hi,
i am 14 and would it be possible for me to to a track day my local circuits are three sisters and oulton park i want to know would it be possible for me to do a track day and what would i need please give me links to things i would need. i would do karting but i couldnt do it competitivly and i aint a big fan of karts,
thanks in advance

all track days ive seen have required that you have a driving license.

Quote from DeKo :

all track days ive seen have required that you have a driving license.

how about if you had a ards license

Why don't you contact your local circuits or the British Motorsport Association? They're more likely to be able to give you accurate, up to date information.

I kind of doubt it, track days are usually considered as a technical driving course more than racing, and thus it's aimed at people with driving licenses and their own cars.

Well, MSV offer their YoungDrive day thing (something I did when I was 14/15) but that probably isn't what you're looking for. Still worth a peek though.

I can't imagine it is very different here where I live, up at Road Atlanta to do a track day they limit the speeds to 55mph, no passing, behind a pace car (sometimes.. if anyone gets out of control), and it's usually about $100 and a month ahead of time.

And yes of course you have to have a drivers license.

RA Also has a class you can take, either a two day or one day but either way you're looking at it you have to have a drivers license and be 18+ or older (or have parent's signature)

But yea, just google race track and google maps will come up with some near where you live and just look through the websites, no one here can give you the right information

Quote from XCNuse :

they limit the speeds to 55mph

You can't be serious? I must have misunderstood that

Well I mean it depends on what they're doing, but usually they limit the speeds on the track to some extent.

Remember this is the real race track I live near so.. not all are like this

I think with the racing class they offer up there the speed limit isn't 55, somewhere more like 80 or so, but who goes 55 on the highway even really people go down the front straight going like 65-70mph honestly.

What you're describing sounds like a parade around a race track, often done at race meetings in the UK during the lunch break normally at a very nominal expense (certainly not $100!) or often free when they try and get a themed bunch of cars lapping the circuit.

Track days in the UK all allow you to drive as fast as you want and allow passing on designated sections of track.

Here in Belgium u can drive any race track from your 16th. Even normal trackdays

Quote from ajp71 :

What you're describing sounds like a parade around a race track, often done at race meetings in the UK during the lunch break normally at a very nominal expense (certainly not $100!) or often free when they try and get a themed bunch of cars lapping the circuit.

Track days in the UK all allow you to drive as fast as you want and allow passing on designated sections of track.

The 55mph limit is PDX which is .. kinda parade like where you got a lot of normal cars going 'round at the same time, no passing, etc.

But they always enforce speed limits on the track, always have, always will... safety/lawsuit issue... i dunno.. lol (of course not during actual races..) but with the racing school there they have speed limits then too of course for safety reasons.

But like I said, this is just Road Atlanta, of course not all tracks are the same.

Quote from XCNuse :

But like I said, this is just Road Atlanta, of course not all tracks are the same.

You could get a NASA or SCCA membership and do their HPDE/PDX programs. Those are unlimited. Or you could look up a trackday specific program like Trackmasters and do unlimited track days that way.

brt900, the only way I know of to get on a track before 17/driving age is to be a racing driver. That is to say, karts. Pretty sure you can't get a road racing license in the UK until you're 16... for cars/Formula anyway.

Anyway, if I were you, I'd go down to Oulton and talk to one of the track advisors or instructors. They'll be able to get you on the track, in some shape or form. Most likely, your only option for true performance driving will be karts.

i would guess you would have to be at least 16 with an ARDS licence to be allowed to drive a race circuit in the UK.

you could look at one of the junior race series out there if you were really keen. http://www.mini-cross.co.uk/mdacarhire.php

if not then its go karting untill your old enough.

edit: you can start sprinting/hillclimbing @ 16 http://www.chestermotorclub.co.uk/

@XCNuse: My motorcycle trackday club requires you take their full-day beginner school at your first trackday. This means they sit you down in a classroom for about 20 minutes and go over some basics of track etiquette, then you go out on track for 20 minutes following the instructor at a decent street pace and wearing a blue vest to indicate you're new. 40 more minutes of classroom, 20 minutes of on-track time, repeat a few more times.

Then they typically let the students loose in the beginner group for the rest of the day. Fear tends to keep riders in check, but they're more than welcome to go full throttle all the way up to their bike's top speed (if there's enough room) if that's what they want to do, on their very first trackday.

I don't know how it is with cars, but I think the minimum age to do a motorcycle trackday is 14.

To do ANY track day (i.e road car etc) in England you need a full driving license.

@Forbin, yea the racing school at RA is kinda like that, it's classroom for several hours, do a little autox cone work to get a feel for the car, lunch, hit the classroom again, and eventually hit the track, and the second day it's more classroom, then track again and back and forth

Minimum age for the cars though is you have to at least have a beginners license so..

At that age then you just have to beg your parents in the first place to drive you to the track, and then figure out who's going to pay for it all!

First time I hear of a "track parade". No doubt they do proper lapping events with passing and no speed limit, but you probably have to go with a club or some such.

Over here at Pacific Raceways I've only gone with clubs (some allow you to go even if you're not a member) and never heard of a speed limit or no passing event. Well, no passing under yellow flag, but that's different. Typically advanced groups rip down the main straight at over 150 mph.

I did my first proper track day at Silverstone when I was 15. I'd passed my ARDS test, although couldn't actually receive the license until I was 16. I had to have a fully qualified ARDS instructor alongside me in the car at all times, and the instructor we knew had seen me drive on track before and knew I was as capable as the others, and he knew some people at the track day company which helped. Also doing it in a 120bhp MR2 helped my cause, rather than something completely ridiculous.

The only other way is if you do it in a race car designed for use in one of the series for young drivers, eg Ginetta Juniors or SaxMax.

Being 14, I don't think you'll be able to do it. If you're keen to get behind the wheel at that age, try here: www.U17CC.org I did that for about 3 years and drove over 50 cars, met loads of people and got to freqently drive around Castle Combe at high speed.

Quote from Minimaxman :

I did my first proper track day at Silverstone when I was 15. I'd passed my ARDS test, although couldn't actually receive the license until I was 16. I had to have a fully qualified ARDS instructor alongside me in the car at all times, and the instructor we knew had seen me drive on track before and knew I was as capable as the others, and he knew some people at the track day company which helped. Also doing it in a 120bhp MR2 helped my cause, rather than something completely ridiculous.

The only other way is if you do it in a race car designed for use in one of the series for young drivers, eg Ginetta Juniors or SaxMax.

Being 14, I don't think you'll be able to do it. If you're keen to get behind the wheel at that age, try here: www.U17CC.org I did that for about 3 years and drove over 50 cars, met loads of people and got to freqently drive around Castle Combe at high speed.

thanks for that i dont know why i put im 14 im 15 but i was reading faq on club msv and i can do track days if i have a juniour national b licence what are the costs of an ards test?

If you've never had a shot of a proper kart then I'd suggest "Lets go Karting" if there are circuits close to you which are participating. Only costs £5 and you should get a shot of something with a bit more poke than a rental kart.

http://www.letsgokarting.net/

At your age your gonna struggle to get onto a full size circuit without owning your own race car aimed at juniors.

Quote from keiran :

If you've never had a shot of a proper kart then I'd suggest "Lets go Karting" if there are circuits close to you which are participating. Only costs £5 and you should get a shot of something with a bit more poke than a rental kart.

http://www.letsgokarting.net/

At your age your gonna struggle to get onto a full size circuit without owning your own race car aimed at juniors.

couldnt i do track days in a stripped out road car that wouldnt be on the road with slicks and upgraded suspension and brakes

A lot of track day companies specify that the cars you're doing them in have to be road legal, so slicks would be a no-no if that was the case.

Quote from brt900 :

couldnt i do track days in a stripped out road car that wouldnt be on the road with slicks and upgraded suspension and brakes

nope but you could do a test day (ards licence req) if you wanted to do specifically that.

more to the point what exactly do you want to do & how much cash you got to throw at it?