Guys,
I had an "off" at Winton yesterday during the Tampered Motorsports track day. My mate and I are fine, it really was only a love tap :wub: between the front left hand corner of my car and the concrete wall on the outer edge of the turn coming onto the back straight. Damage to the car is the usual from what you'd expect from such an incident - new radiator support, new bumper, new bonnet/guards/light/indicator. It smashed my oil cooler but fortunately I turned the motor off as soon as we made impact and I didn't hamerroage too much oil. I don't think there's structural damage but I need to do some measurements to make sure.
I'm looking at this as an opportunity to not only re-jig the front end of the car and make all the gaps and things look nice when I rebuild it and give it a fresh coat of paint - but to also voice some of my thoughts re Track Days - as I would hate for people who are considering doing their first track event to be scared off hearing of another track incident. So here goes:
First up: Yes - when you track your car - there IS a chance that you will smash it. When you start making demands on your car and yourself that you cannot make on the roads, of course the chances of something going wrong will increase. If you choose to play this game - learn to accept and deal with the risks. What you can do is minimise the chances of something going wrong as best you can and make sure you have the proper safety equipment and setup as per the requirements of the event.
Drive within your limits - I was doing this the whole day without incident - until I (admittedly :unsure
got a bit reckless on my last outing and decided to push a little harder than usual. I know the the whole point behind doing a track event is to learn and expand on your capabilities in a safe and controlled environment - but do it when you feel comfortable doing so. I let myself get pressured by the faster drivers in the group and tried to keep pace with them. MISTAKE! Guess who trailored their car home and guess who didn't....? Not the other drivers...... :unsure:
Big horsepower does not = fast lap times on the track. If you are considering a track event - focus on getting your brakes and suspension sorted before you go strapping a huge ass turbo to your motor and start ripping up hell on the circuit. If anything - big power will increase your chances of getting into trouble - esp if you are inexperienced. Again - guess who trailored their car home....? Not the little underpowered Datsun1600 that I was competing against and was still 10seconds a lap faster than me.... <_<
Properly organised and run track events are still the best and safest way to enjoy your car in an environment where you should do minimal harm to yourself, others and your car. If things do go pearshaped - then you have properly trained personnel and equipment to help get you out of trouble.
I encourage all forum members to get out onto a track at least once to experience how much fun our cars can really be. I am certainly going to be getting back out there once I get my shite sorted and the car is tip-top again.
See you back out on the circuit :thumbsup:
I had an "off" at Winton yesterday during the Tampered Motorsports track day. My mate and I are fine, it really was only a love tap :wub: between the front left hand corner of my car and the concrete wall on the outer edge of the turn coming onto the back straight. Damage to the car is the usual from what you'd expect from such an incident - new radiator support, new bumper, new bonnet/guards/light/indicator. It smashed my oil cooler but fortunately I turned the motor off as soon as we made impact and I didn't hamerroage too much oil. I don't think there's structural damage but I need to do some measurements to make sure.
I'm looking at this as an opportunity to not only re-jig the front end of the car and make all the gaps and things look nice when I rebuild it and give it a fresh coat of paint - but to also voice some of my thoughts re Track Days - as I would hate for people who are considering doing their first track event to be scared off hearing of another track incident. So here goes:
First up: Yes - when you track your car - there IS a chance that you will smash it. When you start making demands on your car and yourself that you cannot make on the roads, of course the chances of something going wrong will increase. If you choose to play this game - learn to accept and deal with the risks. What you can do is minimise the chances of something going wrong as best you can and make sure you have the proper safety equipment and setup as per the requirements of the event.
Drive within your limits - I was doing this the whole day without incident - until I (admittedly :unsure
got a bit reckless on my last outing and decided to push a little harder than usual. I know the the whole point behind doing a track event is to learn and expand on your capabilities in a safe and controlled environment - but do it when you feel comfortable doing so. I let myself get pressured by the faster drivers in the group and tried to keep pace with them. MISTAKE! Guess who trailored their car home and guess who didn't....? Not the other drivers...... :unsure:Big horsepower does not = fast lap times on the track. If you are considering a track event - focus on getting your brakes and suspension sorted before you go strapping a huge ass turbo to your motor and start ripping up hell on the circuit. If anything - big power will increase your chances of getting into trouble - esp if you are inexperienced. Again - guess who trailored their car home....? Not the little underpowered Datsun1600 that I was competing against and was still 10seconds a lap faster than me.... <_<
Properly organised and run track events are still the best and safest way to enjoy your car in an environment where you should do minimal harm to yourself, others and your car. If things do go pearshaped - then you have properly trained personnel and equipment to help get you out of trouble.
I encourage all forum members to get out onto a track at least once to experience how much fun our cars can really be. I am certainly going to be getting back out there once I get my shite sorted and the car is tip-top again.
See you back out on the circuit :thumbsup:
