Before your first track day, you should go over your car carefully. Look for and fix andy worn suspension parts. Make sure your brakes are in perfect working condition and that you have plenty of brake pads and tires. Pads and tires wear fast on the track. It might be a good idea to change to a performance pad. Flushing your brake fluid with a higher performance fluid isn’t a bad idea either. Check for fluid leaks, loose parts, and make sure your engine has reasonably fresh oil running a high-quality synthetic oil. Make sure you have no coolant leaks and your radiator is full. The reason you do this beforehand is to make sure your car will run fine at the track and you will have a good time then drive it home. We made Christa do all the prep work at the MotoIQ Garage.
The next tip is to get there early! A lot is going on at the track in the morning and you need to be on top of it. We towed Project FR-S to the track with Project Tundra and spent some time unloading and getting things organized and ready to run. I feel you should always bring some basic tools, two jack stands, a jack, extra fluids, and most importantly a tire pressure gauge. Always stay on top of your tire pressure.
If you are a beginner and you’re going out for the first time, set your tire pressure a few psi lower than your target pressure. This is because your tires will quickly get hot and the pressure will go up. As soon as you are done with your sessions, check and bleed down your tire pressure to your target pressure.
You get there early because you want to have this all done before registration opens because stuff happens fast after that and you don’t want to get flustered your first time out.
So before you even get to the track, when you register, go to the association’s website and download all necessary forms and fill them out before you get to the track! READ THE RULES! Make sure your car adheres to them and make sure your safety gear like your helmet is correct with the correct certifications and is currently in date. You don’t want to be running around like crazy in the morning trying to borrow a helmet from people who don’t want to lend you theirs because you didn’t know M-rated helmets are not allowed and you failed tech because of it.
5 comments
What an amazing experience for her!
I can’t get my own 9yo to stop spazzing out with even a Powerwheels 6/12V plastic car! I don’t see karting in his future. LOL
Some kids are scared of speed and noise. Don’t force them, it’s supposed to be family fun. I didn’t encourage my daughter, a friend gave her a free kart and it was game on for her from there.
“In our area, the popular track day organizations have largely stopped consistently supporting beginner groups. This is probably because the intermediate and advanced groups are really popular and there are often not many beginners. ”
Do you also think there could be a lack of instructors?
I’ve read a few anecdotes of instructors that quit because the amount of horsepower available to beginners turns them off.
I don’t know but as an ex NASA instructor, that would scare the crap out of me!
“Hi, I’m a doctor who’s done nothing but study and work my whole life while driving a beige Corolla. I finally got an attending gig and bought a 911 Turbo, can you show me how to drive it fast?”
…and oh the irony of buying a car too fast to enjoy on the street and too fast to drive on the track.