking of Coram. Choosing a line through its new radius is not initially that instinctive, and it falls to Dan to once again advise. He recommends maintaining a line in the middle of the track for most of the turn. The bit to focus on, he says, is getting the car neatly over the right before Murrays in order to get the braking done in the short straight before turning into the left-hander. It works, but the fun of old Coram, where you really had to hold on at speed, has been eroded. It now feels like a waiting game. Another personal challenge is the big braking zones at the end of
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Focused Events
Snetterton’s two longest straights. The middle pedal is lacking in feel, robbing vital confidence in high speed braking. It’s an area I improve as the day goes on, but it feels like a leap of faith to leave the braking really late. And therein lies the fun of a track day. You start to feel for where improvements can be made, and can then focus on those areas. The process can be hastened with some professional instruction, like that offered by Focused Events. Time to return to the pits to digest some of those early thoughts and work on increasing speed where possible. When you hire the Tiger, there are
essentially three main packages. A full day, half day and ‘experience’. The latter will give you at least 20 minutes in the car, and usually more. I asked whether there’s any ‘vetting’ of who can hire the car and who can’t, and it turns out there isn’t. The whole ethos is to get as many people as possible out in the car and enjoying it. Everyone is accompanied for at least their first session, so staff will soon get a feel for whether the driver in question is safe. The level of on-track courtesy is one of the clearest indications of the professionalism of a track day organiser. Bad – read dangerous –
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etiquette needs to be stamped on immediately, and on the day I joined Focused Events all drivers were safe and well-mannered around other cars. With such a broad range of cars on track, there were quite some speed differentials, but not once did I witness it causing a problem. Focused Events has been running track days for 17 years, starting out with motorcycle events and adding car days six years ago. In 2011, it ran over 350 track days in the UK and Europe. That experience shows in the smooth running of the day I spent at Snetterton. That early alarm call was well worth it.
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Car Preparation
Hardware Over the next few pages, we’ve rounded up all manner of useful products to improve your fun and safety on a track day.
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Buyers’ Guides
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Buyers’ Guide
Clunk Click Choosing the right seatbelts may not be as easy as you think – there’s plenty to consider.
U
nlike racing, there are no specific track day regulations for seatbelts – if it’s suitable for road use, it will be good enough for a track day. That doesn’t mean it’s any easier to choose your belts. With intertia reel, three-point, four-point, button release and twist release to select from, there’s a lot of choice. With over eight different manufacturers making variations on the same thing, there’s a bewildering choice. So what should you consider and why? Firstly, we would suggest you don’t use an inertia reel belt for track day use. The full security of a proper harness will not only offer more safety, it will locate you in the car better and give you better control. If you do have
an inertia reel belt, the CG Lock (opposite page) is a great gadget worthy of consideration. Most of us will end up fitting some type of harness, either three-point or four-point. The number refers to the number of locations onto the chassis, with a three-point harness having just one location behind the driver. For this feature, we’ll be concentrating on these two main variants, rather than six-point harnesses most commonly found on full competition cars. Two types of buckle arrangements are usually on offer. The first is a push button central catch. Here you’ll find that one shoulder strap and one waist strap on either side are linked by the catch mechanism, so it’s a relatively simple exercise to pull the two sides together and snap the catch together in one easy movement. A twist quick release type clasp locates each of the
32 | UK Track Day Guide
four harness straps individually, the buckle being located on one of the waist straps. Connecting each harness can be a time-consuming and sometimes awkward job in a confined cockpit, but the location can be extremely supportive and release is simple and quick – ideal for semicompetition cars where you may need a speedy exit, as well as positive support. The harnesses over your shoulders and around your waist are both adjustable for length, and it’s important that these are adjusted correctly to keep you safely located in the car. The correct way to adjust your straps is as follows... • First loosen them all off. • Sit in the seat and first adjust the waist straps so that the buckle remains central and that the straps fit snugly around your waist resting on your hips and pulling you gently down into the seat base • Adjust the shoulder straps to keep you located against the back of the seat. The vital thing to avoid is having the buckle halfway up your chest because the waist straps are too loose. In this position there is a serious risk of sliding underneath the belt in a collision (referred to as submarining). There are options on the width of the straps (2in or 3in) and the buckle, tensioners and strap material can all vary in quality and strength. Another important consideration is conformity with IVA regulations if you’re going to use the car on the road. The IVA inspection manual is a little confusing, but VOSA clarified things for this feature by stating that each seat belt must bear the appropriate approval marks or have the equivalent characteristics to that of a belt approved for the same category of vehicle. The manual lists those characteristics later on in the seatbelt section. So, the belt does not have to have an approval marking, providing it has all the required characteristics listed in the manual. Most harness manufacturers offer harnesses to meet either or both FIA and EEC/ECE regs. Location onto the chassis can take two common forms. Either via direct bolting to the chassis or via an eyebolt, with the strap having a snap-on clasp type fitment to the eye.
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Seatbelts Manufacturer: Willans Manufacturer website: www.willans.com Models shown: Westfield CB432W/Supersport 4x4 Westfield Type: 4-point harness/4-point harness Buckle type: Rotary quick release/button release IVA compliance: FIA 885498/ECE approved Available from: Europa Spares Prices: From £157/£57 General: 4-point – Available with either 2in or 3in waist straps, this FIA approved harness is a top spec item. 4-point – ECE approved 4-point harness has button release.
Manufacturer: OMP Manufacturer website: www.ompracing.it Models shown: OMP Road 4/OMP Road 3M Type: 4-point harness/3-point harness Buckle type: Button release IVA compliance: EEC approved Available from: Rally Nuts Prices: From £61.50/£66 plus VAT General: An affordable pair of harnesses from OMP. 2in straps all round with waist load spreading padding. These are OMP’s budget harnesses, with many other models with all the usual options and competition approval.
Manufacturer: Sparco Manufacturer website: n/a Models shown: Sparco 4 Point Driver Bolt In Harness Type: 4-point harness Buckle type: Button release IVA compliance: ECE approved Available from: Demon Tweeks Prices: From £56.50 plus VAT General: 2in straps and button release for this budget harness from Sparco. Range goes upwards from here, with FIA approved offering and quick release buckles etc.
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Manufacturer: Schroth Manufacturer website: http://english.schroth.com/tuning Models shown: Schroth Westfield II ASM Type: 4-point harness Buckle type: quick release IVA compliance: FIA and EEC approved Available from: Demon Tweeks Prices: From £160.87 plus VAT General: 3in shoulder straps and 2in waist straps. High quality harness also available in more affordable range. Image shows more expensive option with button release, but quoted version more comparable with others featured here.
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Seatbelts Manufacturer: TRS (Total Restraint) Manufacturer website: www.totalrestraint.com Models shown: TRS Clubman/Budget Type: 4-point harness/3-point harness Buckle type: Button release IVA compliance: ECE 16.04 approved Available from: Demon Tweeks Prices: From £62/From £47 plus VAT General: We’ve shown the budget range from TRS, but the company also offers more serious 4-point harnesses with twist release and full FIA approval marketed under either the Pro and Magnum ranges.
Manufacturer: CG Lock Manufacturer website: www.cg-lock.co.uk Models shown: CK Lock Type: Lap and diagonal waist strap locking device Buckle type: n/a IVA compliance: n/a Available from: CG Lock Prices: £49.99 inclusive General: This is obviously not a harness, but instead a natty device that changes the characteristics of a conventional inertia reel lap and diagonal belt by effectively locking the lap section of the belt once it is in place and thereby holding the driver more securely in the car. A simple push button release then frees the belt again. This is a great bit of kit if you are taking your production car on the occasional track day, or perhaps have a kit car with lap and diagonal belts and also want the added security offered by the CG Lock.
Useful Contacts In addition to those companies who make the products listed you may also like to try... Car Builder Solutions: T: 01580 891309. W: www.cbsonline.co.uk Demon Tweeks: T: 0844 815 8630. W: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Europa Spares: T: 01283-815609. W: www.europaspares.com Rally Nuts: T: 01209 822 351. W: www.rallynuts.com
Manufacturer: Luke Manufacturer website: N/A Models shown: Luke Pro 4 Westfield Type: 4-point harness Buckle type: Quick release twist buckle IVA compliance: EEC approved Available from: Demon Tweeks Prices: From £105 inclusive General: A 2in strap with spreader pads. A 3in wide strap is also available (Luke Pro 475). More affordable and more expensive options also available.
Manufacturer: Sabelt Manufacturer website: www.sabelt.co.uk Models shown: Westfield 34/019n Type: 4-point/3-point Buckle type: 4-point – Twist buckle or push button. 3-point – push button IVA compliance: FIA 8854-98 with twist buckle/ECE 16R approval for push button harnesses Available from: See useful contacts Prices: From £55 plus VAT approx General: Sabelt has been in the business for over 35 years, supplying harnesses to many teams, including the Ferrari F1 squad. At ground level, Sabelt has worked with companies such as Westfield and Caterham to offer a dedicated solution. All harnesses should meet IVA compliance demands. Although not sold directly from the manufacturer, the UK website lists all the available options.
34 | UK Track Day Guide
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Quaife Ad QP – April 2012:Layout 1
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Page 1
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036-038 Brakes:Layout 1
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Buyers’ Guide
Quicker
Stopping If you want to go fast, you need to slow down. Brake upgrades are a great way to achieving faster lap times.
Pads Manufacturer: Pagid Model: Road pads or Blue, Black or Orange Price: RS pads from £140 inclusive VAT per set Description: Even we became slightly confused with the Pagid range, which either offers a standard road car replacement type pad or a range of fast road ‘RS’ pads available in three main groups, blue, black or orange. They are also offered in either carbon or ceramic compounds and come at a significant premium. ‘Blue’ pads are Pagid’s most established and popular performance line, with particular features being good brake feel, good low temperature performance and effective up to 600 degrees. Also said to reduce disc wear. Contact: Pagid W: www.pagid.com
W
hen you have the confidence that your car will slow down quickly, you’ll be able to drive it harder. The calipers, discs and pads we’ve rounded up here are suitable for a typical Ford based kit car, but the principle can be applied to any other mechanical package.
Manufacturer: EBC Brakes Model: Green Stuff Price: From £26 inclusive VAT per pair Description: A well known company in the kit car world, particularly for its Green Stuff pads. Designed for better brake effect up to 600deg C (1100deg F). EBC Green Stuff has a high initial brake effect and gives drivers confidence from first application of the brake pedal. The EBC pad creates less dust and dust is more easily washed off than most. For heavier faster cars and vehicles above 200bhp the company recommends Red Stuff. Contact: EBC Brakes. W: www.ebcbrakes.com
Manufacturer: Mintex Racing Model: M1144 Price: From approximately £90 inclusive VAT per pair Description: As well as the direct replacements pads for your daily driver, Mintex produces a range of higher performance pads, such as these within its Mintex Racing range. Only the M1144 is recommended for road and occassional track use, with the other two in this sector purely designed for competition. Contact: Mintex. W: www.mintex.co.uk
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Discs Manufacturer: Maxtorq Model: Discs and pads Price: Pads from approximately £17 inclusive of VAT Discs from approximately £45 inclusive VAT per pair Description: We’ve decided to group both the Maxtorq pads and discs together and we’d suggest these are ideal if you are looking to upgrade your brakes, while retaining the standard donor calipers. Maxtorq is part of the growing Rally Design empire and the discs are available in plain, drilled and slotted/drilled forms. The Maxtorq pads are also available in three different grades, according to intended use. Prices are very keen, so a good entry point for an affordable brake upgrade. Contact: Rally Design. T: 01227 792792. W: www.rallydesign.co.uk
Manufacturer: EBC Brakes Model: 3GD and Ultimax USR Price: From approximately £90 inclusive of VAT per pair Description: A well known company for pads, but also a supplier of two different disc options. Both are available in solid or vented design. 3GD is grooved and blind dilled (not right through, just indented) while Ultimax is grooved, black polymer coated and designed for quieter running. Contact: EBC Brakes. W: www.ebcbrakes.com
Manufacturer: Black Diamond Performance Model: n/a Price: Approximately £80 inclusive VAT per pair Description: The Black Diamond brake disc range is highly distinctive, thanks to its black phosphate coating. The discs are available in three different styles, grooved, drilled or a combination of both. Vented and solid discs are available in a wide range of sizes and fitments. Contact: Black Diamond Performance.T: 020 3166 5006. E: sales@blackdiamondperformance.com W: www.blackdiamondperformance.com
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Brakes Manufacturer: HiSpec Model: Ultralite 4 Price: From £90 each inclusive of VAT Description: HiSpec is the big player in the kit car scene at the moment, and the Ultralite 4 is the mainstay model. Available in ‘economy’ or ‘standard’ specification, the basic unit comes in silver only, with an embossed logo. ‘Standard’ spec has engraved logo and various colour options. Available with a variety of different lug fitments, or a universal lug for use with an adaptor plate. Construction: CNC machined aluminium body, four hard anodised alloy pistons, rigid design, internal fluid crossover, from 720-920g depending on fitment. Other models: Most significantly, HiSpec also offers an IVA friendly rear caliper with handbrake facility – Sierra fitment, £168 inclusive of VAT. The company also offers a conversion kit, including a pair of calipers, fixings and discs (in a variety of sizes and finishes) from £252 inclusive VAT. Other calipers available for racing and fast road, up to huge 6-pots. Contact: HiSpec Motorsport. T: 01322 286850 E: sales@hispecmotorsport.co.uk W: www.hispecbrake.co.uk
Calipers
Manufacturer: AP Racing Model: CP5100 Price: £360 per pair inclusive of VAT Description: AP Racing may have an image of being super expensive and geared towards the production car market, but this caliper is a contender for us, although aimed for use with larger 280mm-plus discs. Construction: Cast aluminium body, staggered equal bores, aluminium alloy pistons, advanced red or black anti-corrosion paint finish. Other models: All manner of other calipers are available, up to 16-pot items! Brake kit packages available. Westfield offers a kit (calipers, discs and pads) for £683 (inclusive). Contact: AP Racing. T: 024 7663 9595. E: sales@apracing.co.uk W: www.apracing.com Manufacturer: Wilwood Model: Powerlite 4-pot Price: From £116.91 each inclusive of VAT (rear with handbrake £143 each inclusive of VAT) Description: A long-established name, based in the States and distributed in the UK by Rally Design. Powerlite model is main option for Ford based kit cars. Available in variety of colours. Construction: Drop forged aluminium body, four stainless pistons, approximately 1kg weight depending on fitment, universal lug design with mounting adaptor brackets. Other models: Proving popular is Rally Design’s brake kit, including the Powerlite calipers, all fixings and a pair of solid 265mm discs, priced at £284.35 inclusive VAT. Full range of Wilwood 2-pot and 4-pot calipers. Contact: Rally Design. T: 01227 792792. W: www.rallydesign.co.uk
Useful Contacts In addition to those companies who make the products listed you may also like to try... Demon Tweeks: T: 0844 375 2592. W: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Merlin Motorsport: T: 01249 782101. W: www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk Burton Power: T: 020 8518 9136. W: www.burtonpower.com Motorsport World: T: 01357 440472 W: www.motorsportworld.co.uk
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Fast-Road, Trackday & Sprint Brake Pads... HP+ fast road , sprint and track day compound. No warm up required. Aggressive but controllable pad ideal for lighter vehicles.
DTC 30 ultimate track day and race pad for lighter cars. Temp range 100F -1200F 38-649C. Very controllable, high torque compound with smooth bite and excellent release characteristics to avoid wheel lock up.
Pads to fit: AP, Brembo, Comp Brake, M16/ Escort/ Cortina, Sierra, Caterham & Westfield Lockheed range, Hi Spec, Wilwood including Dynalite, Dynapro & Midilite. Huge range of OE fitments for most cars.
Full range of Hawk compounds available for road and track use. Performance Ceramic, HPS, HP+, BLUE9012, DTC30. HT10, DTC60 and DTC70.
Brake shoe re-lining: Choice of materials for improved braking and fade resistance.
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Buyers’ Guide
Hot Stuff A fire extinguisher could prove a useful bit of kit on a track day. These are your main options.
I
t’s something you will purchase hoping to never need it, but a fire extinguisher could make the difference between losing your car is a plume of smoke or rescuing it. Although, it has to be said, fires at track days are rare. Typically they’ll be caused by loose fuel lines or other oversights in maintenance. Over this spread, we show you the various options and differing prices – but what should you consider before a purchase?
The main difference is between a hand-held device and one that’s plumbed in. The former is more versatile, as it can be aimed wherever the fire is. A plumbed-in device will have its nozzles in set positions, and the extinguishant will only be delivered there. On the plus side, it does allow you to quickly deploy the extinguisher and get out of the car. Some are mechanically operated, others are triggered electronically. The latter deploy more quickly, but are can be prone to being set off unintentionally by curious fingers pushing enticing buttons. Finally, there is a choice of gas, foam
and powder extinguishants. It’s unusual to see gas extinguishants used, while the difference between the other two is their ease of being cleaned up after use, and their impact on the environment. On both those scores, foam wins over powder. Unlike in racing, there is no onus on you to have a fire extinguisher fitted for track day use. However, if you’re going to participate in the events on a regular basis, it’s worth investing in some basic safety gear. We’ve also outlined a couple of extinguishers intended for workshop or support vehicles.
Hand Held Extinguishers Model: Sparco Hand Held Powder Extinguisher Price: Around £80 Website: www.sparcouk.co.uk Available from: www.demon-tweeks.co.uk Capacity/weight: 2kg Extinguishant: Powder Mounting kit: Mounting bracket General: Powder extinguishant is ideal for workshop or paddock incidents. Has a flexible hose to make it easy to direct.
Model: Lifeline Zero 360 3kg Hand Held Extinguisher Price: Around £510 Website: www.lifeline-fire.co.uk Capacity/weight: 3kg Extinguishant: Gas Mounting kit: Mounting bracket for indoor use General: FIA approved with gas extinguishant that’s compatible with petrol, diesel and ethonol fuels. Internal flexible dip tube for discharge in any direction.
Model: SPA Design 6-litre Price: Around £1110 Website: www.spa-uk.co.uk Capacity/weight: 6-litre Extinguishant: Foam Mounting kit: Mounting bracket General: Foam extinguishant is ideal for workshop or paddock incidents. Has a flexible hose to make it easy to direct at a blaze. This is one to store in a support vehicle or keep in the paddock as it’s too large to be fitted in a track car.
Model: Lifeline Hand Held 1-litre Extinguisher Price: Around £60 Website: www.lifeline-fire.co.uk Capacity/weight: 1-litre Extinguishant: Foam Mounting kit: Mounting bracket with quick-release strap General: A small, compact and very affordable extinguisher. A good entry-level option.
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Extinguishers
Plumbed-In Extinguishers
Model: Lifeline Fire Marshal Mechanical Slimline 2.25-litre Price: Around £280 Website: www.lifeline-fire.co.uk Capacity/weight: 2.25-litre Extinguishant: Foam Number of nozzles: 2 Mounting kit: Mounting brackets with quick-release straps General: Compact MSA approved extinguisher. Comes with two 6ft pull cables, two discharge nozzles and 4m of tubing. Ideal for cars where space is at a premium.
Model: Lifeline Club Fire Marshal 2.25-litre Price: Around £150 Website: www.lifeline-fire.co.uk Capacity/weight: 2.25-litre Extinguishant: Foam Number of nozzles: 2 Mounting kit: Mounting kit with quick-release straps General: Very good value for money plumbed-in extinguisher that’s MSA approved (and therefore suitable if you’re considering moving into motorsport at a later date). Complete kit with everything needed to install – mounting bracket with quick-release straps, two discharge nozzles, one T-piece and four metres of tubing.
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Model: OMP Mechanical 4.25-litre Alloy Bottle Extinguisher Price: Around £370 Website: www.ompracing.it Capacity/weight: 4.25-litre Extinguishant: Foam Number of nozzles: 6 Mounting kit: Mounting bracket with quick release straps. General: Lightweight polished bottle makes this FIA approved extinguisher appear distinctive. Comes with two pull cables, 8m of tubing, six nozzles, two 90deg connectors, four T-connectors and one three-way connector.
Model: OMP Mechanical 4.25-litre Steel Bottle Extinguisher Kit Price: Around £230 Website: www.ompracing.it Capacity/weight: 4.25-litre Extinguishant: Foam Number of nozzles: 6 Mounting kit: Mounting kit included General: A very professional package. With six nozzles, this extinguisher can be aimed at several different risk areas. The package comes complete with two pull cables, eight metres of tubing, four T-connectors and one three-way connector.
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Buyers’ Guide
On The Pull Towing your car to a track day can make life easier, but there are things to consider before getting hitched.
T
aking your kit car to a track day on a trailer can add immeasurably to your peace of mind on the day. Not only can you travel to and from the venue in the comfort of your saloon car, but you also know the car will get home if the fast-paced track action results in a mechanical breakdown. Before we outline some trailer options, let’s look at what you’ll need to consider before buying one. Firstly, is your tow car up to the job? The Caravan Club recommends that the gross weight of the load (trailer and load combined) should not exceed 85 per cent of the tow car’s weight, or the figure recommended by the manufacturer of the tow car (whichever is lower). You also need to ensure that
your insurance won’t be invalidated by towing a trailer – and find out whether the load itself is covered. On the topic of legalities, if you passed your driving test after January 1st 1997, you don’t automatically have the right to tow a trailer and will need to pass a B+E test in order to tow trailers over certain weight limits. The rules surrounding this regulation are presented in a notoriously ambiguous way on the DVLA’s website and we have received conflicting advice by phone to the agency. We’d suggest you check carefully your own situation depending upon when you passed your test and what you’ll be towing. The cost of trailer ownership doesn’t end with purchasing it. It will require maintenance, principally in terms of the brakes, bearings and lubricating any couplings. There’s currently no ‘MoT’ equivalent for trailers, so it’s up to you to check it’s kept in tip-top condition. Another consideration is the number
of axles. Twin axles are generally considered better than singles because of their greater stability and practicality in the event of a puncture. However, single axle trailers can be easier to manouevre by hand when they’re not attached to the tow vehicle. A single axle is easily up to the job of carrying a lightweight kit car. Triple axles are generally used for heavy loads when the wheels are located under the bed. The only way to get a 3.5-tonne load onto 10in wheels is to have three pairs of them. Finally, specs of trailers vary. You have the option of a fixed bed (with separate ramps), a tilting bed for easier loading and a ‘beaver tail’ which creates a lower loading height. Typical options include a covered load bay and folding A-frames for easier storage. Budget is likely to inform your choice more than almost any other consideration, with entry level models priced at around £1000 rising to over £10,000 for topof-the-range offerings.
Indespension Model: Indespension CT20126 Manufacturer website: www.indespension.co.uk Price: £2460 Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 1488kg Unladen weight: 512kg Bed dimensions: 3.7m by 1.76m Bed type: Fixed General: Entry level fixed bed trailer. Would make easy work of a lightweight kit car. Has a multi-hole deck for tying car to and the channels are made from a single piece of steel folded for strength.
Model: Indespension CT27167 Manufacturer website: www.indespension.co.uk Price: £2395 Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 2112kg Unladen weight: 588kg Bed dimensions: 4.9m by 1.94m Bed type: Fixed General: Indespension’s highest capacity fixed bed trailer. Has a multi-hole deck for tying car to and the channels are made from a single piece of steel folded for strength. Features easy roll ramps for easier loading.
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Brakes
Aluminium Trailer Company Model: Easystore Trailer and Working Platform Manufacturer website: www.allytrailer.co.uk Price: £1950 (no VAT) Axles: 1 Carrying capacity: 590kg Unladen weight: 160kg Bed dimensions: 3.24m by 1.76m Bed Type: Tilt General: Lightweight trailer designed to be easily stored in your garage. Has unique aircraft style, double wheel assemblies that are easily removed (no tools required) for storage on its side or flat on floor. With clearspan deck with no brake cables or axles in the way, Easystore may be used as a working platform at home or at the track. As the wheels are beneath the deck it easily goes into a single garage and makes towing on narrow roads simpler and safer.
Ifor Williams Model: Ifor Williams CT136 Single Axle Manufacturer website: www.iwt.co.uk Price: £1355 plus VAT Axles: 1 Carrying capacity: 1000kg Unladen weight: 400kg Bed dimensions: 4m by 1.86m Bed type: Fixed General: High tensile galvanised steel structure using Ifor Williams’s own beam axle. Lightweight, versatile and easy to use. Easily up to the job of carrying a kit car.
Model: Ifor Williams CT136 Twin Axle Manufacturer website: www.iwt.co.uk Price: £1620 plus VAT Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 1505kg Unladen weight: 495kg Bed dimensions: 4m by 1.86m Bed type: Fixed General: Twin axle version of the above offers greater carrying capacity and stability. Shares its high tensile galvanised steel structure using Ifor Williams’s own beam axle.
Model: Ifor Williams LM166/B Manufacturer website: www.iwt.co.uk Price: £2770 plus VAT Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 2715kg Unladen weight: 785kg Bed dimensions: 4.84m by 1.9m Bed type: Beavertail General: Closely related to Ifor Williams’s flatbed range, and with the addition of a sloping rear bed section, these trailers offer the flexibility of a flatbed with the added benefit of a low loading height to the rear of the trailer.
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Brakes Model: Sprint Shuttle 310-3000 Manufacturer website: www.brianjames.co.uk Price: £5359 Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 1300kg Unladen weight: 2000kg Bed dimensions: 4.3m by 1.9m Bed type: Fixed General: This is the entry level covered trailer from Brian James. It has been in production since the mid-1990s and has recently been reshaped to increase its interior space. Prices for Brian James’s covered trailers rise to £11,495 for the rangetopping, triple axle Motor Shuttle.
Model: Clubman 100-0100 Manufacturer website: www.brianjames.co.uk Price: £1099 Axles: 1 (Clubman is available with 2 axles as shown) Carrying capacity: 1500kg Unladen weight: 500kg Bed dimensions: 3.6m by 1.76m Bed type: Fixed General: The Clubman is Brain James’s entry level trailer. It’s available in different sizes and with one or two axles, but we’ve spotlighted details of the smallest (and cheapest) version. It’s lightweight and easy to store, and ideal for a typical kit car of Seven type size. Model: A-Max 120-1100 Manufacturer website: www.brianjames.co.uk Price: £2899 Axles: 2 Carrying capacity: 1500kg Unladen weight: 500kg Bed dimensions: 3.6m by 1.76m Bed type: Fixed General: The A-Max is an evolution of Brian James’s open trailer. With its pull-out ramps, it’s easier to use. Fundamentally, it shares the Clubman’s low and stable design that Brian James has been building for several decades.
MEV Model: MEV trailer Manufacturer website: www.mevltd.co.uk Price: £1450 Axles: 1 Carrying capacity: See text Unladen weight: See text Bed dimensions: See text Bed type: Tilt General: This trailer, from kit car manufacturer MEV, is designed specifically for kit cars. No ramps are required due to an ingenious tilting system that lowers and tilts the bed for easy loading with a hand operated screw jack. No matter how low your car ground clearance is, it will not bottom out. When not in use it is easy to store by removing four bolts you can drop off the A-frame and axles and stand the tilt bed up against the garage wall. Take it to a track day and find you need a platform to work under and it is very easy to load and jack to place on axle stands providing a good height. The bed is tailor made to fit your car, specify wheel base and track width at time of ordering and your car will have a bespoke trailer in four weeks.
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LTD.
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Call Dave on 07977 948883
www.trackdevelopments.co.uk
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Full/part throttle clutchless upshifts & clutchless downshifts!!
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Buyers’ Guide
Camera
Action If you want to relive your track day action, an on-board camera is the best way of doing so.
I
f you want to film your track day action a hand-held camera won’t cut it! You’ll need something properly mounted to the car (roll bars are ideal). Fortunately, there is a wide range of options and now is a great time to scour the market. The technology is currently moving fast and the options are varied. But what sort of things should you consider? It has been an interesting process researching this scene. Image resolution is possibly the big news at the moment, with the availability and price of HD cameras improving all the time. Similarly, some cameras (such as the little bullet cameras) can currently only
offer a conventional 4:3 format, where other cameras can provide a widescreen image. You’ll also see that the field of view varies quite noticeably from camera to camera. Sound quality will be an important consideration and is often a problem in an open top car. Some cameras can be fitted with a remote microphone which you can locate out of the wind, others are simply part of the camera and some are more exposed than others. And then there is the unit itself. Some are two-piece units while others are single-piece items. The two-piece devices typically have a small bullet camera that can be located on a roll bar, which is connected via cable to the recording part of the device. The latter can be Velcro’d or
Manufacturer: HD POV Cameras Models: HDPOV 720/HDPOV Pro 1080 Available from: Pro Action Cameras Prices: £199.99/£349.99 Camera type: 1-piece unit/ 2-piece unit Lens: 168deg/120-140 adjustable Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 720/1080 Microphone options: Internal microphone/external microphone General: These are two quite different cameras offering a variety of different features. HDPOV 720 offers widescreen footage from a single-piece unit. HDPOV Pro 1080 has HD quality and flexibility of bullet cam location around the car.
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taped somewhere securely to the interior. Single piece cameras, as the name suggests, have both lens and recording componentry within one housing. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Some of the top end units also offer datalogger and graphics overlays if you are getting serious. Some camera manufacturers don’t sell direct to the public, while a few do. When it comes to retailers there are a few main operators, and there’s a degree of cross-over on products offered. For instance, the GoPro Motorsports Hero seems pretty widely available. Don’t forget that you may need optional mounting gear in order to attach firmly to roll bars etc, and you’ll also need a decent size memory card. All quoted prices include VAT.
Manufacturer: Race Technology Models: Video4 Sport 2 Available from: Race Technology Prices: £799 plus VAT Camera type: Multi-piece unit Lens: 53deg hi res lens, 90deg standard res lens Aspect ratio: 4:3 but with widescreen multi screen option Resolution: D1 DVD Microphone options: External microphone General: Heart of this system is the Video4 recorder (£799 plus VAT) which has the capability to work with up to four bullet cameras. Two are supplied with the Sport 2 package and the Video4 will overlay the two views, camera within camera. Video4 can also combine all the video feeds and graphic overlays from dataloggers (sold separately) into a single video stream and synchronise the data automatically. A top end system with too many features to fully outline here.
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Video Cameras Manufacturer: CamSport Models: HDMax Available from: BHB Extreme Prices: £299.99 Camera type: 1-piece Lens: 140deg Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 1080 Microphone options: Internal General: As well as supplying the recording equipment BHB Extreme can supply mounts for kit car roll bars and crash helmets. The HDMax package comes complete with the following mounts: goggle mount, flat with adhesive stickers, handlebar mount, vented helmet mount with elastic strap. It also includes a lanyard rope, a carry pouch, a USB cable, an AV-out cable and a li-ion battery.
Manufacturer: Aim Technologies Models: Smartycam Available from: Aim Technologies Prices: £695 plus VAT Camera type: 1-piece unit Lens: 94deg Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 720 Microphone options: Internal microphone plus optional external microphone
Manufacturer: PZRacing Models: You Cam Available from: Digital Speedos Price: £450 Camera type: Bullet camera 640 by 480 Lens: TBC Aspect ratio: TBC Resolution: 640 by 480 Microphone options: External General: An affordable video/data overlay system.
General: Smartycam offers real-time data overlay. As a stand alone unit it provides position, speed, acceleration, lap time, distance and track mapping – and overlay these features over the moving footage. It can also be connected to the car’s ECU or an Aim datalogger for even more information. Waterproof.
Manufacturer: GoPro Models: GoPro Motorsports Hero Available from: See Useful Contacts Prices: From £185 Camera type: 1-piece unit Lens: 127deg at 1080, 170deg at other settings Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 720 and 1080 Microphone options: Internal microphone General: Waterproof housing down to 60m, built-in microphone said to offer better sound than competition due to careful location and use of outer case.
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Video Cameras Manufacturer: VI0 Model: VIO POV camera Available from: Dogcam Prices: £499.95 Camera type: 2-piece Lens: 160deg Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 1080 or 720 Microphone options: Internal General: The VIO POV camera
(below) uses a new microprocessor to record in a variety of resolutions and frame rates. It also has a pre-record feature that can record the 10 minutes prior to hitting record. As you can see, the casing is waterproof and this is a twopiece camera with a bullet cam. Remote operation.
Manufacturer: Racelogic Models: Video VBOX Lite Waterproof Available from: Racelogic Prices: £1650 plus VAT Camera type: Multi-piece unit
Lens: 72deg Aspect ratio: 4.3 Resolution: 720 Microphone options: External mic General: Waterproof version of Racelogic’s high quality Video VBox, which overlays lap data onto video.
Useful Contacts 4Kam: E: sales@4kam.com W: www.4kam.com Action Cameras: T: 020 8965 7679. W: www.actioncameras.co.uk Aim Technologies: T: 0844 8002183. W: www.aim-tec.co.uk BHB Extreme: T: 0800 500 3066. W: www.bhbextreme.co.uk Digital Speedos: T: 0121 745 9555. W: www.digitalspeedos.co.uk Dogcam: T: 01726 891812. W: www.dogcamsport.co.uk Pro Action Cameras: T: 01159 361 956. W: www.proactioncameras.co.uk Racelogic: T: 01280 823803. W: www.videovbox.co.uk Race Technology: T: 01773 537620. W: www.race-technology.com
Manufacturer: Twenty20 Models: Contour HD1080 Available from: See Useful Contacts Prices: £299.95 Camera type: 1-piece unit Lens: 135deg (110deg at 1080p) Resolution: 720p/1080p.
Microphone options: Internal only General: Two frame rates in each camera (30fps or 60fps). Rotating lens and twin laser alignment makes it easy to get the camera horizontally aligned. Anodised aluminium body is water resistant.
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Manufacturer: N/A Models: Mini DVR2/hDVR h720 Available from: Dogcam Prices: £165/£249.95 Camera type: 2-piece bullet cameras Lens: 82deg wide angle lens, five further lens options to choose from, Aspect ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 720/D1 720 Microphone options: Internal
microphone/internal and external mic options General: Bullet camera is waterproof but recording device should be protected from water. Both featured a cabled remote control. Dogcam is one of the big names in in-car camera distribution. The company markets a number of units produced by different companies and has a big knowledge of the scene.
Manufacturer: 4Kam Sports Cameras Models: ARP Race/other packages available Available from: 4Kam Prices: £299 Camera type: 2-piece unit plus external microphone Lens: 82deg Aspect ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 720
Microphone options: Wired external microphone General: 4Kam offers the individual components (bullet cam, recording device etc) or its Action Ready Packages. The ARP Race package includes a rollbar mount and cabled remote.
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Speed Data Dataloggers add an extra dimension to track days – although beware, they’re not always allowed!
A
s the name suggests, a datalogger logs, well... data! In the case of a motoring application, that might typically include parameters such as speed (maximum, average etc), time, oil pressure, coolant temperatures, rpm and, via g sensors, cornering and braking forces. Add in a GPS sensor and the options stack up even further and include lap times, 0-60mph performance figures, braking performance etc. The options with a datalogger can be almost limitless (yaw rates, vertical velocity etc). Clearly, in a competitive race environment, much of this information can prove invaluable in targeting where the driver may be losing time, or which aspects of the car need improving. In a track day environment there are also clear benefits, although most track days (but not all) do not allow allow official lap timing, as the events are non competitive. Timing your laps can invalidate the organiser’s public liability insurance, so the consequences are serious. However, we know of at least one track day organiser that promotes special days where timing is allowed as a special feature of the day. So the
information gathered may prove useful, and most dataloggers have the ability to have the information overlayed on top of video footage from the same event, meaning it will always have an entertainment value! And it’s this last feature of most dataloggers that is increasingly popular – where the data can be presented in a graphic form overlayed over accompanying video footage. Here you can see the engine revs, speed, braking points, lateral g all displayed in easy to
view graphics that can offer a fantastic presentation of what the driver is doing, and where. Dataloggers are not cheap impulse buys, the cheapest costing a few hundred pounds and some nearer £1000. The top units will usually offer the greatest degree of adjustability and their main focus unquestionably lies in competition use. But some of the more affordable units will have huge amateur appeal for the budding track day enthusiast or occasional competition entrant.
Manufacturer: Racelogic Manufacturer website: www.performancebox.co.uk Model shown: Performance Box Features: Built-in display, simple suction mounting, 10Hz GPS, most typical acceleration tests, braking and cornering gforce, in-built lap timer with no requirement for external beacon. Available from: Performance Box/Racelogic Prices: From £299 plus VAT General: This is a natty little device that is both performance meter and data logger. Data can also be exported to Google Earth which then plots your journey on a map. Downloaded software can allow you to analyse all the figures to get the maximum from the unit’s gathered information.
Manufacturer: ETB Instruments Manufacturer website: www.etbinstruments.com Model shown: Digidash 2 Pro+ Features: Complete dash display system and separate datalogger Available from: From ETB Instruments Prices: From £599 plus VAT General: ETB’s Digidash display system (£349 plus VAT) is well established and already comes jam-packed with features which monitor many aspects of the engine’s performance. It can also record lap times, either via a circuit’s infra red beacon or a trackside beacon. Add in ETB’s optional 5hz GPS receiver and the Digidash can also provide stand alone lap timing and other information. Finally, the company offers a separate date logger to log 13 standard functions, from speed, rpm, gear, braking, lateral g, longitudinal g and much more.
Manufacturer: Race Technology Manufacturer website: www.race-technology.com Model shown: DL1 Mk3 Features: 100Hz update rate, 5Hz GPS (20Hz upgrade option), 13 external inputs, built in 2G 3-axis accelerometer, can log information from your ECU, capable of lap timing etc. Available from: From Race Technology Prices: £599 plus VAT General: The latest version of the DL1 offers a number of enhanced features. It’s also easily upgraded and can be linked with Race Technology’s Dash2 digital instrument pod.
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Dataloggers Manufacturer: Race Technology Manufacturer website: www.race-technology.com Model shown: AX22 Performance meter Features: Built-in display, simple suction mounting, 5Hz GPS (20Hz upgrade option), multiple standard tests built in, including 0-60mph, 0-100-0mph, 1⁄4 mile, horsepower calculations etc. Suitable for any type of speed and acceleration or deceleration test, lap and sector timing available live on screen. Available from: From Race Technology Prices: £499 plus VAT General: Race Technology describes the AX22 as a performance meter rather than strict datalogger, but the unit can provide many of the functions of an conventional datalogger.
Manufacturer: Aim Technologies Manufacturer website: www.aim-tec.co.uk Model shown: Smartycam Features: All in one datalogger and video recorder. Available from: From Aim Technology Prices: From £695 plus VAT General: This is a neat all-in-one device with an lcd screen also built-in. The GPS based data logger offers position, speed, acceleration, lap times, distance travelled and track mapping as standard. Can then also be connected to your ECU with an ECU Bridge for additional information, while a dedicated AIM datalogger can be added for even more information.
Manufacturer: Stack Manufacturer website: www.stackltd.com Model shown: MFR STR8956 (Multi Function Recorder) Features: Available in four different guises, depending of level of sophistication, from Clubman to Pro. Clubman comes with 14 channels and an inbuilt 3-axis accelerometer. Can be linked to a GPS unit, Stack’s own display unit, a video interface or used simply as a data logger for later download onto a PC (wireless download an option). Available from: Contact Stack Prices: Contact Stack General: Stack needs little introduction, since the company is well kown for its top-end gauges. It’s Multi Functon Recorder is a specialist piece of kit that is typically tailored to the customer’s specification. Manufacturer: Racelogic Manufacturer website: www.racelogic.co.uk Model shown: Video VBox Lite Features: Complete video and datalogger unit with up to two minicams. Available from: From Racelogic Prices: From £795 plus VAT General: This is the small version of the Video VBox Pro, but still packs a punch, with HD quality video options and a GPS based datalogging ability. Graphics package will overlay information onto camera footage and is fully customisable.
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Driving Techniques
A Line Less Ordinary Racing driver Nigel Greensall reveals the secrets to making time by not taking a traditional racing line.
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ebring, Florida. Built on an old World War 2 air base, the classic circuit is often recognised for its famous, high-speed turn 17, otherwise known as Sunset Bend. It’s a long, bumpy, fast right hander that can make or break your speed down the finishing straight. OK, few readers of this publication are likely to have driven it, but the lessons learned there can easily be put into practice elsewhere. Because Sunset Bend can fit up to three cars abreast, drivers are often divided on the best way to take the corner to maximise the available space and handle the challenging surface. The following is a controversial perspective on how to best tackle the 500m long turn 17. It reveals my secrets on gear selection, driving line, surface awareness, and corner exit, and why they’re essential in getting a fast lap. I’ll also explains why cornering is not just about the entry and exit – and why what you do in the middle of a long corner can make a huge difference to your time. The following data was taken at a Chin Motorsport test session, where Nigel compared his technique with two fast Sebring locals in a Mazda Miata (MX-5) track car. Taking the fastest lap of each driver, each took a different approach at 17, with Nigel having the lowest entry speed by some margin. However, Nigel’s time for the whole corner was still half a second faster.
Right: Sunset Bend at the Sebring circuit in Florida provides the sample corner for this article.
Below: Video screen shots taken from the best lap of each driver. Nigel Greensall is on the left, braking earlier to get the car settled and maintain speed around the long bend (Fig 1).
Entry “The success of the corner depends on your preparation. The three screenshots (Fig 1) are taken at the point the two other drivers start braking for turn 17. As can see, my speed is much lower than the other two drivers. In fact, I started to brake 50m earlier. It is very tempting to brake late here, and you will often hear talk in the Sebring paddock of just how late some drivers like to brake for Sunset Bend. However, I have found that this can compromise mid corner balance and speed, as I will demonstrate. Mid Corner In the mid corner screenshot (Fig 2), I have finished braking, and am back on
the power (see the positive g on the graphic overlay of the screenshot outlined in red), which shifts the weight backwards and balances the rear end. This allows me to hold a tight line through the mid section of the long bend. The two other drivers are still braking, which carries them deeper into the corner. At this point my minimum speed is at least 5mph more than the other drivers (shown by the speed trace graph, below), and also I am on a shorter, tighter line. This is where I gain the majority of the time in turn 17. Gear selection is also crucial at this stage. Having previously tried taking the corner in 4th gear, I soon found that this caused the car to run too wide over the bumps and compromise exit speed. By using 3rd gear I was able to stay tighter to the apex which helped avoid the bumpy surface. Exit On the exit of the turn, just before the bridge, there are several bumps which are caused by the large concrete slabs that made up the old air base runway. This change of surface occurs just
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Changing Lines where you are accelerating onto the straight, so it is critical that the car is balanced here! In a more powerful car, you may want to turn more before this point, allowing you to straight line the bumps, gaining more traction out of the corner. The exit onto the start/finish straight is critical as it is half a mile long. In taking the tighter line through the mid part of turn 17 instead of a traditional wide line with a late apex, it didn’t give me the maximum possible speed onto the straight. However, the small speed I have lost (around 1mph in this example – Fig 3) only leads to a 0.1sec loss down the main straight, whereas I have gained 0.5sec in the corner. In order to maximise my speed onto the approaching finish line straight, I ensured that my left wheels reached the white concrete on the far left of the corner. The challenge was to see how close I could get to the exit wall to use all the available space and use maximum power. As you can see by the screenshots (Fig 3), the other drivers managed to get fairly close to the wall, but it was those extra few inches that ensured my exit speed almost managed to match theirs, even though they took the deeper, slow in-fast out approach through turn 17. The screenshot highlighting turn 17 in Racelogic’s free Circuit Tools analysis software (Fig 4) shows the whole of turn 17, and you can see the different line I took (the red trace) compared with the other drivers. You can also see the delta-T channel graph at the bottom of the screenshot, which is the lap-time lost or gained through this section. Why the traditional cornering technique isn’t always the fastest As you have seen, this is opposite to traditional cornering technique, and is contrary to what many experts say is the only way to tackle a corner. For the Mazda MX-5 track car on turn 17, the mid-corner was maximised and the entry and exit speeds were sacrificed to gain more time overall. This demonstrates the fact that concentrating your efforts on a small portion of the corner can help you gain a lot of time. To ensure you’re always improving and getting faster, it’s important to keep pushing the limits and challenging the conventional wisdom! However, it should be noted that different cars do have different characteristics. The less traditional line explained above worked very well in the Miata, but didn’t work so well
when I was driving a Corvette Trans-Am which responded better to going wider into the corner and straightening out the bumps. When cars and tracks are different, with varying levels of grip and surfaces, you need to be experimental and open minded when finding the fastest route. The best way to do this is with video datalogging and easy-tounderstand analysis software that synchronises the video and data for you. This will enable you to easily pinpoint areas to improve. In addition to synchronised data, I now find predictive lap timing very useful. By using a graphical display which uses GPS position to compare my current lap with my fastest so far, I can
53 | UK Track Day Guide
Top: Holding a tight line means Nigel’s mid corner speed is 5mph higher (Fig 2). Middle: Nigel’s speed is the red trace. Earlier braking helps mid-corner pace. Above: Nigel’s car is well over to the left on the exit of the corner (Fig3).
immediately see whether a new technique or line is making me quicker or slower. The best technique is to try the traditional, recommended line to get some feedback and a reference time, and then see if you can better it by experimenting with different techniques. You might just find other drivers beginning to copy you!
Racelogic All in car video and data for this article was recorded using a Racelogic Video VBOX, a multi camera DVD quality video recorder with integrated high accuracy GPS data logging and embedded graphics. For more
Below: Whole data collated (Fig 4).
www.completekitcar.co.uk
information visit www.videovbox.co.uk
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Driving Techniques
Looking A-Head Ben Edwards extols the virtues of moving your head – not just your eyes – when making turns. Ben Elliot (ARDS grade A Racing Instructor), has won races in cars as varied as Formula Ford, Radicals, Westfields, and Ginettas. This gives him rich knowledge to draw on when he is coaching others to go faster. In this article, Ben discusses the importance of where a driver is looking on the track, and why reading the road, visualising racing lines, and aligning head and eye movement while driving is so important when chasing lap-times.
T
he job of a circuit instructor basically involves identifying where a driver can improve, and showing them exactly how to do it. This involves
Right: Bedford Autodrome provides a useful complex to illustrate the benefits of ‘owl vision.’
Below: Fury driver Adam was turning too late for the apex. Below left and right: Note the difference in head position between instructor Ben (Fig 2a) and student Adam (Fig 2b).
finding where they are sacrificing laptime, analysing why, and showing them how to take remedial action. Using video and GPS datalogging enables me to back up what I am saying with objective information, and allows the driver to look at the video and data to see for themselves. Let’s take an example from a session at Bedford Autodrome. I spotted that the driver, Adam, was turning too late from left to right. The late turn to the right meant a tighter turn to the apex, so he couldn’t accelerate as hard through the turn and onto the following straight. I arranged the cameras to show the circuit in the main view and the driver in the picture in picture view. In the screenshot with me driving (Fig 1) you can see I’m looking through the left hand bend. Progressing a little further around
54 | UK Track Day Guide
the corner (Fig 2) we can now compare the video between myself (left) and Adam (right) as we come to the end of the left turn. We both have the car positioned nicely on the inside ready for the following right hand bend. However, take a look at the inset camera pointing at each of us and you can see a big difference. My head is starting to turn to the right as I look towards the apex of the next corner. Adam is still looking to left side of the circuit. Those familiar with Bedford circuit will know that there is normally a yellow ‘turn in’ cone on the left between the corners. Adam was focussing on this point. Moving past the exit of the left turn (Fig 3), you can see that I (left) have let the car run away from the edge of the circuit and am in the process of changing direction. I have gained 5mph. Adam’s head (right) is now straight to his body as he looks to the apex. Adam has gained just 1mph. At the apex (Fig 4) Adam is now hard on the throttle as he sees the road opening up in front of him. There is now a 13mph difference between us. Both of our heads are now in a similar position, showing that Adam is looking through to the exit of the corner properly. So how can this driver improve his technique to go faster? Let’s take a look...
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Corner Sighting Identifying the fault: Adam is turning too late into the right hand corner. Analysing why: The reason this driver is turning in late is visual preparation. Adam is looking for a turn in point for the right hand bend and then looking for the apex once he arrives at the turn point. I call this ‘cone spotting’! His lack of head movement suggests that Adam is looking to the right by turning his eyes and not his head. By doing this your nose blocks your outer eye and you get reduced depth (and therefore speed) perception. Remedial Action: I was watching Adam do this in the car and on subsequent laps worked with him to improve his use of vision. The real breakthrough, however, came in the debrief. Adam could see the differences in technique but genuinely had no idea that he was doing this in the car. It’s sometimes necessary to forget about the turn in point between two corners and immediately move your vision to the apex of the right hand bend as you’re exiting the left (as I am doing). You can still use a turn in point as a reference but try to spot this in your peripheral vision, not focus on it. For right hand bends you also need to keep your eyes ahead and turn your head towards the apex. I call this‘owl vision’. Looking at the speed and lap-time difference graphs at the bottom of the circuit tools screen is very useful when finding the big areas where lap-time can be improved, but video adds another
Above: Ben gains 5mph on the way out of the corner. Above right: Adam’s head is facing forward and he has gained just 1mph out of the corner. Below and below right: Heads now in a similar position, but there is a 13mph difference between the drivers at this point.
dimension to the analysis. With the right equipment and driver focused software, it is very easy to compare two drivers and work out where time is being gained or lost. The benefits of ‘owl vision’ include: • Better speed perception • Increased sensitivity to oversteer/ understeer • More consistent driving.
Below: Turning your head, rather than just your eyes, can improve corner speed.
So, after having seen the video and worked on this technique, Adam is now turning his head to look into the corner and is preparing to turn in. This means he carries a huge 11mph more speed through the corner than he was able to earlier in the day. Looking at the video and embedded data has helped Adam’s corner preparation to improve dramatically. How does video datalogging help in cutting lap times? Normally I sit and watch the driver as they go through the corner. I can give feedback, but getting a driver to believe they are actually doing it is sometimes quite hard! Video gives the customer a clear demonstration of the differences in technique and speed. I am a firm believer in the saying ‘a picture tells a thousand words’. Video effectively allows the driver to teach themselves, and allows me to give useful tuition in less time than giving a description. Drivers always improve at a higher rate as a result of looking at the video and data, and I can therefore get more teaching done in a day which raises the value for money of my tuition.
Racelogic All in car video and data for this article was recorded using a Racelogic Video VBOX, a multi camera DVD quality video recorder with integrated high accuracy GPS data logging and embedded graphics. For more information visit www.videovbox.co.uk
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Useful Contacts
Insurance... A couple of useful contact listings rolled into one page – specialist insurance companies and track day organisers.
W
hether you want to take out insurance cover for a track day will depend very much upon your own perception of risk. Incidents are thankfully very few and far between, but you may appreciate the extra
peace of mind that cover brings. If the worst should happen, you’ll be thankful that you opted for the additional initial expense. Many factors will influence the price of a policy. The car is the most obvious, and the age of the driver will be taken into consideration – as will their level of track day and/or racing experience. The venue will have a bearing on the cost too. Circuits without a race license sometimes attract bigger premiums, as will running on slick tyres. Some companies offer discounts for halfday or evening cover if you’re not doing a full-day event.
Insurance Firms Here’s a run-down of the companies which offer track day cover. Cherished Vehicle Insurance: www.cherishedvehicleinsurance.co.uk Competition Car Insurance: www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk Heritage: www.heritage-quote.co.uk Nowell and Richards: www.nowellandrichards.co.uk Moris: www.moris.co.uk REIS: www.reis.co.uk
As always with insurance, it’s worth shopping around for quotes and we’ve listed some specialist companies for easy reference.
Indication Of Insurance Costs We contacted a respected specialist insurance company for some sample indications of how much track day insurance may cost. In all cases, we’ve assumed a worst-case scenario that the cars have been owned for less than a year. Longer term ownership should result in lower costs. The examples are as follows... Sample 1: 32-year old driver, first track day, £8000 Raw Striker, treaded tyres, Llandow, £800 excess £113.14 Sample 2: 26-year old driver, second track day, £7000 MEV Rocket, treaded tyres, Brands Hatch, £700 excess £96.69 Sample 3: 53-year old driver, eighth track day, £18,000 Caterham, treaded tyres, Mallory Park, £1800 excess £193.69
& Organisers T
here are so many thriving track day organisers that there are multiple events going on up and down the country every weekend – and loads during the working week, too! Here’s a useful list of contact details to help you get booked onto an event . What’s stopping you?
Track Day Organisers A run down of companies organising track days in the UK. Apex T: 0844 8581 591. W: www.apextrackdays.co.uk Bookatrack T: 0843 208 4635. W: www.bookatrack.com BHP Trackdays T: 01342 837957 W: www.bhptrackdays.co.uk Circuit Days T: 01302 743827. W: www.circuit-days.co.uk Club MSV T: 0870 850 5014. W: www.clubmsv.co.uk Croft Promosport T: 01325 721815. W: www.croftcircuit.co.uk Easy Track T: 01223 969996. W: www.easytrack.co.uk Focused Events T: 0845 026 7272. W: www.focusedevents.com Gold Track T: 01327 361361. W: www.goldtrack.co.uk Javelin Motorsport T: 01469 560570. W: www.javelintrackdays.co.uk Motorsport Events T: 0870 787 2116. W: www.motorsport-events.com Open Track T: 01945 202588. W: www.opentrack.co.uk RMA Track Days T: 01628 779000. W: www.rmatrackdays.com
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057:TDG_2012
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058 Competition:Layout 1
15/3/12
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Competition
Win
a set of Avon ZV5 performance tyres We have joined forces with Avon Tyres to bring you the chance to win a set of performance tyres ZV5 worth up to £350.
T
he joy of this competition is that it’s relevant to each and every reader, whether you own a track day warrior or just a regular daily driver. With this amazing competition, you’ve a chance to win four superb high performance Avon ZV5 road tyres. The ZV5 tyres come in a wide range of sizes to suit wheels of between 15in and 18in in diameter. That certainly covers most of the options! THE PRIZE The prize consists of four Avon ZV5 performance tyres (with a maximum retail value of up to £350). Please check on the company’s website that you are able to get the correct size wheels and tyres for your particular application. The prize is subject to both Avon Tyres having a suitable fitment for the winner’s vehicle. There will be no cash alternative. THE COMPETITION We’ve tried not to make it too taxing for you! If you know the answer, then by far the quickest way to enter is via the online entry form (www.completekitcar.co.uk), which will take you no more than a few seconds to complete and also has instant links to Avon Tyres. Alternatively, you can always post us an entry, including your name, address and answer to Performance Publishing Ltd, Unit 12 Thesiger Close, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2RN. The Avon ZV5 is rated for what speeds? V, W &Y A, B &C L, X &Y Avon Tyres For available tyres sizes, or to find your nearest dealer. W: www.avon-tyres.co.uk
Avon High Performance ZV5 Tyres The ZV5 is Avon’s premium tyre, slotting into an extensive range which covers almost every sector of the market, from chunky 4x4s to commercial vehicles. Most importantly, this is the company’s best high performance tyre, coming in above its previous fast road tyre. The ZV5 is ideally suited to a performance car application for regular road use and in all conditions. Avon tyres are manufactured by one of the world’s largest tyre manufacturers, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, and the Avon ZV5 boasts significant improvements in handling, fuel efficiency and road noise, thanks to the use of the latest silica compounds and computer-aided design techniques.
Below right: Avon’s ZV5 tyres are ideal for both kit car and mainstream production machinery.
guard against kerbing damage on alloy rims. • Extensive range – 40 sizes, from 15 to 18in rims. • Available in – V, W and Y speed ratings.
Key features of the ZV5 include... • Outstanding grip in the wet and dry – Thanks to its asymmetric tread pattern, the ZV5 has wide, open slots on the shoulders to improve handling in dry weather. Bold, open circumferential grooves help reduce the chances of aquaplaning in deep water. • Progressive, predictable handling – A stiffer lower sidewall layer sharpens steering response. • Excellent braking performance, wet and dry – The tread blocks and siping have been designed to cut through thin films of water to further enhance braking performance. • Quiet running – The tread block formation is designed to produce less resistance, cutting down on road noise. • Alloy wheel protection – Large rim flange protectors on all tyre sizes help
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060 AB Sabre:Layout 1
26/3/12
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AB Sabre
MOST TRACK DAY cars start out as road cars, but not the AB Sabre. The company has no plans to offer it as a road car – it has been designed from the ground up as a no-compromise race car, so it will naturally excel in the track day environment. Part of this ethos was to make adjustments to the suspension very easy to undertake in the paddock, which adds a whole new element to track day entertainment. AB Performance, run by Andy Bates, is a motorcycle engine specialist with many years experience. Many cars in the 750 Motor Club’s RGB Championship run engines that have been supplied by AB Performance. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the first car of AB’s own design uses a bike engine – the choices being either the current 1000cc engines, the Suzuki Hayabusa or 1400cc Kawasaki ZX14 engines. The spaceframe chassis is made from a mix of round and square tube steel
(chosen in each instance for its suitability for its given role) and is Tig welded. The specification is high throughout, with Ohlins dampers as standard, aero section wishbones and anti-roll bars. Brakes are Wilwood four-pot calipers all-round with solid grooved discs (other upgrades are available). The price includes three days’ accommodation close to the AB factory so that the positions of the pedals, steering wheel and seat can be tailored to the customer. This is the case for both kits and complete turnkey cars, and will ensure that driver comfort will be spot-on. The Sabre has been designed to be eligible for a number of race series. That means that if you buy one for track day use and decide to progress to competition use, there will be a number of options.
SUMMARY – The AB Sabre is not a road car that’s been adapted for track use – it’s a no-holds-barred race car that can be used on track days. It’s a serious bit of kit.
Specification Chassis: Tubular and box section steel Tig welded spaceframe. Powdercoated in a choice of colours.
Budget build cost: £18,000 plus VAT.
Bodywork: Nine-piece GRP body finished in self coloured gelcoat. Donor car: No donor car parts. Engine options: All current 1000cc engines, Suzuki Hayabusa or Kawasaki ZX14 units. Suspension: Inboard pushrod suspension working on aero section wishbones, Ohlins dampers. Tuning fork style anti-roll bars. Steering: Bespoke AB components. Billet aluminium column incorporates paddleshift gearchange.
Contact: AB Performance, Pie Hatch Farm, Brettenham Road, Buxhall, Suffolk IP14 3DZ.
Brakes: Entry level Wilwood four-pot calipers on solid grooved discs. Optional upgrades.
T: 01449 736633.
Track day upgrades and options: Car is designed specifically for track and motorsport use.
E: sales@abperformance.co.uk
Kit price: Complete kit including everything needed to complete car £18,000 plus VAT.
W: www.abperformance.co.uk
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061 Autotune:Layout 1
26/3/12
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Autotune Can-Am and Gemini
AUTOTUNE IS A well-established company, which has been trading since 1969 specialising in high performance racing, classic and replica cars. MD Anthony Taylor has all the experience and background of over 50 years in motor engineering with high performance vehicles, from racing a Lister Jaguar in the ’60s to monstrous McLaren Can-Am cars currently. The Gemini (below) and the Can-Am (above) models are ideal for track day use. The Gemini body is a replica of the pretty ’50s Elva Mk2. Autotune designed a new chassis and running gear and launched the car in 1988, it has since proven itself on the track with outright race and class championship wins in the 750MC Kit Car Series and several Class Championships in the BRSCC Replica Series. The chassis is a triangulated 16swg steel spaceframe. Safety aspects are paramount in the design giving some degree of protection from side impact. EC Regulation 14 on seat belt anchorage was passed with flying colours in the ’80s, proving that the company has always been concerned with customer protection. The suspension uses a Ford Escort axle and Cortina front uprights with specially fabricated and adjustable wishbones, radius arms and panhard rod. Adjustable
coil over shock dampers are used. A wide range of engines can be fitted, from Crossflow through to V6 or Zetec and Rover V8. Autotune has specialised in the restoration and preparation of original McLaren Can-Am cars for many years. These spectacular cars change hands for big money, and Autotune decided to produce the Can-Am – a replica of the McLaren M1B or M1C – to offer the opportunity to race this type of car at a fraction of the cost, and without the risk of damaging valuable originals. The chassis is a triangulated 16swg steel spaceframe featuring riveted NS4 aluminium panelling. The suspension features a fully rose jointed double wishbone configuration at the front, using Jaguar uprights and a selection of braking options depending on budget. At the rear twin radius arms, reversed lower wishbone and top link locate a purpose made cast aluminium upright using a Ford 4x4 or Cosworth hub. Adjustable coil over dampers are used. Although designed by Autotune, the suspension was checked by former Chevron and Reynard designer Paul Brown, whose successful models have included F1, Indy, and Le Mans Cars. The chassis was designed in order to accept a variety of engines, the most popular choice being the Chevrolet V8. Transaxle choice depends very much on budget, ranging from the Hewland DG 300 through to cheaper Porsche G50 and Renault 30 designs.
Specification (Can-Am) Chassis: Comprehensive spaceframe chassis made from 16-gauge, 2in by 1in and 1in by 1in box section
Kit price: Chassis/suspension pack £9251. Body pack £4585 (all prices plus VAT).
steel. Pre-drilled and fitted with all mounts. Clad with NS4 alloy panels.
Budget Build Cost: From £25,000.
Bodywork: Fibreglass bodywork sections comprising nose section, tail section, two doors, two sidepods, twin seat moulding and perspex windscreen. Donor car: None. Engine options: Chevrolet small block V8, Ford small block V8, Rover/Olds V8, etc. Suspension: Fully rose jointed double wishbone at the front, using Jaguar XJ6 uprights. Twin radius arms,
Contact: Autotune, Unit 1J Riverside Industrial Estate, Rishton, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 4NF.
reversed lower wishbone and top link locate a cast aluminium upright using a Ford 4x4 or Cosworth hub.
T: 01245 886819.
Steering: Purpose made aluminium quick ratio rack with Autotune steering arms.
E: mail@autotuneuk.com
Brakes: Jaguar XJ6 front and Sierra Cosworth rear, alternative options are available for higher budgets.
W: www.autotuneuk.com
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062 Caterham:Layout 1
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16:41
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Caterham Seven
THE SEVEN IS the original British lightweight sportscar. Originally created by Colin Chapman and launched as the Lotus Seven in 1957, the car embodies the Chapman design ethos of ‘adding lightness’. The low mass of the car makes it inherently agile, gives startling performance and, most of all, imbues the driving experience with its unparalleled sense of purity, control and reward. It is, quite simply, a motoring icon. Caterham Cars has been selling the Seven since the late 1950s. In 1973 Caterham purchased the rights to manufacture the car from Lotus, and has been building and selling it ever since. Over the decades, Caterham has continued to refine and enhance the design, whilst always respecting the brilliance of the original formula. Motorsport is at the heart of everything Caterham does, and it is the original race car for the road. Of course, the most significant development is Caterham’s competition activities is its entry into Formula One in 2012. The Seven was designated
‘too fast to race’ by the authorities in the 1970s due to its overwhelming superiority over its rivals, and was banned from competition. This inspired Caterham to pioneer one-make racing with strict regulations to minimise cost and produce close, exciting racing. Meanwhile, overall victory in the 1992 Nelson Ledges 24-Hours race and class victory at the 2002 Nürburgring 24-Hours underlined the car’s abilities even against modern rivals. Today there are more Sevens racing around the world than almost any other single marque; over 700 competitors in 11 countries. All of this racing expertise translates into Caterham being able to provide the ultimate track day car. With world renowned handling characteristics, unparalleled reliability and performance to suit any experience level or budget, there really is no substitute for the original track day car. It is no coincidence that most motor racing circuits, track day operators and race schools across the country choose Caterhams, be it to teach car control, demonstrate race craft or just have fun! SUMMARY – The Seven represents the ultimate track day weapon. All models from the entry level Classic to the fire-breathing R500 are available in road legal form so you’ll be able to enjoy their abilities on the way to and from the track too!
Specification Chassis: Tubular steel spaceframe.
Track day upgrades and options: Uprated suspension/dampers, exhaust kits, induction kits, battery master
Bodywork: Aluminium panelling combined with composite and carbon fibre.
switch, brake bias valves, full roll cages – the sky is the limit.
Donor car: None – it is a complete kit!
Kit price: Starting from £13,650 (including VAT) for a complete kit.
Engine options: 1.4-litre Rover K-series (105bhp), 1.6-litre Ford Sigma (125 or 150bhp) or 2.0 and 2.3-
Budget build cost: N/A – kit is all inclusive.
litre Ford Duratec (175, 210, 260 or 263bhp). Suspension: Front – Adjustable double wishbone with anti-roll bar. Rear – De Dion axle located by a frame and radius arm, optional anti roll bar and watts linkage.
Contact: Caterham Cars Ltd, Station Avenue, Caterham, Surrey CR3 6LB.
Steering: Rack and pinion 1.93 turns lock-to-lock.
T: 01883 333700.
Brakes: Twin circuit split front/rear with lowlevel warning system. Discs front and rear. Optional quad-pis-
E: sales@caterham.co.uk
ton calipers.
W: www.caterham.co.uk
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063 Dax Rush:Layout 1
26/3/12
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Dax Rush
THE DAX RUSH is available in two distinct guises: one for car engines, and the Rush MC specifically designed with a bespoke chassis for motorcycle engine applications. The car engined version has been around since 1991 and has built a firm reputation for quality and performance. Since its introduction, it has been developed into the highly polished product it is today. The most recent change has seen the move from Ford Sierra to BMW 3-series donor, meaning anything from the four-pot to the powerful six-cylinder M3 can be used. The Rush has always been known for big engine installations – many have been fitted with the Rover V8 over the years, and that engine along with others is still eligible for fitment. For the MC, DJ Sportscars designed a dedicated lightweight round-tube chassis. The emphasis was on saving weight without compromising strength, There is the option of having DJ’s unique, patented Camber Compensation front suspension, designed by
Peter Walker. As its name suggests, it cleverly dials out camber changes as the car makes a turn, maintaining the optimum tyre contact with the road during high-speed cornering. Infamous Rush driver Duncan Cowper has proven many times that it’s a formidable set-up; recently he set a time around Bedford Autodrome that was quicker than the McLaren MP412C, itself a technical tour de force. Other features of note include the fuel tank that’s located in the central tunnel for maximum safety and improved weight distribution, a rubber-sleeved propshaft (which acts like a cush drive for improved road driveability) and its paddleshift gearchange. The gearshift is, we believe, unique in this class of car, and it works brilliantly. Engine options for the MC are wide and varied, from the Honda Fireblade to the Suzuki Hayabusa (with the option of a crazy 350bhp turbocharged version). Handling and performance are extraordinary, making this a very quick and very capable track day car.
SUMMARY – DJ Sportscars is unique in offering a bespoke bike engined version of the Rush, taking full advantage of the lightweight, revvy engine. BMW based car powered version is a quality offering, too.
Specification (Rush MC) Chassis: Fully triangulated lightweight spaceframe chassis in high strength, low carbon steel. Bonded and
Steering: Rack and pinion, Ford Sierra column.
riveted aluminium floor and bulkhead panels for even greater rigidity.
Brakes: Dual circuit, balance bar braking system with vented front discs and solid rears.
Bodywork: Fibreglass nosecone, wings, scuttle and rear bodywork in pre-coloured gelcoat finish.
Kit Price: Body/chassis kit £2095 plus VAT.
Aluminium bonnet.
Budget build cost: Home built from around £9200.
Donor car: Predominantly Ford Sierra. Engine options: Most bike options can be used. Suspension: Front – Double unequal length wishbones with neutral scrub, anti-dive geometry and shim
Contact: DJ Sportcars, 2 Edinburgh Place, Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex CM20 2DJ.
adjustable camber. Patented Camber Compensation and Anti-Roll suspension on round-tube chassis. Ad-
T: 01279 442661.
justable coil-over dampers. Rear – Dax De Dion tube, upper A-frame and lower radius arms, adjustable
E: post@daxcars.co.uk
coil-overs.
W: www.daxcars.co.uk
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064 Furore F1:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:45
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Furore F1
HAVE YOU EVER watched F1 cars and wondered what it would be like to drive one? The Furore F1 offers a flavour of the experience not only on the track but on the road too – but with three key benefits. It’s affordable (you can build one for under £10,000), you can carry a passenger and it’s also road legal. The tandem seat layout means you can share the experience with somebody and, when you don’t have someone along for the ride, a removable GRP panel disguises the passenger space as an air box. Talking of space, those side pods also provide room to stow luggage, making this a surprisingly practical proposition to boot. Beneath the race car styling is a spaceframe chassis that uses double wishbone suspension and the running gear from a Toyota MR2 Mk1. The car has had a recent facelift, with a new higher nose and wider front wing, new
curvier sidepods are also on the way to keep it looking as much like modern F1 as possible. For track use you might want to use motorcycle power such as the awesome ZZR1400. As well as supplying an authentically manic, high revving soundtrack, they also have a sequential gearchange which is well suited to track work. Track day options also include stiffer spring packages and the ride height, caster and camber can all be adjusted to suit a particular track . Another neat track focused feature is the aerodynamic package. Different styles of front and rear wings are available, and they’re adjustable allowing you to tweak and experiment with different levels of downforce. That aptly sums up what this car is all about: it’s a realistic way of living the dream. If you want to know what it feels like to be Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher for a day, you know who to call.
SUMMARY – The Furore F1 offers a unique experience. Add in its affordability and that novel passenger seat solution and you have a compelling alternative to the more usual kit car fare.
Specification Chassis: Multi-tubular spaceframe chassis made from a mix of 25mm by 25mm and 50mm by 25mm
spring package.
seel tube, all 16-gauge.
Kit price: Chassis pack £3450, body pack £2450.
Bodywork: 11-piece GRP panel set with additional cycle wings and front and rear wings in kit form.
Budget build cost: Under £10,000.
Donor car: Toyota MR2 Mk1. Engine options: Toyota 1.6-litre twin-cam or a wide variety of motorcycle engines. Suspension: Front – Double wishbones, Toyota MR2 uprights, inboard coil-over dampers. Rear – Double wishbones, Toyota MR2 uprights, coil-over dampers.
Contact: Furore Cars.
Steering: Toyota MR2 upper column, Fiat Cinquecento lower column and rack.
T: 07905 897407.
Brakes: Discs all-round.
E: russbost@googlemail.com
Track day upgrades and options: A variety of front and rear wing options which are adjustable, stiffer
W: www.furorecars.co.uk
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065 GBS Zero:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:46
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GBS Zero
GREAT BRITISH SPORTS CARS is one of the leading names in the British kit car industry. With a long 25-year history of success, the company is pleased with continuing its success and development of the Zero which has recently undergone many improvements and developments. The company is also now pleased to introduce the new race version of Zero. With its spaceframe chassis and double wishbone suspension it’s right at the heart of the track day market. Indeed, the company is also preparing a car to campaign in the 750 Motor Club’s Sports Specials Championship. Developments instigated for the racing programme have filtered down as options for roadgoing and track day prepared Zeros. These include a full roll cage (shown in the CAD drawing left), a fuel tank with an integral swirl pot to prevent fuel starvation on long, fast corners, lightweight GRP seat shells, TRS four-point harnesses and lightweight
Team Dynamics Pro Race alloy wheels, often shod with specialist track day tyres. While many GBS customers use the Ford Pinto engine that comes with a Ford Sierra donor vehicle, many builders who intend to use their cars on track opt for a Ford Zetec engine. In 2-litre form and fitted with AT Power throttle bodies and an Emerald ECU (both of which can be supplied by Great British Sports Cars), it produces a strong 175bhp. That’s enough to make the car very lively on track. Oh, and on the topic of that well documented affordability, a Pinto engined car can be completed by a thrifty builder from as little as £4000. A Zetec engined Zero starts from about £7000. You can’t knock that! Sister company Kit Spares stocks a full range of parts and spares which is available online at www.kitspares.co.uk
SUMMARY – Expected GBS value is combined with tidy handling, easy assembly and traditional styling in the Zero.
Specification Chassis: Square and round section spaceframe chassis with stressed aluminium cladding.
shells, lightweight Team Dynamics Pro Race alloy wheels.
Bodywork: Aluminium with fibreglass nosecone and wings (in gelcoat colour). Option of stainless panels.
Kit price: Zero Road Kit from £1950 plus VAT, Zero Race Kit with integral roll cage £2500 plus VAT.
Donor car: Ford Sierra.
Budget build cost: From £4000. Factory built to professional race spec from £13,000.
Engine options: Virtually all Ford four-cylinder engines will fit. Bike engines can also be accommodated. Suspension: Double wishbones and fully adjustable Gaz coil-over dampers all-round, Sierra front stub axles, rear differenial and driveshafts. Also option of Proflex three-way adjustable shock absorbers. Steering: Factory supplied rack with Sierra column. Detachable steering wheel option.
Contact: Great British Sports Cars, Robin Hood House, Maun Way, Boughton, Near Newark NG22 9ZD.
Brakes: Front – Ford Sierra discs. Rear – Ford Sierra discs or drums depending on donor axle. Option of
T: 01623 860990.
alloy four-pot calipers.
E: info@greatbritishsportscars.co.uk
Track day upgrades and options: CAD designed full roll cage, fuel tank with integral swirl pot, GRP seat
W: www.greatbritishsportscars.co.uk and www.kitspares.co.uk
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066 Luego Velocity:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:48
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Luego Velocity and Viento
LUEGO’S KAWASAKI ZX9R powered Velocity has been built specifically for customers to try out and to have some fun with on track. It has an electronic, steering wheel mounted push button gearshift and runs on 16in Team Dynamic Pro 1.2 alloys wrapped with Toyo slick racing tyres. Brakes are Wilwood 4-pot calipers at the front and Ford calipers at the rear. Luego Sports Cars is run by Ben Lord who has had a long career in motorsport, including stints at McLaren working on the Le Mans GT cars, BMW’s touring cars and at the BAR Honda F1 team. His experience includes track support, research and development testing and working with electromechanical systems. The Velocity is a traditionally styled sevenesque roadster.
It takes as much as possible from the Ford Sierra or BMW E36 donor without compromising handling. As such, you will find bespoke double wishbone suspension at each corner utilising Sierra/BMW front stub axles, rear differential, driveshafts and bearings. For brakes, a lot of owners prefer to use aftermarket components, although the donor car parts can be used. Most four-cylinder car or motorcycle engines can be fitted. If you want to fit something a bit bigger, how about the Viento (pictured below left). Virtually anything can be fitted in its engine bay; Rover V8s, Chevy LS2, Alfa V6 to name a few have been used. The Viento is 150mm wider and 300mm longer than the Velocity, therefore will comfortably accommodate drivers of all sizes.
Summary – Two very different models from Luego. The nimble Velocity and beefy Viento mean it has the Seven inspired market covered. It’s not a case one size fits all here!
Specification Chassis: Spaceframe design using a variety of different tubular steel.
powered cars.
Bodywork: Brushed aluminium side panels (polished stainless steel on the Viento) with Gelcoat finish GRP
Kit price: Velocity kits from £2900, Viento kits from £3700
bonnet, nosecone, scuttle, rear panel and wings.
Budget build cost: Velocity track car from £5000
Donor car: A mix of Ford donor parts. BMW based version also available. Engine options: Most four-cylinder car and motorcycle engines. Viento – Almost anything! Suspension: Front – Double wishbones, coil-over dampers and Sierra lower strut/stub axle. Rear – Fabricated rear hub carriers, Sierra differential, driveshafts and hubs. Coil-over dampers.
Contact: Luego Sportscars.
Steering: Escort steering rack with Sierra column.
T: 07976271380
Brakes: Front – Sierra solid or vented discs. Rear – Solid discs.
E: info@luegosportscars.com
Trackday upgrades and options: Datalogging equipment, paddleshift gearchanges for motorcycle
W: www.luegosportscars.com
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067 MEV Exocet:Layout 1
26/3/12
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Page 67
MEV Exocet
THE SIMPLEST IDEAS are often the cleverest, and that certainly sums up the incredibly affordable MEV Exocet. It takes all its mechanicals from an MX-5 and places them into a lightweight, exoskeletal frame. By losing a third of the Mazda’s weight, it results in a fast, well balanced, responsive sports car. Because the 650kg Exocet drives just like a lightened MX-5 (because that’s effectively what it is), it has truly excellent handling. There are two versions of the Exocet, the road-going version and the racer, dubbed MX150R. The latter spent its debut 2011 season ruffling feathers with its excellent results in competition against high performance Japanese production cars. See www.ma5daracing.com for more. MX150Rs also came second and third in the Nippon Challenge, despite facing much more powerful cars in opposition. It also acquitted itself very well in a 12-hour race at Snetterton. Other upgrades include a
tuning kit for the 1.8-litre that ups its output, using throttle bodies and mapped ECU, to over 170bhp. Standard output from the 1.8 is 131bhp, while the 1.6-litre version can also be used. Donors are available from as little as £400. But the really clever bit is that, once you’ve sold off all the MX-5 parts you don’t need, you can bring the cost of an Exocet build down to around £2200. Could this be the world’s cheapest kit car to build? As well as using all the mechanicals, the Exocet can also use the donor’s seats, instrumentation, exhaust and more. In other words, all the bits that you spend a few thousand pounds on when you build a more typical kit car. As well as being very affordable, it’s very easy to build. The Mazda’s bodywork can be removed in a morning using a standard engine hoist, exposing the mechanical parts that stay in place. The Exocet chassis is then bolted to them. The subframes, engine and gearbox all remain as one unit during the conversion. See what we mean about simple being clever? The company has a second MX-5 based model, the MEVX5 Superlight, details of which are on the company’s website. SUMMARY – MEV Exocet takes the best bits of a Mazda MX-5 and repackages them in an extrovert, lightweight sports car. Great handling and small build cost are what have made this kit a major sales success.
Specification Chassis: Exoskeletal spaceframe in round tube steel.
full cage, nudge bars and steel floors (discounts available for race drivers).
Bodywork: GRP nose, bonnet, cycle wings and rear panel.
Budget Build Cost: From £2200 (see text).
Donor car: Mazda MX-5. Engine options: Mazda MX-5 four-cylinder in either 1.6 or 1.8-litre forms. Suspension: Front – Mazda MX-5 double wishbones with coil-over dampers. Rear – Mazda MX-5 double wishbones with coil-over dampers. Standard car uses MX-5 front and rear subframes. Steering: Mazda rack and pinion.
Contact: MEV, Ratcher Hill Quarry, Southwell Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG21 0HJ.
Brakes: Discs all-round.
T: 01623 655522.
Track day upgrades and options: Various MX-5 tuning upgrades, aero spoiler and wheelarches.
E: info@mevltd.co.uk
Kit price: Comprehensive kit £2200 plus VAT. Lightweight kit £2850 plus VAT. MX150R £2995 including
W: www.mevltd.co.uk
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068 MEV Rocket and Sonic:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:51
Page 68
MEV Rocket and Sonic7
THE MEV ROCKET is manufactured under license by Nottingham based Road Track Race. Due to its success, it is now marketed in over 10 territories including the States and Australia, and continues to sell strongly. It’s easy to see why with its modern looks and exoskeletal construction. The car is based on the mechanicals of a Ford Focus, which provides its engine (often in 1.8-litre or 2.0-litre forms, although RTR will modify the chassis to accommodate a wide variety of engines should you choose), gearbox, suspension components and many other parts, including its standard engine management. The Focus was chosen because it’s easy to source and affordable. In fact, the Rocket itself is very affordable – you could get one on the road for as little as £7000, which looks like terrific value for a modern, eye-catching sports car. In 2011, the company introduced a range of aluminium suspension components and brake upgrade packages. RTR also
offers a range of turnkey options, from the M225 at £15,995 to the M350, with 350bhp per tonne and a tuned 2-litre Zetec. Thanks to its open chassis, the Rocket has a distinctive driving experience. Being able to see the ground rush by and the suspension and steering working makes you feel really in touch with what’s going on. At the same time, you’re surprisingly protected from the elements and there’s enough space behind the seats to stow a weekend’s worth of camping gear. The Rocket is a thoroughly modern interpretation of what makes a great kit car. Striking, unusual looks, low build costs and entertaining dynamics make for a highly appealing car. Recently, RTR has added to its range by taking on the Sonic7 (left). The sister car to the Rocket, it borrows its suspension geometry and Focus basis but adds dramatically styled full bodywork. It’s a contemporary and stylish kit car.
SUMMARY – The Rocket handles well, is great to look at and straightforward to build. It’s not difficult to see why it has proved such a popular kit car. Much more affordable than it looks, too.
Specification Chassis: Exposed round-tube chassis.
Budget build cost: From £7000 .Turnkey prices: Rocket M225 £15,995. Rocket M350 £19,995. Same
Bodywork: GRP wings, engine cover, bonnet panel. Supplied in coloured gelcoat.
price for Sonic7 to equivalent specifications.
Donor car: Ford Focus. Engine options: Primarily Ford Zetec SE in 1.8-litre or 2-litre forms. Other engines can be fitted. Suspension: Front and rear – Double wishbones with coil-over dampers. Steering: Rack and pinion. Brakes: Discs all-round.
Contact: Road Track Race, 42 Mount Street, New Basford, Nottingham NG7 7HX.
Track day upgrades and options: Optional racing chassis with fully adjustable suspension, wider rear
T: 0115 978 0677.
wishbones and full roll-over protection with side impact bars.
E: sales@roadtrackrace.com
Kit price: Rocket standard kit £3850 plus VAT. Sonic7 standard kit £3999 plus VAT.
W: www.roadtrackrace.com
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069 MK Indy:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:51
Page 69
MK Indy
MK SPORTSCARS IS a firmly established part of the kit car scene having been around for a decade now. Originally founded by Martin Keenan, it’s now run by his brother Phil. At its peak, the company was producing 200 kits per year and, to this day, the chassis and suspension components are all made in-house. Customers have bought into the MK marque thanks to the no-nonsense value it offers, allied to a high quality product. Add in the fact that the company is a joy to deal with and you realise that MK’s loyal following is thoroughly deserved.
The company’s best known model is the Indy and, while this Indy R is outwardly virtually identical to the original car (using the same GRP body panels), it’s all new under the skin. The CAD designed chassis features increased triangulation and more use of round tubes in its construction. Even the cradle for motorcycle engines has been revised to add rigidity to the car. The suspension is improved, too. The double wishbone front suspension utilises a pushrod linking to a top bell crank which, in turn, operates the inboard coil-over dampers. At the rear, the Indy R has its own wishbone design, meaning the dampers have been relocated to the rear arm of the lower wishbone. This allows for larger diameter rear wheels. It also has a fabricated hub carrier at the rear. The Indy was always an enjoyable car to drive, but the R’s round of revisions sharpen it further – making it ideal for track day use. Most MKs are fitted with motorcycle engines, which suits the thrill-a-minute character of this lightweight roadster, but most four-cylinder car engines can be fitted. One Indy even has a Mazda rotary engine, which serves as an illustration of MK’s willingness to accommodate customer requests SUMMARY – It’s little wonder the MK Indy has developed a loyal and deserved following – its affordability is combined with high quality and excellent on track dynamics. A front running contender.
Specification Chassis: CAD designed and mig-welded spaceframe chassis with steel front bulkheads.
axle. No servo.
Bodywork: All GRP bodywork supplied in coloured gelcoat finish.
Track day upgrades and options: Full roll cage, aeroscreen, GRP seat shells.
Donor car: Ford Sierra.
Kit Price: Indy R body/chassis kit £3650. Factory built turnkey cars from £10,500. Prices include VAT.
Engine options: Almost any four-cylinder car engine can be fitted, or a wide variety of motorcycle en-
Budget Build Cost: From £7000.
gines. Suspension: Front – Double wishbones (oval profile) with Sierra stub axle and inboard coil-over dampers. Rear – Double wishbone IRS using fabricated hub carriers, coil-over dampers, Sierra hubs, standard length
Contact: MK Sportscars, Unit 11 Aven Enterprise Estate, Tickhill Road, Maltby, South Yorkshire S66 7QR.
driveshafts and differential.
T: 01709 816138.
Steering: Modified (on exchange) Ford Sierra rack with standard Sierra column.
E: mail@mksportscar.co.uk
Brakes: Ford Sierra front discs and calipers with option of drums or discs on rear depending on donor
W: www.mksportscar.co.uk
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070 MNR VortX:Layout 1
26/3/12
16:52
Page 70
MNR VortX
MNR’S VORTX HAS carved out an identity for itself as a track specialist. Marc Nordon (the ‘MN’ in MNRacing) is a highly experienced racing driver and engineer, and the VortX benefits from his experience. A spaceframe chassis made from round tube steel sets the tone for an engineering-led design. It’s backed up by thoughtful inboard suspension design and many high quality CNC designed components. Visually, the VortX is set apart from its rivals by the aerodynamic nosecone, although a more conventional looking version is also available. MNR offers four models, the rosejointed RT Plus and RT Super (superlight), the RT inboard on bushed suspension and the highly cost-effective MX-5 for its drivetrain and, if you like, its twincam 1.6 (which can be turbo’d to produce 150bhp) or 1.8-litre engines. The most popular engine options
include the Honda S2000 engine, the Rover V8, and a whole host of superbike engines. For the latter, MNR offers options of a paddleshift gearchange and a reverse gearbox that was designed in-house. MNR doesn’t set out to rewrite the rulebook. Instead, it aims to do what it does to a very high standard. It’s that quality which has got it noticed by the kit car buying public and keeps its order book healthy. The firm has sold kits all over Europe, Australia and the States, and left-hand drive versions of the VortX are available. Congratulations to Dave Watson, Steve Malyon, Marc Maubec, Matthew Lewis and Paul Lawrence, on their outstanding successes in British motorsport, and also Redback Motorsport in Sydney, Austrailia. The company has developed a mid-engined Le Mans prototype style car (pictured left) which is now available, both as a kit and fully built – with Suzuki Hayabusa turbo power, we are expecting the first demonstrator to make quite an impression!
SUMMARY – MNR is in the thick of a busy market sector but stands out from the crowd by mixing racing pedigree and high quality components with affordability.
Specification Chassis: Steel spaceframe in 16, 18 and 20g round tube with standard RAC approved road or full race
which can be drilled, grooved or slotted or drums or Mazda MX-5 discs (depending on donor). Optional
cages made to customer’s height.
2-pot billet calipers.
Bodywork: Self coloured GRP panels.
Track day upgrades and options: Brake upgrades, MNR’s own reverse gearbox for BECs, full roll cage
Donor car: Ford Sierra or Mazda MX-5 drivetrain.
and detachable side impact bars.
Engine options: Most four-cylinders including MX-5, Honda S2000, Rover V8, plus motorcycle options.
Kit price: Comprehensive kits start from £3995 including VAT.
Suspension: Front – Unequal length double wishbones, inboard push rods with ali billet rockers, Protech
Budget build cost: From £8500.
coil-over dampers, lightweight fabricated uprights. Rear – Independent rear suspension, unequal length
Contact: MNR, Holly House Farm, Moorcock Lane, Darley, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 2QL.
double wishbones, Protech coil-over dampers.
T: 01423 780196.
Steering: New quick rack, 2.4 turns lock to lock.
E: chrismnrltd@btinternet.com
Brakes: Front – 4-pot billet alloy calipers, drilled, grooved and slotted discs. Rear – Sierra rear discs
W: www.mnrltd.co.uk
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071 Raw Striker:Layout 1
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Raw Striker
RACE PROVEN PERFORMANCE is guaranteed with Raw’s Striker. The ‘off the shelf’ parts packs are completely flexible enabling a whole car or any number of part kit packs or parts to be bought from Raw. In this way kits can be bought as you build or of course road ready to suit you. The entry level kit has 151 bhp from a Zetec with standard plenum and exhaust manifold, in fact the only real change to the Zetec is the sump. This kit is ideally suited to the first time builder with road and track use in mind. The kit can of course be specified with upgrades at the time of order, or they can be added at any point thereafter making it fully customisable for more demanding owners. Ideal for the hardened track day enthusiast, who can choose from an ever expanding options list with choices of engine, brake, suspension, bodywork etc. The TR chassis is also available with lightweight race panels and lowered for full race spec. builds or factory cars. This car remains a frontrunner in many race
series, and in 2009 the RGB series was won by a Striker (with a Fulcrum winning the kit car championship!). Raw’s Fulcrum took the kit industry by storm in 2008, receiving rave reviews in the press. Under the aggressive, modern styling hides the race winning Striker chassis and mechanicals. In 2009 the Fulcrum won the 750MC Kit Car Championship with lap records at every circuit! Since then Raw have added the classic looking Phoenix to the range, utilising the same acclaimed chassis and handling in a very smooth looking package. Raw’s cars will continue to use a selection of newly developed Ford engine packages or the popular Toyota 4AGE. Both offer startling performance with options from 150bhp to 330bhp. Bespoke options including Toyota or bike power are offered. The car’s achievements in racing, sprints, hillclimbs and autotesting in the UK are unrivalled, often pipping far more expensive perceived market leaders. Raw is committed to developing the Striker using competition as a testing ground for road going cars in their performance, handling and safety. SUMMARY – Raw cars are continue development, building on a proven performance history. Superb handling and high performance make it a winner on or off track. Very reasonable costs and open price policy is refreshing.
Specification Chassis: Spaceframe chassis.
Kit price: Starter – full rolling chassis packs under £4,500 Car in a box from £12,995.
Bodywork: ‘Classic’ (screened) or ‘Aero’ options. Fibreglass bodywork, aluminium side panels, lightweight
Factory cars from £17,450.
body for racing. Three-piece rear bodywork with wing size selection.
Budget build cost: Depends entirely on your part sourcing ability!
Donor car: New from Raw or Ford sourced donor parts. Engine options: Toyota and Ford. Bespoke; including bike power available. Suspension: Independent inboard front setup. Independent double rear wishbones utilising Raw’s own hub carriers, coil-over dampers, Ford hubs and differential. Fully adjustable front and rear allowing
Contact: Raw, The Grange, Shelwick, Hereford HR1 3AW.
optimum handling and performance. The original live axle option is still available.
T: 01432 371169.
Steering: Bespoke Raw steering column with Ford quick rack.
E: info@striker-cars.co.uk
Brakes: Standard Ford items through to a selection of upgrades including high spec 4-pot alloy calipers.
W: www.striker-cars.co.uk
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072 Roadrunner SR2:Layout 1
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Roadrunner SR2
THE ROADRUNNER SR2 may be a relatively new name, but it arrives on the market after a thorough three-year development period. The quality of the kit is very high and the specification is generous. Take the chassis as a key example. As well as being made from round tube, it’s also laser cut for accurate fit and finish. The quality of the welding is very high and it’s very well presented. The other main attraction of the SR2 is its single Mazda MX-5 basis. As well as being affordable as a donor, it’s also very well engineered. In 1600cc form is produces 115bhp while the 1.8 produces around 130bhp. Put that into a 560kg SR2 (that’s in full road trim with a full tank of fuel) and you have a very lively roadster. In lightweight track day spec, it’s possible for an SR2 to dip under the 500kg mark. The MX-5 engine is highly tunable, too. Roadrunner has experience of both supercharging and turbocharging the engines, while there’s a whole raft of
other companies which supply back-up and parts for the MX-5. Other engines can be fitted to the SR2, but the beauty of retaining the MX-5 unit is threefold. One, it’s very well engineered and durable. Two, it comes with the donor. And finally, if it does go pop it’s cheap and easy to find a replacement. It’s not a package that requires expensive aftermarket engine management. As well as offering high quality and spec, another focus of the SR2’s design was ease of build. By way of example, one recent improvement to the ease of build includes a custom-made loom that plugs simply into the Acewell instrument and warning light pack. Overall, there’s a lot to recommend the SR2 SR2s are available to hire from Javelin Track Days and Mazda on Track. See the company’s website for the latest information.
SUMMARY – Excellent donor choice and quality components add up to a highly appealing package. Offers good value for the money and is very tuneable.
Specification Budget build cost: From £7000.
Chassis: Round tube spaceframe. Tubes are laser cut. Bodywork: GRP bodywork supplied in a choice of gelcoat colours. Wings supplied in black as standard. Donor car: Mazda MX-5 Mk1 or Mk2. Engine options: Mazda four-cylinder twin-cam in 1.6 or 1.8-litre form. Other engines can be fitted. Suspension: Front – Double wishbones, coil-over dampers, Mazda MX-5 uprights. Rear – Double wishbones, coil-over dampers, Mazda MX-5 uprights.
Contact: Roadrunner Racing, Unit 8 Jetpark, Main Road, Newport, Brough, East Yorkshire HU15 2PR.
Steering: Modified Mazda MX-5 column, Ford Escort rack.
T: 07802 766128.
Brakes: Discs all-round.
E: roadrunnerracing@hotmail.co.uk
Track day upgrades and options: Full roll-over cage, brake upgrades.
W: www.roadrunnerracing.net Viewing and test drives strictly by appointment. Check website for latest
Kit price: Stage One Kit £3995 plus VAT.
prices and information.
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073 SDR WR3 V-Storm:Layout 1
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SDR WR3 V-Storm
THE V-STORM’S UNIQUE F1 central driving position provides the ultimate view ahead on the track, and road. With its exocar open side styling, you can see the front wheels perfectly, and can place the car inch perfect on kerbs and apexes when entering and exiting corners on the race track and road. This allied with your bodyweight central in the car perfectly placed 50/50 over the centreline of the car, adds to the almost perfect left to right balance the car has, and gives you great feel through the seat of your pants from the tarmac. The WR3 V-Storm has great pedigree with many race cars parts fitted as standard including big AP four-pot brakes up front, Titan Motorsport centre point steering rack. The V-Storm also has no compromise F1 style pushrod operated inboard suspension offering a wide range of set-up options to fine hone it for any track. Finally, engine power comes courtesy of the all conquering six times world
rally championship winners, Subaru. Power outputs can be from mild to wild (235 to 650bhp!), making the WR3 V-Storm the ultimate track day weapon offering genuine supercar crushing performance for a fraction of the cost. After the WR3’s first year in production, it took CKC magazine’s top spot as car of the year. Adam Wilkins, features editor from Complete Kit Car magazine, said “It’s not the outright pace that dazzles the most – it’s the way the V-Storm demolishes a B-road. It remains composed yet grips hard no matter what. The V-Storm is a remarkably effective tool. Unstoppable!” After finalising the development of the WR3 it’s now SDR’s flagship offering. If you are considering a race, track day or fast road car you could do a lot worse than consider the V-Storm, definitely one for your shortlist. See what all the fuss is about and experience the thrill of driving the WR3 for yourself – the only F1 inspired three-seat exoskeleton car in the world.
SUMMARY – Cutting edge looks, F1 central driving position, supercar performance, high level of engineering and quality, European registered design, manufactured to ISO9001 standards.
Specification Chassis: Hybrid multiplatform spaceframe. Combination of folded sheet sections, square box and CNC
Steering: Titan Motorsport centre point steering rack, Custom made to SDR Sportscars’ specification, Ford
formed large and small diameter round-tube steel – all of different grade and thickness depending on
Ka collapsible steering column.
application. Steel underside floor with 20mm steel box perimeter and cross bracing, floor sandwiched with
Brakes: AP front 265x10 vented discs, Mintex brake pads, with large AP type 4-pot lightweight brake
high density foam and bonded on aluminium top floor for strength and rigidity.
callipers. Rear 255x10 discs, bespoke alloy brake calipers inc handbrake mechanism.
Bodywork: 18–piece bodywork moulded from CNC milled bucks, supplied in choice of five standard
Kit price: Subaru WR3 kit from £3995, comprehensive rolling chassis kit £7295. All price plus VAT.
gelcoat finishes. Full carbonfibre option available.
Budget build cost: Subaru WR3 V-Storm from £16,000. Turnkey: £20,995.
Engine options: Impreza Turbo WRX, STI, RA variants, converted to two-wheel-drive, fitted in mid-engine
Contact: SDR Sports Cars, Unit 12, Two Bridges Road, Two Bridges Trading Estate, Newhey, Milnrow,
layout. Output from 235bhp stock, tuneable to 650bhp.
Rochdale OL16 3SR. T: +44 (0) 1706 842545.
Suspension: Front and rear fully adjustable suspension – Double wishbones with rose jointed pushrods
E: info@sdrsportscars.co.uk
operating bell cranks connected to inboard mounted aluminium adjustable coil-over dampers.
W: www.sdrsportscars.co.uk
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074 Spire GT-R:Layout 1
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Spire GT-R
SPIRE SPORTSCARS’ GT-R has made a name for itself winning the 750 Motor Club’s RGB Championship. It has a multi-tubular spaceframe chassis and a mid-engined layout which can accommodate a variety of car engines (from Ford Zetec to Subaru Impreza) and virtually any watercooled motorcycle engine, Running gear comes from the venerable Ford Sierra, and Spire can offer either left or right-hand drive. The Le Mans inspired five-piece bodywork has been visually tweaked by Spire and the latest developments have resulted in a subtle yet markedly better looking car. IVA has been taken into consideration along the way, too, so getting the GT-R road legal is easy. But it’s really at home on the track. Improved suspension and that strong, race developed chassis give the car confidence-inspiring handling and terrific levels of grip. Disc
brakes all-round also ensure it has stopping power to match. With an all-up weight of around 500kg (in motorcycle engined form), the GT-R returns some supercar performance figures. The 0-60mph dash takes under four seconds and it’ll go on to over 150mph. It’s these figures that helped the car win Class B of the RGB Championship for two years running. The car is available in anything from kit to turnkey form. In 2011 Spire launched the GT-3. It looks similar to the GT-R but is allnew under the revised skin, with fully rose-jointed inboard suspension. The chassis is made from CDS tube and the overall shape of the car is smaller, meaning limited space for passengers. Add in its fully adjustable suspension and you have a much more focused race car which can overlap into track day use. The GT-R will continue to serve the track day market from a slightly more road-biased perspective,
Summary – The GT-R has evolved to become a highly capable performer with racing pedigree to back it up. More specialised GT-3 is already building up that success with several race wins and lap records to date.
Specification Chassis: Multi-tubular spaceframe.
Track day upgrades and options: Various upgrades available.
Bodywork: Five-piece GRP body supplied in matt gelcoat ready for painting. Front and rear sections are
Kit price: Body/chassis kit £3000 plus VAT.
hinged.
Budget build cost: From £8500 (car engine), from £9500 (bike engine).
Donor car: Ford Sierra uprights, rear hubs and steering column. Engine options: Motorcycle – Kawasaki ZX12R, ZX14R, Suzuki Hayabusa, Honda Fireblade, Blackbird, Yamaha R1. Car – Ford Zetec, Duratec, Audi 1.8, Renault 21, Toyota MR2, Subaru Impreza. Suspension: Front – Double unequal length wishbones, fabricated rear hub carriers, coil-over dampers.
Contact: Spire Sportscars, Unit 1A Stonebroom Industrial Estate, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 6LQ.
Rear – Double unequal length wishbones, fabricated rear hub carriers, coil-over dampers.
T: 01773 874694 or 07836 355785.
Steering: Ford Escort rack, Sierra column.
E: spireplant@aol.com
Brakes: Standard Ford Sierra or lightweight aftermarket alloy.
W: www.spiresportscars.co.uk
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075 Toniq CB:Layout 1
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Toniq CB
TONIQ SPORTSCARS PROVIDED a long overdue shot in the arm to the Seven market when it launched the Toniq R in 2006. The company has continued to build on the original concept with the sensational new Toniq CB range. The stunning looks create drama and interest on road and track alike. However the Toniq CB is much more than a pretty face. The exciting appearance is only part of the story – for it is backed up by advanced engineering, top quality components and a dedicated, enthusiastic team. Attention to detail is evident throughout, from the beautiful CAD designed round tube chassis complete with laser cut and pre-drilled panelling to the fully terminated bespoke wiring loom. The CB range has been painstakingly developed to be a pleasure to build and own. There’s even a nosecone design specifically for track use. With lights built into the nose it has a reduced frontal area for improved aerodynamics.
Comprehensive kits centre on Ford Duratec engines, and Mazda VVT. These comprehensive packages contain everything required to assemble a Toniq CB, down to the last nut and bolt. The use of new parts throughout means the cars can be issued with a brand new registration number. If you want to use a different drivetrain and/or use donor/recon parts to reduce the build cost, Toniq offers the CB range in modular packages. At the other extreme you can also buy the car in fully built form. Turnkey cars come in the guise of the Duratec powered CB180, CB200 and soon a CB260 (those figures relate to the power in bhp).
SUMMARY – The Toniq CB range is beautifully executed. Equally at home on road or track, it’s a high quality offering that looks dramatic and has the performance to match. Stunning to look at, intoxicating to drive, and a pleasure to own.
Specification Chassis: State of the art CAD designed round tube spaceframe. Pre-drilled and bracketed for all
Brakes: Alloy 4-pot front calipers on vented discs. Alloy single pot rear calipers on solid discs with
suspension, drivetrain and body mounting points. Chassis and laser cut panelling pre-drilled and complete
mechanical handbrake.
with fixings for easy assembly.
Track day upgrades and options: Aero nosecone with integrated headlights reducing frontal area. Full
Bodywork: All GRP supplied in black gelcoat finish.
MSA race specification roll cage. Many more available – see website for details.
Donor car: N/A.
Kit Price: Modular packages from £5525 plus VAT. Car in a Box £17,600 (customer supplies powertrain).
Engine options: Ford Duratec and Kawasaki 1400. 5 and 6-speed gearboxes. LSD standard on all
Brand new on the road price from £32,000.
models/kits over 200bhp.
Budget Build Cost: From £18,000 on the road.
Suspension: Front – Double wishbone with coil-over damper. Inboard pushrod actuated coil-over damper
Contact: Toniq Ltd. T: 07818 057643.
option. Rear – Double wishbone with inboard coil-over dampers.
E: sales@toniqltd.co.uk
Steering: Rack and pinion 2.9 turns (or 2.4 optional).
W: www.toniqltd.co.uk
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076 Westfield:Layout 1
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Page 76
Westfield
WITH 30 YEARS of development behind it, the Westfield Sport is one of the kit car scene’s best known names and is recognised beyond the usual boundaries of the industry. The heritage and brand strength is backed up by excellent Factory support from a company that’s run in a highly professional manner. All versions of the Sport can be used on track with a host of optional upgrades and Motorsport parts available. The Megabusa has a lively 1.3-litre Suzuki Hayabusa engine driving through a 6-speed sequential gearbox and an LSD. Optional upgrades include an FIA roll cage or RAC roll-over bar and four-point seatbelts. For those who prefer car engines, the track only AeroRace has a 2-litre Ford Zetec. This hardcore track machine comes with 13in Toyo R888 shod wheels, a five-point seatbelt for the driver, an FIA approved roll cage and a plumbed in fire extinguisher. Essentially, it’s a race car that you can buy for track day use. If you’d rather be able to
drive your car to and from the circuit, the Sport balances road and circuit work perfectly. It has a beautifully trimmed interior and full weather gear – but it’s fast and dynamically adept enough to provide thrills on track. It comes with a host of four-cylinder engines including Vauxhall’s latest Euro 5 VXR Turbo engine which is available with 196bhp or 225bhp. New for 2012 is the option of using the Honda S2000 engine. Track options include engine, suspension and brake upgrades and a bespoke package can be purchased to suit any motorsport activity. Like Westfield’s cars, all the upgrades are fully tested and thoroughly engineered before being put on the market. That’s the benefit of dealing with one of the scene’s biggest companies. Westfield supply cars and kits to many championships in the UK, Europe, Middle East and most recently Malaysia. In addition, the owners club runs the hugely successful Speed Series event.
SUMMARY – Westfield is one of the kit car industry’s flagship marques. Each model is of high quality, easy to build and has excellent factory back-up. Oh, and they serve up plenty of thrills on track too!
Specification Chassis: Steel spaceframe.
Kit price: Sport – from £14,999 for comprehensive kit. Modular kits also available.
Bodywork: All GRP bodywork in a choice of gelcoat colours. Two body styling options.
Budget build cost: From £8500 (based on Mazda MX-5 donor kit).
Donor car: All parts supplied new in the kit. Engine options: Ford Sigma 1.6-litre, Duratec 2-litre, Vauxhall 1.6-litre turbo, 2-litre Zetec, Honda S2000, motorcycle engines. Suspension: Double wishbones with coil-over dampers all-round.
Contact: Westfield Sportscars, Unit 1 Gibbons Industrial Park, Dudley Road, Kingswinford,
Steering: Rack and pinion.
West Midlands DY6 8XF.
Brakes: Discs all-round.
T: 01384 400077.
Track day upgrades and options: Many options to upgrade car at point of sale or at a later date. These
E: simon.westwood@westfield-sportscars.co.uk
vary depending on model – see text.
W: www.westfield-sportscars.co.uk
76 | UK Track Day Guide
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077:TDG_2012
14/3/12
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Page 77
5 &p) .9plus p £8 -
e in nl (o
NOW on sale
2012 CKC Survival Pack & Encyclopedia
CKC/OMEX TRACK DAY Last few places – book today
Come and join the CKC team at the fabulous Llandow race circuit in Wales where we have just 35 exclusive places available and the whole track to ourselves. It’s a great fun day and we’ll even treat you to lunch!
VENUE: Llandow Circuit, just west of Cardiff
The 2012 Complete Kit Car Survival Pack and Encyclopedia of Kit Cars is the perfect reference for anyone wanting to learn more about the UK’s diverse kit car scene or as a handy resource for the experienced kit car enthusiast. THERE ARE FIVE GUIDES IN ONE: > UK Kit Car Manufacturers profiles > IVA information > Registration > Parts suppliers > Insurance > Clubs > Beginners’ Guide to Kits PLUS... > FREE - CKC Mug (sent by post on application) > FREE - quality 2012 calendar > FREE - four limited edition postcards
DATE: Saturday 26th May 2012 – also autumn dates soon to be announced – pre-book your interest to guarantee your place. COST: £95 per car and driver, only £75 to CKC Subs Club Card holders CONTACT: Ian Stent. T: 01823 335443 E: ian@performancepublishing.co.uk
This could be you!
The guide has one model entry per page, each entry offers in-depth information on: > > > > > > >
COMPANY BACKGROUND MODEL INFO SPECIFICATION KIT CONTENTS PRICES FULL CONTACT DETAILS WEBSITE LINKS
The Complete Kit Car Survival Pack is available by phoning the number below or online:
by telephone
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01903 236268 www.completekitcar.co.uk
77 | UK Track Day Guide
Join us on May 26th www.completekitcar.co.uk
078 Circuit v Airfield:Layout 1
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Circuits A to Z
UK Circuits and Airfields Airfield Venues
The UK has a rich array of track day venues. The following pages profile dedicated circuits, but there is also plenty of airfield venues on which to cut your teeth.
Airfield venues provide a different experience to race tracks. Being flat, they’re ideal for beginners without the complications of gradient and camber. The lack of scenery to hit also helps! Airfields aren’t covered in our main circuit A-Z, but here are some to consider... Abingdon Oxfordshire Bassingbourn Hertfordshire
T
here’s plenty of debate about which is best for a track day – an airfield or a race circuit. The truth is that each offers its own unique experience. With an airfield, you have plenty of space meaning that if something does go wrong, you’re unlikely to come to any trouble. Race tracks, on the other hand, offer a greater sense of speed but there are Armco barriers to beware of! Over the coming pages, we’ve profiled all the circuits in the UK to give a flavour of what to expect from them. To the right is a handy map that will enable you to pinpoint your nearest venues. Airfields are a little harder to profile as the circuit layout depends on the organiser and where they position their cones. Either way, track day entertainment is waiting for you.
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Bruntingthorpe Leicestershire (right) Colerne Wiltshire Elvington Yorkshire Upper Heyford Oxfordshire Hullavington Wiltshire Jurby Isle of Man
Sculthorpe Norfolk
Keevil Wiltshire
Teeside County Durham
Kemble Gloucestershire
Tockwith Yorkshire
Kenilworth Warwickshire
Woodbridge Suffolk
www.completekitcar.co.uk
079 Circuit A to Z:Layout 1
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1 ANGLESEY Anglesey page 80 2 BEDFORD AUTODROME Bedfordshire page 81 3 BLYTON PARK Lincolnshire page 82 4 BRANDS HATCH Kent page 83 5 CADWELL PARK Lincolnshire page 84
10
6 CASTLE COMBE Wiltshire page 85 7 CROFT North Yorkshire page 86 8 DONINGTON PARK Leicesterhsire page 87 9 GOODWOOD West Sussex page 88
7 10 KNOCKHILL Fife page 89 11 LLANDOW Vale of Glamorgan page 90 12 LYDDEN HILL Kent page 91
5
1
13 MALLORY PARK Leicestershire page 92
14 3
14 OULTON PARK Chesire page 93
8
15 PEMBREY Carmarthanshire page 94
18 13
16 ROCKINGHAM MOTOR SPEEDWAY Northamptonshire page 95
16 17 2
15 17 SILVERSTONE Northamptonshire page 96
11 6
18 SNETTERTON Norfolk page 97
4 19
19 THRUXTON Hampshire page 98
9
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080 Anglesey.qxd:Layout 1
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Circuits A to Z
Anglesey A seaside location makes Anglesey very picturesque – but drivers won’t get time to look at the view while negotiating its challenging turns.
A
nglesey takes full advantage of its undulating topography by having four distinctly different configurations which were introduced during the venue’s radical redevelopment in 2006. Each circuit has been purpose designed with a blend of imaginative cambers and a mix of fast bends and more technical lower speed corners. There’s also a 10 per cent banked corner in the mix. It’s exactly how you would design a race circuit from scratch – which is no coincidence because that’s effectively what happened when the circuit was rebuilt in 2006. Although the track is out on a limb geographically (located on the Isle of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales), it is set amongst some spectacular scenery. It overlooks the Irish Sea, while there’s also a distant view of the Snowdonia mountain range. It all adds to the ambience of this excellent facility. With four different circuits ranging from the 0.8-miles Club course to the 2.1-mile International circuit, Anglesey can offer an almost endless challenge to the driving
enthusiast who wants to get the most from their track day experience. Even if you live many miles away, Anglesey Circuit (or Trac Mon in Welsh) is well worth the journey.
Lap Highlight: Corkscrew You'll need to be driving the Coastal Circuit to get the best of Anglesey. Modelled on the corner of the same name at Laguna Seca, but on a smaller scale, the Corkscrew is a dramatic, plunging corner that requires plenty of bottle. On a clear day, you can see
Number of circuits: 4 Lengths: International 2.1 miles; Coastal 1.55 miles; National 1.2 miles; Club 0.8 miles Noise limit: 105dB (95dB on quiet days) Contact details: Anglesey Circuit, Ty Croes, Anglesey LL63 5TF. T: 01407 811400. W: www.angleseycircuit.com
Snowdonia and the sea – if you have time to look!
The Hairpin
International GP National Coastal Club
The Banking Tom Price Straight Peel
Seamans
Turn 1 Corkscrew Rocket School Church Club Hairpin
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081 Bedford Autodrome.qxd:Layout 1
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Circuits A to Z
Bedford Bedford Autodrome is a dedicated track day and corporate entertainment venue that does without the Armco of a race track.
B
edford Autodrome has been used for high speed driving fun since 1999. Formerly an aerospace facility, it was converted by Motorsport Vision owner and former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer for track day and corporate entertainment. Because it doesn’t have to comply with racing regulations, there are no Armco barriers or spectator areas. That means if you get it wrong, you’re very unlikely to come to any harm by spinning across the vast 384-acre site’s grassland. Each circuit – North, East, South and West – can be run simultaneously or they can be joined together to form numerous different courses, such as the Gran Turismo circuit below. Each was designed by Jonathan Palmer and, although the venue is completely flat, there’s such variety of corners that it offers plenty of challenges. As well as running conventional track days where you bring your own car to drive, Palmersport also operates corporate
entertainment days where participants have the chance to drive seven different cars in one day. Other track day companies also run days at the venue. Number of circuits: 5 Lengths: Gran Turismo 3.6 miles; International 2.1 miles; Coastal 1.55 miles; National 1.2 miles; Club 0.8 miles Noise limit: 101dB Contact details: Bedford Autodrome, Thurleigh Airfield Business Park, Bedfordshire MK44 2YP. T: 01234 359966. W: www.motorsportvision.co.uk
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082 Blyton Park.qxd:Layout 1
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Circuits A to Z
Blyton Park Opened in May 2011, Lincolnshire’s Blyton Park is aimed specifically at road cars and track day use.
B
lyton Park is the brainchild of venue owner Richard Usher. He conceived the facility as a place for people to experience high-performance driving in road cars. Consequently, he says the venue will never be used for racing; instead, it’s specifically aimed at fast driving in road-going cars. It’s aimed at those who have an interest in motorsport, but don’t want to commit to that level of involvement. Consequently, the run-off areas are large and forgiving (no need for barriers to separate spectators and racing cars) and they are largely tarmac. As Richard sees it, race circuits aren’t ideal for track days with their unforgiving barriers and gravel traps. It’s estimated that 130,000 laps have been completed at the time of writing (early March) and there have been few incidents.
It’s a technical circuit with a mix of corners and, at seven metres wide, is akin to an A-road. A quick one, though – depending on the car you’re driving, it’s usually possible to lap at an average of over 70mph. As we go to press, Blyton Park is currently in the process of adding three new circuit configurations in order to add some corners, such as hairpins, that are not currently present. The venue can also run events like autotesting, and the circuit has an MSA license for sprinting.
Lap Highlight: Bunga Bunga Named in honour of Silvio Berlusconi’s infamous parties, Bunga Bunga is a double apex, medium fast corner that has a big run off. People enjoy experimenting with different approaches here because, if you do get it wrong, there’s not a lot to hit.
Number of circuits: 1 (soon to be 4) Length: 1.5 miles Noise limit: 95dB drive-by Contact details: Blyton Park, Old Blyton Airfield, Kirton Road, Blyton, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 3PE. T: 01427 628922. W: www.blytonpark.co.uk
Lancaster
Wiggler
The ‘Ump’
Jochen Bishops
Ushers
Port Froid
Twickers
Bunga Bunga
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083 BrandsHatch.qxd:Layout 1
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Circuits A to Z
Brands Hatch People have been competing at Brands Hatch since 1926 – and it still provides one of the most thrilling venues for petrolheads to this day.
B
rands Hatch in Kent originated in 1926 as a motorcycle dirt track on farmland and was tarmaced in 1950. For a couple of decades, the venue reached the heady heights of staging the British Grand Prix. The circuit’s hills and cambers create a unique challenge that airfield based circuits simply can’t match. It has been owned by Motorsport Vision, the operation headed by Jonathan Palmer, since 2004 and heavy investment has resulted in a clean, well presented facility. But it’s the track itself that remains the core attraction. Two configurations can be run – the 1.9-mile Indy Circuit (so called because Indy cars raced there in the 1980s) and the 2.3-mile Grand Prix Circuit. Both of those take in the epic Paddock Hill Bend which is one of the most thrilling moments on any track. This fast, steep downhill right-hander requires nerve to take at the limit because braking points and apexes are unsighted, but it rewards with big excitement. The secret to putting together a quick lap at Brands Hatch is nailing the complex of bends that leads you onto the pit straight – Surtees, McLaren and Clearways. Get those right and you’ll carry more speed into Paddock – then all you need to do is maintain as much as possible through that! Track days on the longer Grand Prix circuit are less common (and more pricey!) than those on the Indy circuit, but even the shorter track is a five-star experience.
Westfield
Dingle Dell
Hawthorn Bend
Stirlings Bend
Hawthorn Hill
Pilgrims Drop Druids
McLaren Clearways Hailwood Hill
Graham Hill
Surtees
Cooper Clark Corner
Number of circuits: 2 Lengths: GP 2.3 miles; Indy 1.9 miles Noise limit: 105dB (evenings 102dB) Contact details: Brands Hatch Circuit, Fawkham, Longfield, Kent DA3 8NG. T: 01474 872331. W: www.motorsportvision.co.uk
Lap Highlight: Paddock Paddock bend isn't just the best corner at Brands Hatch – it's one of the best corners of any circuit in the UK. On its approach, you crest a blind rise before the road falls away to the right. Get it right
Brabham
and you'll require the full width of the track as you plunge into the compression before the rise to Druids. 'Epic' is an overused word in the modern parlance, but it was coined for experiences like this.
Paddock
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Cadwell Park Known as the mini-Nürburgring, Cadwell Park is a thrill-a-minute rollercoaster of a circuit. Tight, twisty and very challenging, it’s a fantastic venue. Hairpin
S
ituated close to Louth in Lincolnshire, Cadwell Park is a mighty challenging circuit that will take time to master – but you’ll be having a blast while getting to grips with it. Today, it’s part of the Motorsport Vision group of circuits, but it originally saw action in 1934. It was used as a place for landowner Mansfield Wilkinson’s sons to race their motorcycles, and evolved into a paved circuit from there. In 1962, the circuit grew to its current 2.1-mile length to host a round of the British F3 Championship the following year. There are three different configurations for the circuit, the longest of which takes in the technically damanding Mountain section. Thanks to its situation in a steeply sided valley, Cadwell Park features some steep gradients, one of which is abrupt enough to see cars get airborne. Cadwell’s motorcycle roots are still obvious because the circuit is very narrow, which adds to the challenge. Because of its limited width, Cadwell doesn’t stage any major car races although it’s still loved
Barn
Lap Highlight: Goose Neck Difficult to pick just one highlight on a track as busy and demanding at Cadwell Park. Twist our arm and we'd probably choose the Goose Neck. After the relative calm of Park and Chris Curve, you're suddenly falling through a right-left downhill complex, followed by a
Hall Bends
precious short straight to get the car settled again for Mansfield.
by club racers and all keen drivers. Indeed, Sylva Autokits is located close to Horncastle simply because its boss, Jeremy Phillips, loves the circuit. Cadwell’s nickname, mini-Nürburgring, is indicative of the thrills available at Cadwell Park. It’s a truly breath-taking track and not for the feint-hearted. Number of circuits: 3 Lengths: Full Circuit 2.1 miles; Club Circuit 1.4 miles; Woodland Circuit 0.7 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Cadwell Park Circuit, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 9SE. T: 01507 343248. W: www.motorsportvision.co.uk The Mountain Chris Curve
Coppice
Goose Neck
Park
Mansfield Park Straight
Charlies
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Castle Combe Wiltshire’s Castle Combe circuit is very fast and flowing. Its high speed bends define the challenge of a circuit that requires plenty of confidence.
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astle Combe circuit originated as an airfield site and first became a race track in 1950, just a few months after Silverstone was similarly converted. Over the next couple of decades, it fell into a state of disrepair until being rescued by its current owner in 1976. From its inception in 1950, the layout of the track remained unchanged right up until 1999. Castle Combe is a very fast and very flowing track, so two chicanes (The Esses and Bobbies) were added to keep speeds down. Average lap times were well over 100mph until the changes and, even though overall speeds have now been reduced, the circuit’s original character has (thankfully) been retained. As a consequence of its high velocity, Castle Combe has a number of thrillingly hairy moments, a notable one being the crest of Avon
Rise that leads into the right-hander at Quarry. It’s just one of the nerve-wracking moments that you need to get right in order to put together a quick lap. Throughout the late 1980s and early ’90s, Castle Combe was home to an annual kit car action day that gave plenty of kit car owners the chance to sample this thrilling track. Although that event no longer takes place, we’d encourage you to beat your own path to this exciting Wiltshire circuit.
Lap Highlight: Quarry Corner Quarry Corner is a notoriously difficult corner to get right – but it's actually Avon Rise, just before it, that makes it so tricky. The mile left-hander is rendered very deceptive thanks its slight rise. It unsettles the car just when you want it tidy to enter Quarry. Treat this one with respect.
Number of circuits: 1 Length: 2.9 miles Noise limit: 100dB Contact details: Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7EY. T: 01249 782417. W: www.castlecombecircuit.co.uk
Folly
Avon Rise Quarry Corner
Camp Corner
Farm Straight Dean Straight
The Esses Westway
Old Paddock Bend
Bobbies
Tower Corner
Hammerdown
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Croft Croft offers a spectacular mix of fast and slow corners – but you’ll need to be lucky to avoid its strict and restrictive noise limits.
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Sunny In
Sunny Out
Barcroft
roft Circuit, located in North Yorkshire, has had rather a sketchy history. It started out, as so many circuits do, as a World War Two airfield before becoming a circuit in later years thanks to the efforts of the local motor club. During its ups and downs, it has hosted circuit racing and rallycross events, sometimes focusing solely on the latter during times when the tarmac circuit was in a state of disrepair. In the 1990s, though, the circuit was put back in use and events like the British Touring Car Championship would visit. The 2.1-mile layout we know today was completed in 1997. The venue’s signature high speed bends remain, meaning this is a track that requires a lot of skill and not inconsiderable nerve to master. The Jim Clark Esses is a particularly heart-in-mouth moment when taken
at the limit. You’ll need to be lucky to avoid one of Croft’s quiet days. After complaints from local residents – who no doubt moved to the vacinity when the track was already operational – the venue has paltry 88dB noise limit for all but 40 days per year. Many kit cars would fall foul of that, so it’s worth finding out how much noise your exhaust makes before booking a day. On the other 40 days of the year, the noise limit is a much more usual 105dB. Number of circuits: 1 Length: 2.1 miles Noise limit: 88dB (105dB for 40 days per year) Contact details: Croft Circuit, West Lane, Dalton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire DL2 2PL. T: 01325 721815. W: www.croftcircuit.co.uk
Hawthorn
Complex John Clark Esses Chicane
Hairpin
Lap Highlight: John Clark Esses The story goes that Jim Clark originally laid out this complex in the grass using a tractor However they were shaped, they are a series of fast, widening bends that can be taken at very high speed. Take a deep breath for this!
Tower Bend
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Donington Park The prospect of hosting the British Grand Prix almost finished off Donington, but now the Leicestershire circuit is back in action.
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emember when we nearly lost Donington Park? Feels like a long time ago now, but redevelopment to become the home of the British Grand Prix (which in the end didn’t happen) almost left Donington Park derelict. But now it’s back in action – which is a huge relief for those who love the circuit. Donington is the longest established current motorsport venue in the UK having first been used as a race track in 1907 (second only to the long defunct Brooklands). The Donington Grand Prix Collection is also located on site. The basis of this museum was the private collection of circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft and it is now the world’s largest gathering of grand prix cars. There are two configurations at Donington Park, the longer 2.5-mile GP circuit taking in the Melbourne Hairpin.
Both circuits take in the very dramatic Craner Curves and a number of other key highlights of a lap of Donington Park. The circuit’s mix of plunging gradients, fast sweeping corners and fast straights make it a great place to put your car through its paces. Many kit car demonstration laps have been put together at Donington Park thanks to the kit car show that was held there every year in the 1990s and much of the last decade.
Lap Highlight: Craner Curves The Craner Curves have a reputation as a thrilling section of track. The road tumbles away beneath you, leading into the fast Old Hairpin. Old Hairpin, by the way, is a bit of a misnomer: the fast right-hander is no slow hairpin. Getting this complex right is essential to a quick lap at Donington.
Number of circuits: 2 Lengths: GP Circuit 2.5 miles; National Circuit 1.9 miles Noise limit: 98db Contact details: Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby DE47 2RP. T: 01332 810048. W: www.donington-park.co.uk
Old Hairpin
McLeans Hollywood
Starkeys Bridge Craner Curves Schwartz Curve
Redgate Wheatcroft Straight
Coppice
Dunlop Straight
Melbourne Hairpin
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Goodwood The Goodwood circuit is home to one of motorsport’s most prestigious events – and you can follow in the footsteps of motor racing greats in your own car.
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an there be a more romantic race track than Goodwood? Home of the Revival each year, it has been carefully restored to look just as it did when the likes of Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorne raced there in their heyday. The venue started out as a perimeter track around RAF Westhampnett and became the scene of some of the most spectacular motorsport throughout the late 1940s, ’50s and early ’60s. Famously, it was where Moss had the crash that ended his career. The circuit owners were reluctant to introduce chicanes to slow the increasingly rapid race cars of the day, so racing ceased at Goodwood in 1966. It remained open for testing, and the original layout remained intact, effectively in a timewarp immune to the pressures of modern motorsport. Following the
success of the Festival of Speed, the circuit was restored to its former glory for the inaugural Revival in 1998. You can follow in the footsteps of motor racing legends and drive almost exactly the same circuit they did. It’s a very fast track; aside from the chicane on the start/finish straight, there are no corners you’d describe as ‘slow’. The key to a quick lap at Goodwood is to allow the car to flow almost effortlessly around the fast, gentle curves.
Lap Highlight: St Mary's After the fast right-hander at Fordwater, you're carrying a lot of speed into St Mary's. The car moves around plenty and you'll need to use every inch of the track if you'e taking it quickly. It also has the infamous reputation as the site where Stirling Moss had his horrific, career-ending shunt. The bend remains unchanged to this day.
Number of circuits: 1 Lengths: 2.3 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: The Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0PX. T: 01234 755055. W: www.goodwood.co.uk
Lavant
St Mary’s
Fordwater
Lavant Straight
Chicane Madgwick Corner Woodcote
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Knockhill Knockhill is the only circuit north of the border and, having been built in 1974, it’s relatively new. Its mix of gradients and corner styles make it one of the UK’s best circuits.
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ocated close to Fife, Knockhill is Scotland’s only race track. Being both MSA and FIA approved, it brings top line motorsport north of the border. The circuit opened in 1974 when the landowner created the track by linking the service of a former railway line that served a derelict colliery. Since the ’80s, it has been hosting top level British motorsport. Amongst the many circuits that originated as World War Two airfields, Knockhill is a relatively recently built circuit. Until it existed, Scotland had no top flight race tracks at all. There are three layouts. The full length 1.3-mile International course takes in all the corners, while the slightly shorter National circuit omits Taylors, the uphill almost-hairpin right-hander. Finally, the tiny Trioval is a short
Brabhams
loop which, as its name suggests, is sort of an oval with an extra side. You’re unlikely to use this configuration on a track day. New for 2012, Knockhill has been granted a license to run anticlockwise as well as the conventional way. It’s believed that this is unique in Europe and effectively gives Scotland a new race track. Knockhill is an undulating circuit that rises and falls by 200ft over the course of a lap. This makes for some dramatic and complex turns such as the plunging Duffus Dip, a high speed right-left that leads immediately into the even tighter McIntyre. Factor in the seemingly never-ending Hislop and you have a highly varied and entertaining 1.3 miles on which to stretch the limits of both you and your car.
Number of circuits: 3 (plus another three anticlockwise!) Lengths: International 1.3 miles; National 1 mile; Tri-oval 0.3 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Knockhill Racing Circuit, Dunfermline, Fife KY12 9TF. T: 01383 723337. W: www.knockhill.com
Lap Highlight: Chicane For the clockwise lap, the Chicane is a real moment. The sharp rise means it’s totally blind – all you can see is sky, so you have to choose your target and aim for it. With its gradient and camber change, it can easily launch the car, so plenty of scope for thrills here. Dufus Dip is quite a moment, too.
Clark
Chicane
Butchers
Railway Bend
McIntyre
Duffus Dip
Taylors
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Llandow The tight and twisty circuit at Llandow, close to Cardiff in South Wales, offers plenty of challenges – but it’s still a great venue for first-timers to try out a track day.
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ere at CKC, we have a soft-spot for this mile-long track close to Cardiff, as Llandow has been the venue for our own track days for the last few years (and we’ll be returning in 2012). The place started out as an RAF Spitfire base during World War Two before the land was auctioned off when it was no longer required as an airfield. It’s still owned today by the same family who bought it all those decades ago. The South Wales Automobile Club helped convert it into a circuit and it was officially opened in 1963 by Graham Hill. Racing continued at the venue until 1977, but after that the circuit saw little action until it became a popular place for track days and testing throughout the 1990s. Investment in the facility, including resurfacing the course,
saw it regain its license to stage sprint events in 2001 and it hasn’t looked back, having a busy calendar every year – including several visits by CKC and its readers! Despite being just under a mile in length, Llandow offers a variety of corners, from the fast and highly committed Gluepot to the very tight and twisty Bus Stop. It’s a great venue for first-timers to try out a track day, but it also offers the more experienced enough technical challenges to get stuck into.
Lap Highlight: Devil's Elbow After the tight and technical Bus Stop, the Devil's Elbow is a chance to gain speed to carry through Nook Bend and onto the Hanger Straight. Get the Devil's Elbow right and it will have a big influence on the speed you're able to carry onto the back straight.
Number of circuits: 1 Lengths: 0.9 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Llandow Circuit, Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7PB. T: 01446 796460. W: www.llandow.com
Bus Stop
Paddock Straight
Glue-Pot
Devil’s Elbow
Nook Bend Jack’s Curve
Hanger Straight
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Lydden Hill Lydden Hill is famous for being the birthplace of rally cross – but it offers just as much fun if you stay on the tarmac sections of the track!
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ydden Hill circuit, close to Canterbury in Kent, was established in 1955, but it would be another 10 years until the track in the valley would be given a layer of tarmac. Prior to that, it was used for grass track racing and it can also lay claim to being the birthplace of rallycross, the breed of motorsport that uses part tarmac, part grass courses. But for track days, it’s the full mile of tarmac we’re interested in. McLaren bought the venue in 1991 and planned to turn it into a private test track, an application that was turned down in 2003. The track is currently leased to rallycross driver Pat Doran. Since taking the circuit on in 2008, he has been investing in the facilities to make it a nicer place to visit. While it’s only short on distance, Lydden is big on fun. The plunging downhill right-hand
Paddock Bend is an immense experience, while the fast Chessons Drift isn’t short on thrills either. Add in the slow and challenging-tomaster bends like the Devil’s Elbow and North Bend hairpin and you have a very busy 50 or so seconds. Lydden Hill is ideally suited to a typical Seven inspired roadster because you’ll never run out of revs and always either be accelarating, braking or turning. There’s scarcely a moment to relax – and that’s just as it should be on a track day!
Lap Highlight: Pilgrims There's an argument to say that Paddock is the most thrilling part of a lap of Lydden, but Pilgrims is also a big thrill. After straightlining the slight kink on the start/finish straight, you dare yourself to leave the braking as late as possible for the big right-hander. It then melds as one into Chesson's Drift to create a long bend that tests your commitment.
Number of circuits: 1 Length: 1 mile Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Wootton, Canterbury, Kent CT4 6RX. T: 01304 830557. W: www.lyddenhill.com
North End
Chesson’s Drift
Dover Slope
Hairy Hill
Pilgrims
Devil’s Elbow
Paddock
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Mallory Park It started out as a place to trot ponies and has become a quick and challenging place to drive fast. Leicestershire’s Mallory Park is popular with both bikers and drivers.
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eicestershire’s Mallory Park started life as a pony trotting circuit in the 1940s. When the incumbent equestrian club collapsed, it was hired by local motorcycle clubs as a grass track before first being paved in 1955. The original oval form is still evident (and forms the shorter circuit) but additional challenges have been added with the full 2.1-miles configuration. This adds to the oval
with the fast John Cooper Esses that leads uphill to the tight Shaw’s Hairpin. In some cars, this needs to be taken in first gear. After doubling back, the track rejoins the original oval at the dramatic downhill Devil’s Elbow. After the start/finish straight, you’re into the epic Shaw’s Corner
Lake Esses
Devil’s Elbow
Sebbe Straight
Garard’s. A quick lap at Mallory relies on you getting this bend right – and holding your nerve – for its lengthy third of a mile duration. Mallory is still popular with bikers and a few additional corners and chicanes have been added primarily to slow down the quickest bikes. These alterations affect the exit of Gerard’s, add Edwina’s (which comes before the John Cooper Esses) and adds the very tight Bus Stop between Shaw’s and the Devil’s Elbow. You’re unlikely to encounter these additional parts of the circuit on a car track day. One other point to note: Mallory’s paddock is in the infield and there’s no bridge for traffic so there’s no way of getting cars in and out while the circuit is live – so don’t be late! Number of circuits: 2 (more for motorcycles) Lengths: Full Circuit 2.1 miles, Oval Circuit 1.6 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Mallory Park Racing Circuit, Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire LE9 7QE. T: 01455 842931. W: www.mallorypark.co.uk
Lap Highlight: Devil's Elbow If you're going into the Devil's Elbow as quickly as you can, you'll need every inch of circuit on the exit. The barrier seems to loom close and, if it's a very wet day, you'll have the added complication of a stream of water crossing the track. Taking a deep breath helps! The seemingly never-ending Gerard's is also worthy of note.
Kirkby Straight
Gerard’s
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Oulton Park Oulton Park in Cheshire is a highly demanding track. With its fast and crested corners, it will take skill and practice to master.
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Lodge
Warwick Bridge
Druids Deer Leap
Old Hall Corner Clay Hill Cascales
The Avenue
Denton’s Knickerbrook
ulton Park is situated in the grounds of Oulton Hall and was founded by the Mid-Cheshire Car Club on what was formerly the estate of the Grey-Egerton family. The basic shape of the circuit was originally formed by the roadways around the park. Today, the track is part of Motorsport Vision and has three different configurations, although one of them is almost exclusively used by the British Touring Car Championship which visits Oulton Park each season. The venue is also perfectly suited to the many historic race car meetings that are held every year. When it’s not hosting race meetings, it’s a great place for track days. The circuit features a lot of fast, undulating corners with gradients and cambers that make it a highly technical challenge. It’s a circuit that will require practice and skill to master, but it’s also one that can deliver huge satisfaction when you get it right. The gentle looking Island Bend is one such hair-raising moment. It may appear simple, but you can carry a lot of speed, which means you need to maintain a careful balance. Cascades is another challenge, as you’ll find yourself crossing from one side of the track to the other over a crested camber. This of Oulton Park as being like Cadwell Park with the speed turned up. In other words, it’s a place that’s sure to excite. Number of circuits: 1 Lengths: 2.6 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Oulton Park, Little Budworth, Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 9BW. T: 01829 760301. W: www.motorsportvision.co.uk
Lakeside Foster’s
Lap Highlight: Water Tower and Druids
Hill Top
You can't really discuss these corners in isolation: the success of Water Tower very much influences the outcome of Druids. It's a very
Island
quick section of track that requires technical skill to perfect. You need to straight-line the second part of Water Tower to get the car set up correctly for Druids.
Britten’s Shell Oils
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Pembrey When racing ceased at Llandow, an airfield at nearby Pembrey was converted into a race track to fill the gap. It’s still going strong today.
T
he Welsh Racing Drivers’ Association was set up in 1981 with the express intention of turning an airfield at Pembrey into a race track. This was because racing had stopped at nearby Llandow and the gap needed to be filled! The first race took place in 1989 and in the ’90s the venue staged F3 and British Touring Car Championship rounds. While Pembrey is no longer home to meetings of that magnitude, club racing and track days are still held there. BARC is currently in control of the venue having signed in 1990 a 50-year lease from Carmarthenshire County Council. With a mix of corners – from gentle Honda Curve and Dibeni Bend to the 160deg Hatches Hairpin – Pembrey has been designed to present a mix of challenges for cars of all kinds. As well as being ideal for a wide variety of road cars, the circuit has, over the years, been used by Formula One teams for testing. The only real reason Pembrey isn’t as well known as some other circuits is because of its geographical remoteness. That’s no reason not to make the effort to get there and experience this brilliant circuit.
Brooklands Hairpin
Lap Highlight: Dibeni Like almost all UK circuits, Pembrey runs clockwise. Unlike most, it has a series of lefthanders starting with Dibeni. Therefore, it provides a novel experience, and one where you need to get over to the right hand side of the track before feeding the car into the first of the left-handers. Watch out for the kerbs – they're quite severe!
Esses
Woodlands
Number of circuits: 1 Length: 1.4 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Pembrey Motor Racing Circuit, Pembrey, Llanellis, Carmarthenshire SA16 0HX. T: 01554 891042. W: www.barc.net/venues/pembrey
Spitfires
Dibeni
Honda Curve
Hatchets Hairpin
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Rockingham Rockingham features a US style banked bowl and numerous different configurations in the infield. It’s a vast facility.
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ockingham shares its name with an American circuit, but our version is located near Corby in Northamptonshire and lays claim to being the fastest oval race circuit in Europe. The lap record, set by a Champ car, was recorded at an average of 215mph. But there’s more to Rockingham than driving round in circles quickly. With no fewer than five different layouts, there are plenty of different infield configurations with a variety of bends to truly test cars of different types. The International Super Sports Car circuit takes in part of the oval and, unusually, every configuration at Rockingham runs anti-clockwise. It’s this layout we’ve shown below as it’s the most popular configuration for track days. Rockingham is the UK’s most modern motorsport facilty. It’s purpose built and was opened in 2001. As well as the tarmac circuits, the site also has a rally stage, while the banked
oval gives the vast site an inclusive, atmospheric ambience. The oval gives Rockingham a unique selling point amongst UK circuits. It’s a great experience to drive on, while the intricate infield layouts mean that this venue isn’t just a onetrick pony. It’s definitely a track to add to your ‘to do’ list.
Lap Highlight: Banking Rockingham is an excellently designed circuit with a variety of infield configurations offering almost every kind of bend. But it's the big banked corners that stick in your memory. Play out Nascar fantasies as you pin the throttle, the concrete wall just a few inches from your right elbow. Phenomenal.
Number of circuits: 5 Lengths: International Super Sports Car Circuit 1.9 miles, National Circuit 1.7 miles, Oval Circuit 1.4 miles, Handling Circuit 0.97 miles, Lake Circuit 0.67 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Rockingham Motor Speedway, Mitchell Road, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 5AF. T: 01536 500500. W: www.rockingham.co.uk
School Straight Tarzan
Yentwood Chapman Curve
Pif Paf Deene
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Silverstone As home of the British Grand Prix, Silverstone is the UK’s most famous race circuit – and anyone can follow in the tyre tracks of Button and Hamilton on a track day.
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ootball fans don’t get the chance to have a kick about at Wembley and tennis afficianados never get to do the odd serve at Wimbledon’s centre court, but as a petrolhead you can drive around the same circuit as the likes of Hamilton and Button on a track day. Silverstone is one of the world’s most famous sporting venues, and it’s ready and waiting for you and your car! The circuit was first developed from RAF Silverstone in 1943 and, today, boasts no fewer than four configurations (plus the onemile infield Stowe circuit). The most recent development came in 2009 in readiness for the hosting of the British round of the Moto GP Championship in 2010. It was thought that the proximity of the bridge at Bridge Corner was too close to the circuit for motorcycles, so the circuit was duly remodelled. The revised layout became the fastest circuit on the Moto GP calendar. It’s the Bridge circuit that you’re most likely to use for a track day. Being a Formula One venue, Silverstone is a wide circuit and, in most places, it has generous run-off areas. Its fast, flat bends are best suited to high powered cars as those which excel in bends (rather than on long straights) tend to run out of steam on the longer parts of the track. That said, it does have some slower, complex corners (like the Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel complex) that will be a test for the more agile! Number of circuits: 4 (plus Stowe) Lengths: New GP 3.6 miles, Bridge GP 3.2 miles, National 1.6 miles, Southern 1.9 miles Noise limit: 105dB Contact details: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 8TN. T: 0844 3728 200. W: www.silverstone.co.uk
National Pits Straight Copse Woodcote Corner Brooklands Corner
Wellington Straight
Aintree Corner
Maggotts
Village Corner Becketts Abbey The Loop Farm Curve
Chapel Curve
International Pits Straight
Club
Vale
Lap Highlight: Copse Copse is a deceptively fast corner. Turn in early and you can get on the power a lot sooner than you think – it's one of those corners that allows more speed than you initially reckon on. If you're lucky
Stowe Corner
enough to do the Grand Prix circuit, Becketts and Chapel are pretty special, too.
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Snetterton Snetterton has just undergone a major redevelopment. The exciting new Snetterton 300 layout is now the flagship of three different configurations.
S
netterton was heavily revised for the start of 2011. Until the redevelopment, the Norfolk based venue had just one layout – now it has three, headed by the three-mile Snetterton 300 circuit. The Snetterton 200 and 100 configurations are approximately two and a one-mile long respectively. Spectator facilities (such as new banking) have been improved too, bringing the track much more into line with the standards of Motorsport Vision’s other tracks. Snetterton 200 is the closest to the original circuit layout, while the 300 adds extra length and complexity in what used to be the infield. The small 100 circuit uses just the new section (and will be used mainly for testing and driver training) and can be run simultaneously with the 200 circuit. These changes are the most significant development in the circuit’s history since it was converted to motorsport use from RAF Snetterton Heath after its closure as an air
base in 1948. Although we’ve yet to see the new track since its heavy alterations, both the 200 and 300 circuits still use a lot of the layout we’re familiar with. The exciting Bomb Hole, for instance, remains. This fast right hander has a dramatic dip mid-way through (hence the name), making cars compress under load and giving them a welcome boost of grip. The new infield section of the track promises to add interest and complexity to Norfolk’s only race circuit.
Lap Highlight: Palmer Many of Snetterton's bends lead on to long straights, so exit speed is imperative. Palmer is one such corner, which rewards a surprisingly late turn in and early power. The temptation is always to turn in too soon.
Number of circuits: 3 Lengths: Snetterton 100 0.9 mile; Snetterton 200 2 miles; Snetterton 300 2.9 miles Noise limit: 105dB (evening 102dB) Contact details: Snetterton Circuit, Norwich, Norfolk NR16 2JU. T: 01953 887303. W: www.motorsportvision.co.uk
Snetterton 300 Snetterton 200 Snetterton 100
Nelson Montreal Bentley Straight
Bomb Hole
Williams Hamilton
Agostini
Oggies
Murrays
Palmer Riches
Senna Straight Coram
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Thruxton Thruxton’s layout has remained almost unchanged since 1956, making it very quick in a modern car. It’s a test of nerve and rewards skill.
T
hruxton circuit takes its name from the small Hampshire village that it’s close to. As is the case with many UK race tracks, it began life as an airfield before post-war petrolheads saw its potential for fun and converted it into a race track. Bike races were the first to take place, the first being in 1950. Car racing followed two years later. These days, because of local planning regulations, Thruxton can only stage 12 race meetings per year. It also has a relatively low 90dB noise limit, so make sure your silencer is well packed before turning up for a track day! The venue still has an active runway in the infield. Thruxton has a single configuration and most of it is very quick. It remains almost as it did in 1968 (when the current layout was built) which
is why it’s so fast in a modern car. Corners like Goodwood (flat) leading into Village typify the lap with their minimal braking and high velocity. The Club chicane is notable as being the one slow corner, which is placed just ahead of the start/finish straight. Thruxton is a real test of nerve and it requires accurate inputs at high speeds to get the best from it.
Lap Highlight: Seagrave to Club Thruxton is the UK's fastest circuit, and the massive section from Seagrave to Club can be taken without braking in many cars. Although you'll always be turning the wheel either left or right, you'll be in the meat of the throttle the whole way. A real test of nerve that can be richly rewarding.
Number of circuits: 1 Length: 2.3 miles Noise limit: 90dB Contact details: Thruxton Motorsport Centre, Thruxton Circuit, Andover, Hampshire SP11 8PW. T: 01264 882222. W: www.thruxtonracing.co.uk
Segrave Goodwood Cobb Noble Campbell
Village
Allard
Church Brooklands
Club
Woodham Hill
98 | UK Track Day Guide
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Northgampton Motorsport Ad FP:Layout 1
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11:58
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Motorsport Vision Ad FP:Layout 1
9/3/12
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