Open pitlane versus Sessions

Bealo · Post by **Bealo** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:07 pm

Before lastnight i would have said OPL all day long. but as it is our club with members of different levels of experiance i would defo say sessioned.

If we get enough support maybe we could have 3 groups as they do in Bike trackdays. We would need a lot more cars on track for that.

Lastnight was nearly spot on with only one or two of drivers in the faster group that i think should have been in the slower group but thats debatable.

I agree 100% regarding that we all should be taking responsibility on making this club more of a success and not relying on the few that do the hard work.

Regarding the frequentcy of the trackdays i would do as many as possible when i'm home seeing as i work away.

I enjoyed meeting old & new friends NEARLY as much as the track time it's self.

I will say i was a bit disappointed at the turn out for the monthly meet afterwards. I guess i was hoping for a bit of a get together as this was the first one i have been home for this year. I enjoyed my pie and chips and a good chin wag with hardcore bunch.

Sorry for the rant....

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:55 pm

As always, last night was organised really well, and I think the sessions work great especially on an evening event where it encourages everyone to make the most of the short time available. On full days I prefer OPL as it gives a bit more flexibility when there are more people attending so you can choose a quieter time to go out (although if done properly each session should have the correct number of cars to prevent crowding).

Bealo wrote: Lastnight was nearly spot on with only one or two of drivers in the faster group that i think should have been in the slower group but thats debatable.

As I know I was one of the slower cars in Group B I assume you're referring to me

I'm definitely not one of the fastest drivers out there and I was in a car putting out 180 BHP on road tyres, while you are a faster driver in a 330-odd BHP car with Cup tyres and whatever else, no surprise you were quicker.

And I appreciate your point but it wasn't "slow" and "fast" groups was it? it was 2 or less previous trackdays or more than 2.

For an evening event we could never divide groups on horsepower or whatever as we'd be there all night and anyway that doesn't differentiate between trackday cars and road cars, different types of tyre and of course, driver skill/willingness to take risks with their vehicle - believe or not

in the past I've been stuck behind an Evo or whatever round all the corners, only to have them blast away on the straights and me then end up behind them again at the next corner.

I like your suggestion of 3 groups, the last full trackday I did was sessioned and there were 3 experience/skill levels to choose. But we would need more time to do that, as well as more drivers

My 2p anyway...

Cheers,
Alex

Post by **Stuart** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:19 pm

Valid points and some great feedback

You were by no means the slowest Alex. Snetterton is always hard on cars that can't do 70-130 in a quick time. Put your car and some of the 400bhp heavyweights around Cadwell and see the tables turn

OK, to put a spin on the original question, did you feel that the number of cars on track at any one time was OK?

Also, the extra briefing for novices didn't go ahead. Did anyone felt left out or overlooked? I would not want anyone to feel hard done by in this respect. (PM if you prefer)

alexb · Post by **alexb** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:47 pm

130? What's that like?

Cheers Stu, really want to do Cadwell this year.

Number on track was judged just right IMO.

Cheers,
Alex

Rob S · Post by **Rob S** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:55 pm

I concur, the briefing and numbers were fine.

RX7 · Post by **RX7** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:59 pm

Stu, with my limited knowledge on the subject from a purely novices point of view I would rather there were specific sessions for people who havent done trackdays and then others for more advanced drivers. The option of 3 levels sounds good with 1 being novice, 1 being intermediate and the other being advanced for people who are more likely to really feel comfortable pushing their cars to the limit.

Damn right that Civic could embarass a number of other cars on tight twisty circuits like Cadwell, especially for a car thats been developed for japanese mountain touge runs

As for cars on the track it certainly seemed like enough without being like the 'Wacky Races' we saw last year at the Nippon / MX5 challenge. How many cars was that at once....over 30 at least !!!

Gerry H · Post by **Gerry H** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:32 pm

I thought it was spot on.

The problem with complaining about slower cars is YOU are going to be slow compared with some.

And what's slow? Is it the straight bit between the corners where you measure slow or is it the bendy bits between the straights?

As actual lap times aren't allowed it's all relative and rather academic.

If you can sort another like that one, you can have my

pablo · Post by **pablo** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:19 am

I find it hard to believe that the club struggles to fill these events. What could be better than having your own private track session with like minded people from the same club. Talk about a pefect evening what more could you want.
It really pains me that it's so difficult for me to attend these events. But I fully intend to makle it to at least one of them, if only to show my support for the club and have some much needed fun.

Post by **Stuart** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:41 am

Get some more members on boards from the Midlands and we can do this sort of thing in your area too

tomcat · Post by **tomcat** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:59 am

be good to do a brands hatch event as long as the db's arn't too low 8)