Your First Track Experience

[DRD-00F]

Howdy fellas!

Coming up to the newbie friendly Driver Training Day this weekend, I thought we could have some fun and regale about our first experiences on the track to try and coax some of the new comers out of the woodwork . What a lot of people don't realise is that once you're on a track, all the fun you can have in a car going fast is personified by wide lanes, smooth roads, no traffic and tonnes of safety!

So, I was thinking we could share our experiences with the SAU world that has yet to take that first step!

Things to include:

When

Where

With who

Any pre-setup involved

Favourite memory of the day

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track

How much fun you had!

[Sheng]

ehhh about 2 years ago,

first track day on OP GP, wasn't with SAU, but Druncan, James n Stephane were there..

Pre-set up? i think i just harden the coilovers a bit lol

Fav memory was the first corner after the straight, i was like 'yeah i can take this, this is easy!' mind you i was only just coming from the pit lane on to the track, so as i was braking n turning, i realised i just ran out of track lol.. so straight onto the dirty, i was like 'mm this is f**ked'. So yeah first ever track day, at the very first corner, had my first crash

Well.. first track day is challenging, especially at OP, i thought is was a very fast n difficult track to run, but towards the last couple of seshs, you will get a good understanding of where to brake, where to flatten your foot, and what the lines are, and oh, try not to clutch, brake and changing gears and turning on the same time

I had a really fun day out there, which made me to go back for more n more!!

[Sl!m]

My first track was sooooooooooooo much fun :D

First track day was at Wakefield Park. year or so ago. Was an SAU driver training type day.. Basically split up between newbies and ppl who have done a fair few track days..

the newbies go out and some one of the experienced guys goes passenger with them and gives them a few pointers.. this type of help is pure gold and priceless!

pre set up was simple, make sure I had fresh oil in the car.. nothing that hadnt been changed for a period of time.. brakes were in good condition.. I should have bled the brakes as I found out at the end of the day.. brakes were fading pretty bad by the end of the day.. but no dramas caused by it.

memories of the day.. hmm so many.. Sheng losing it in front of me.. then me almost losing it cos I was laughing.. Chasing VZSS Commo around the track and him not being able to shake me until I lost it on the last corner ended up with a 1:15:07 as a best time which was like .6 of a second slower than the commonwhore .. Spinning off at the end of the straight was actually fun hahaha

it's really hard to put in to words how fun the track day was, you really have to experience it to know what its like.. there is no pressure.. you are on the track with people who have similar experience so you're not having people constantly pushing up behind you trying to get around etc..

so much fun :D

[S13Deviat]

OK my input... shite this could be long LOL

When - 2004

Where - OP GP

With who - Ian Luff Day

Any pre-setup involved - Yes, see below

Favourite memory of the day - Finally getting out and seeing what all the fuss was about. Also realising that its not so daunting afterall

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track - Lots, See below

How much fun you had! - x11ty million trillion

Okay here goes *deep breath*

I first bought a R33GTST back in 2001 i think it was. (old skool SDU days) Had it for a little bit then sold up. After a few years of owning a few other cars I starting to get some thoughts about hitting a track to see if i could match my Playstation GT skills in real life Thus i bought a Nissan Cefiro. Nice and cheap with a good ol RB to boot! Perfect recipe for some track fun.

(okay this could get long winded) So back to the point, i had so much nerves about the whole idea of getting out there and hitting the track for the first time.... what if this, what if that...etc etc. I finally took the plunge and locked myself into an Ian Luff day at OP GP.

Now i did plenty of research prior to this to make sure i was confident that the car would hold up, leaving me (driver) as the limiting factor There should ALWAYS be pre-setup / checks before any track day, no excuses. It is a simple exercise and very non stressful. Im sure people have slight variations on the 'checklist' but mine is as follows:

1. Brakes - Meat on pads? Rotors OK? Most importantly, BLEED THE BRAKES

2. Engine / Cooling / Fluids - Make sure you keep you puppy ticking over noice. Check all levels, power steering, coolant, and over fill engine with oil by about .5L (user discretion)

3. Tyres - Make sure arent on belts

4. Everything securely fastened in engine bay and interior. (Ie. Battery etc)

5. OPTIONAL - Take to mechanic for a once over of tune and everything you have done for piece of mind

Ok so i had the confidence that my nugget cefiro was going to last the outing. The rest was up to me. To put it reall really simply, your day will only be as good as you allow it to be. If you go out on your first ever track day thinking you are Micheal Schumacher and drive like a nutter, well you are likely to come unstuck. You should make sure you are always driving a few notches back from your 'limit'.

A lot of my concern was to do with hitting other cars or walls which i quickly realised was all within my control. Other drivers are just as concerned about their pride n joy as you are. So everyone out there will be avoiding 'morse code' on panels as much as the next person! The walls should only be an issue if YOU are driving too hard. So within a few laps/sessions on this track day, i quickly realised that there was nothing to be afraid of at all in hitting the track. As long as i was confident that my car was up to the task, the rest was in my hands.

I think to summarise what i learnt from my first outing is that you are in control of how your day is to pan out. You should step into your first track day with plenty of confidence in your car, as well as believing in yourself and most importantly, driving within your limits.

Now 4 years on i am hooting around in my little S13 with countless hours behind the wheel and loving every second of it! You will always be 'learning' the art of motorsport, but good attitudes and commonsense is the perfect recipe for an addictive hobby

So to all those, sitting on the fence, wondering if you should take the plunge, DO IT! Days like the up and coming SAU OP day are perfect for you to learn how to drive your car the way you have always wanted to! Any doubts or worries are solely in YOUR hands and trust me, it's nothing to worry about at all!

SEE YOU ON THE TRACK PEEPS

[JAS-25T]

When: 01/11/2004

Where: Wakefield

With who: SAU & RENEW

Any pre-setup involved: Change all fluids in car

Favourite memory of the day: pictures tell a thousand words

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: Much safer, more fun and cheaper that doing it on the road. Learning how the car reacts in certain situations and also what it's limits and your own are.

How much fun you had! : <-- I had a smile like that on my face for a week after. Definately one of the most fun times I've had.

[Liz]

Things to include:

When - 2004/5

Where - Oran Park GP

With who - Ian Luff

Any pre-setup involved - Nope - lol - Such a n00b. This was in my 33 gts-t

Favourite memory of the day - Coming out of the dog-leg into back straight, slightly touching the brakes at the wrong time, ass end catching up to the front and spinning into the in field and ripping both my right side tyres off the wheels. Man I was so nervous going into that day, but the nerves disappeared by lap 1!

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: That I'm invincible. On a serious note, I realised that you weren't going to hit anything unless you made a serious effort to do so. Everyones car aware, no one wants to crash and you'll always be driving within your limits for that reason.... you're aware of where you've got room for error and where you don't have much room, you have a choice on how hard to push it!

How much fun you had! - Was wicked (except the 2 hours i had to ferry wheels to the tyre shop to get my tyres put back on)

Save driving!

PS. See you all Sunday!

[N1GTR]

When; Late 2005

Where: Oran GP

With who: Aaron McGill

Any pre-setup involved: Just emptied out all the sh!t from the boot and drove onto track

Favourite memory of the day: How sideways the GTR got coming off the bridge in RWD mode with street tyres on the back Also cant go past the turn11 experience

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: Street tyres suck. McGill is a fkn legend. Duncan and Neil are crazy, just let them go past. 8000rpm launches ARE as much fun as they look

How much fun you had!: 10/10

The next weekend on a 40degree day sh@un and I did Eastern Creek, so ill reanswer as the experience back then was all new to me;

When:Late 2005

Where: Eastern Creek

With who: sh@un, a few other old school SAU'ers. Was an L2S day from memory

Any pre-setup involved: Checked all the fluid levels, bled brakes, put the AWD fuse in

Favourite memory of the day: Sideways all the way from turn 2 to turn 3 wasnt bad BUT the best was on the straight, last corner in 3rd gear, holding 3rd flat, then 4th, then 5th - the thing didnt stop pulling and pulling

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: Again, street tyres are sh!t. I sweat a lot in 40degree heat with no AC

How much fun you had!: Again, 10/10

[evil_weevil]

2002 was my first track day in my 213rwkw vt ls1 commodore

was epic fun, did it with motoconcepts back in the day when sdu guys wouldgo as well.

All I did to prep that was brake fluid change, pad change, fluid top ups.

I even went out on street tyres and had the best fun.

I wasn't the quickest, but fuvk me had the best fun.

Now I race my mx5 in a club championship and have never looked back.

Track days can be the best legal fun ever, and we all started out noobs.

[Liz]

awww look at us all, taking a step back in time!

[Xmetal]

When: 2006

Where: Wakefield Park

With who: Autosports

Any pre-setup involved: Remove the camera from it's bag.

Favourite memory of the day: Too many memories

Things you learnt; Take a f**king raincoat! lol (and get a bigger lens/camera - went armed with a Canon Powershot S45)

How much fun you had! Too much fun.

As a shooter with many trackdays under my cowboy hat it's always amusing seeing it from the sideline and also (if i'm lucky) from the passenger seat. Watching newbies develop over the space of the day and getting it on film is one of the more priceless occurrences at events like this. Also getting other things on film like the experienced guys hanging tails out and plowing through the kitty litter is what makes the drive down from Newcastle worth it.

[Tang3rine]

When; early 09'

Where: wakefield park

With who: couple of friends of the r31 club

Any pre-setup involved: change worn pads ... nope , replace blown shocks ..... nope ... change oil? .... nope, remove sub. yep

Favourite memory of the day: switching cars with my mate for one run and telling him "watch out for the understeer"

then watching him come off turn 4 at 110 km/h hitting a dirt bump and getting a good foot of air, i almost came off too from laughing so hard

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: stock r31 suspension is not really what you would call "race spec"

How much fun you had!: 10/10

took my car out on a whim sorta thing it was basically stock as i'd only owned it a couple of months and as i said before stock 20y/o suspension really isnt a fun thing to hit the racetrack on

that day i ran 1:26' 27's

now i run high 1:17's low 1:18's

but let the video speak for me instead

1st run shit suspension, no power, underinflated tyres

2nd run new suspension more power and rain

[N1GTR]

awww look at us all, taking a step back in time!

Yeah now the old school sh!t stirring needs to begin..........

[Sl!m]

I bet I can still lap you again steve-o!

gtr vs gtst = gtst WINNAH!!

[N1GTR]

On oldpac ill remember the fuse next time hahahahaha

[S13Deviat]

awww look at us all, taking a step back in time!

EDIT* Liz check this vid this is memory lane - Wakefield 06 with SAU & ReNEW - Especially at about 19secs LOL

Kenoath has made me look back at vids n pics of my Ceffie days...

From this (god i miss the nugget)

To this -

Now this is a perfect example for all you people out there that think your car is too pretty for the track. I convert my Silvia from the pretty Autosalon spec to track spec in a jiffy. So you can have both, pretty + track = WINNAH!!

Autosalon Spec

Track Spec

See kiddies the memories and laughs you have from attending these days are worth it so much!

I expect to see you all there on Sunday! Now if you are not ready to take the plunge this weekend, at least come and see how much fun your missing out on !!

[GoldZilla]

When: our last SAU-NSW driver training day

Where: Oran park GP

With who: SAU-NSW and TrackSkills

Any pre-setup involved: yep, bled brakes, checked brake pads, replaced engine oil and oil filter, checked air filter, checked tire pressures, removed loose items from the car. Also, when I got there I added some extra engine oil, and double-checked my brake fluid levels!

Favourite memory of the day: hearing some people tell me that they couldn't catch me down the main straight of Oran, and then even for the first few turns through there.

Things you learnt; about your car, yourself or the track: I learnt that my car is pretty damned capable for a big wagon, but I need better seats (now cured -can't wait to sample them on the track! ); that I was doing mostly the right thing around the track (according to Duncan, who came out with me for one session), that pushing to 8/10ths was plenty considering I'd like to keep myself and my car in one piece; and that turn two of the OPGP circuit is very tricky to get right, but very rewarding when you do with a nice burst of acceleration under the bridge and into turn three!

How much fun you had: HEAPS!!!

Ahhhhh, gotta love Straight 6 turbo goodness!

[FloydWestwood]

When: SAU op gp track day early this year

Where: OP GP

With who: SAU and Trackskill

Any pre-setup involved: extra 1L of oil.

Favourite memory of the day: Sideways into and off the bridge with the instructor in the passenger seat yelling "faster faster faster!!"

Things I learned: my 33 gtst isn't as bad as i thought it was. Bodyroll does not help fast cornering. Flogging your car legally is some of the best fun I've ever had - I'm devastated i didn't get into trackdays earlier!

[Liz]

EDIT* Liz check this vid this is memory lane - Wakefield 06 with SAU & ReNEW - Especially at about 19secs LOL

Kenoath has made me look back at vids n pics of my Ceffie days...

From this (god i miss the nugget)

bahahaha!!!

man and remember that week we did the Powerplay and SAU/RENEW track day within a few days of each other! Definitely one of my favourite racing days!!!

I'm so pumped for Sunday!!!!! It's been a LONG timeeeeeeeee between drinks for me!

[Liz]

EDIT* Liz check this vid this is memory lane - Wakefield 06 with SAU & ReNEW - Especially at about 19secs LOL

Kenoath has made me look back at vids n pics of my Ceffie days...

From this (god i miss the nugget)

bahahaha!!!

man and remember that week we did the Powerplay and SAU/RENEW track day within a few days of each other! Definitely one of my favourite racing days!!!

I'm so pumped for Sunday!!!!! It's been a LONG timeeeeeeeee between drinks for me!

[N1GTR]

Ah the old Ceffie, VERY sad to see that one go