Guide for track day first timers

[Charlie Brown]

Guide for track day first timers.

Over the years the same questions arise from people heading off to their first NSW MX-5 Club track day at either Wakefield or Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP), so I thought it would be a good idea to list out what needs to be done to your car and what to do when you arrive at the track, all in one easy to find thread.

Let's assume you’ve read the supplementary regulations, found the class you should be running in and have registered through the Club’s on line book in system for the event. You’ve applied for a CAMS licence (needed for SMP) or intend to get a AASA licence at Wakefield on the day of the event. It’s better to get a CAMS licence as the AASA licence is not accepted at SMP.

Now what? Before the event you need to ensure that your car is ready, like you, to have an enormous amount of fun. This means that you must check all the basics normally done when your car is serviced, plus a couple of track requirements depending on whether you’re running at Wakefield or SMP.

First up, OIL. If your car hasn’t had an oil & filter change in the last 10,000 kilometres, do it now before the event. If you can afford it, a full synthetic oil at around $70+ per 5 litres is cheap insurance against engine failure, provided the engine is in good condition to start with.

Next, make sure that all your FLUIDS are topped up. ie Coolant, oil and brake fluid. If your brake fluid hasn’t been changed in the last two years, change it. DON’T use a silicon based fluid, a DOT 4 rated fluid is all you’ll need. Check your brake pads still have plenty of material on them. If less than 3 to 4mm, change the pad to a performance pad.

TYRES. Your tyres should be in roadworthy condition. Before you get to the track, pump your road tyres up to 37psi. Air is not available at SMP and Wakefield’s pump is temperamental sometimes and the queue can be long when it does work. Take your pressure gauge with you to the track and check the pressures immediately after each run, never let it get over 40 psi hot. Over this pressure they loose grip.

BATTERY. Make sure your battery is secured by the metal bracket and doesn’t move around. Cable ties will be rejected at scrutineering.

Fire extinguishers and blue triangles. These are required for Sydney Motorsport Park where the event is run under a CAMS permit. When you buy a 1kg fire extinguisher, the bracket must be made of metal. Blue triangles are used to indicate the position of the battery. They are easily made with vinyl blue contact bought from a newsagent or similar. Each side is 150mm long. These items are not required for Wakefield but it’s preferred that you have them.

Polish the doors of your car. Why? It makes it easier to peal the Club supplied tape and numbers off the doors when you have a good layer of wax. Also stops the possibility of pulling off paint.

OK, so now the car is ready, what do you do on the day of the event?
Make sure you’re wearing PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, as per the supp. regs and have plenty of FUEL as you can’t buy fuel at the track. Non turbo cars can easily do a full Wakefield track day if you have ¾ of a tank at the start of the first run. With more experience, you’ll carry spare fuel and run with less in the tank on the track but for now, as you won’t be breaking any records, so turn up with plenty of fuel.

GETTING THERE If the meet is at Wakefield, be careful on the Hume just after the turn off to Bowral. The Police love to sit in the central bushes after the overhead bridge catching people speeding down the hill. Turn off left at the first set of stop lights in Goulburn (near the jail), run parallel to the railway line for a couple of kilometres and then take the first bridge left over the line onto Braidwood Road. Wakefield is about 10 minutes’ drive out on the left hand side. You’ll spot it as you come over a hill.
Arriving at Wakefield. Drive in and find a spare carport spot in the two rows on the left. Take everything out of your car. That’s a clean clove box, a boot without the spare (if you have one), tools and jack, etc. After everything is out of the car head to scrutineering, take your paperwork and helmet, turn left out of the carport and then left around the back. Take your paperwork in for checking off, pick up your numbers and fix them to the car, taping the top and leading edge with tape supplied by the Club. Once the car is cleared head back to your carport and wait for the call to the drivers meeting.

Arriving at Sydney Motorsport Park, South Circuit. The circuit is entered from the south side, off Ferrers Road. Turn left at the guard’s shed, head down the hill and the track is on the right. After arriving, there’s no carports just open parking spaces, do the same as Wakefield except the scrutineering is done under the control tower building.

At the drivers briefing, as a first timer, you will have been assigned an instructor who will drive your car with you in the passenger seat and explain the driving lines, apex’s and braking points, etc., to get you around the circuit safely. He/she will do three laps and then swap seats with you and do three more laps giving pointers on where you should be and what you should be doing. Listen carefully.

That’s it. Apart from saying have fun, which you will, remember that it’s the nut behind the wheel that’s the biggest performance improvement to lap times, not the bits bolted on. Dicing with someone in your class who’s times are within half a second of yours is more exciting than winning by three seconds.

See you on at the track.

[Zcootz]

Great write up, this needs a sticky

[LuckyCat]

This is a much-needed thread, thank you for taking the time to do it.

cheers
Chris

[deviant]

Vinyl stickers are much easier to remove if you warm them up with a hairdryer and slooowwwwlllly pull at them.

[Jeo]

Re Blue Triangle – I’m a big fan of a magnetic P plate, cut to size, covered in blue electrical tape. Mine lives stuck to the underside of my boot lid so I can’t forget it, but it’s still obviously really easy to place on top of the boot once at the track.

[mazmad]

Vinyl stickers are much easier to remove if you warm them up with a hairdryer and slooowwwwlllly pull at them.

Good post Charlie B.

And good tip re removing the stickers deviant.

A tip for putting stickers on to the car: for larger stickers, wet the area on the car where the sticker is to go with soapy water first. That way if the placement isn't quite right you can still move the sticker around to get it right. Then dry with cloth / paper towel.

[nbse2]

also recommend you bring and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and fresh fruit to help keep your energy levels up during the day.

[deviant]

also recommend you bring and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and fresh fruit to help keep your energy levels up during the day.

+1

I had a friend navigate for me in a tarmac rally last month...his first ever step in to motorsport.

He brought a picnic with him...sandwiches, chips, soft drink, cake etc. I warned him off getting to carried away with that stuff but he knew better.

4th and final run of the evening and we had a rainbow yawn incident

As the driver I tend not to get motion sickness but I usually just eat sandwiches and fruit and just drink water.

[frog_a_lot]

Vinyl stickers are much easier to remove if you warm them up with a hairdryer and slooowwwwlllly pull at them.

Well in reality you should have a race car and therefor the stickers stay on the car the whole time. Much easier solution