Knockhill tuition
Discussion
I would like to get into doing trackdays but I have had no tuition in driving my car (Porsche 968) on the track. I contacted Knockhill and their price for an hour tuition in my own car on track is £135 - a little on the pricey side. Has anyone here had experience of the "one to one" tuition at Knockhill? Is it worth this? Taking into account insurance and fuel it would work out quite expensive. My thoughts were perhaps to do this tuition and then maybe arrange to attend a track day, preferrably at an airfield with a bit of run off (crail or east fortune type).
Has anyone got any alternative suggestions for getting into track days?
Cheers
G
Has anyone got any alternative suggestions for getting into track days?
Cheers
G
I did it in my VX220 (think it was closer to £95 though) and i really enjoyed it.
......but i learnt much more in during a Car Limits day at Crail which was about £150 IIRC.
The knockhill day is great if you want to learn the lines of the circuit and get some idea of what the car can do, but it is very specific to driving round KH quickly. It did give me a huge amount of confidence when i did my first trackday though. There is no way you'll bin it in this session though (they simply won't let you get into that situation), so insurance is a waste of money IMHO.
The hour one-to-one starts with you doing two laps with lots of encourangement (mainly "you are too slow, put the foot down"
. You then swap places and the instructor scares the sh*t out of you (thought i was going to die at the first corner!"
) and then you get 4 x 5 lap sessions to improve.
Its a massive massive buzz hammering past single seaters and the Ferrari though. Some spectators even asked what car i drove normally when i climbed out. Their face when i pointed to the VX was priceless.
EDIT : KH sometimes do beginners trackdays which have a session before the "big boys" go out on track for novices where you follow a pace car...."ducks and drakes" i think its called.
>> Edited by Lazydonkey on Tuesday 7th February 10:42
......but i learnt much more in during a Car Limits day at Crail which was about £150 IIRC.
The knockhill day is great if you want to learn the lines of the circuit and get some idea of what the car can do, but it is very specific to driving round KH quickly. It did give me a huge amount of confidence when i did my first trackday though. There is no way you'll bin it in this session though (they simply won't let you get into that situation), so insurance is a waste of money IMHO.
The hour one-to-one starts with you doing two laps with lots of encourangement (mainly "you are too slow, put the foot down"
. You then swap places and the instructor scares the sh*t out of you (thought i was going to die at the first corner!" ) and then you get 4 x 5 lap sessions to improve.
Its a massive massive buzz hammering past single seaters and the Ferrari though. Some spectators even asked what car i drove normally when i climbed out. Their face when i pointed to the VX was priceless.
EDIT : KH sometimes do beginners trackdays which have a session before the "big boys" go out on track for novices where you follow a pace car...."ducks and drakes" i think its called.
>> Edited by Lazydonkey on Tuesday 7th February 10:42
I was reluctant to do a track day initially but went along and watched a SIDC day and had a few pax laps, I went along to the next one they organised and took an instructor out with me on my first session (SIDC usually have a free instructor available at their track days), he sat with me and gave me advice for 5 or six laps then I went solo, he also offered to drive my car with me as a passenger bit I declined.
Doing it that way is cheaper, though not as much one to one obviously, and with the bonus of a full track session as well.
Just a thought
CT
Doing it that way is cheaper, though not as much one to one obviously, and with the bonus of a full track session as well.
Just a thought
CT
Most track days will have instructors about that you can collar. But, you'll also find other folks around who will passenger and 'show you the ropes' (hey, even I'll do it as I'm still carless). You'll also find lots of folks who will be willing to give you a passenger ride round, and that will help too with lines, braking points etc.
So, here's what to do. Thing to do is first.....do it! Book up on a track day...but NOT the Hot Hatch sessions. The SIDC sessions are great and well organised with good discipline on track. Some others less so. It may have changed, but my first track days many years ago were with the Porsche club, and the on-track behaviour was appauling. So choose your day carefully. Like I say, SIDC days are great, hot marques can be so-so, Dreadnought sessions OK...if you're in doubt about the 'standards' of a session, ask around.
OK, so you're at the first track dat. Remember everyone doing track days had been through the experience of a first track day, so you will be in goog company. Go to the briefing and REALLY understand the overtaking rules - they will vary from organiser to organiser so make sure if you know if it's left only, either side 'with acknowldegement' etc.
You will get out for a few warm up laps. Take it easy. Typically there will be cones out at the turn-in point for the corners. Note where they are (they make get knocked about in the session). Your aim is to drive a line cone-to-cone. Yes, they really are in the correct places even though some might seem impossibly late for some corners.
Now park up your car for a while and ask to go out as a passenger with some folks. Chose folks with cars similar to your own....you're unlikely to learn much from a Scooby doing 4wheel powerdrifts through the bends, or a Radical with more grip than you can shake a stick at! Find another Porsche, or a TVR, or something else RWD. At this point the track will still be quite busy with everyone out at first, so just watch the lines and the track ettiquate. You might want to do this for the first hour!
Now get someone to passenger in your car - instructor idally, but anyone who knows the track. After an hour the track will probably be getting quite quiet, so pick your slot when it looks quietest then go for it. As long as you keep an eye on the mirrors and let faster folks by on the straights, it'll only take a few laps to build up enough confidence to ditch the passenger! Just take it easy and don't play racers.
Finally, pack up and drive home....and on the way home start plotting on you you're going to afford/justify the uprated suspension, beefed up brakes and all the other goodies you've just found you 'need'. Thereafter the slippery slope of the car as a money-pit....
So, here's what to do. Thing to do is first.....do it! Book up on a track day...but NOT the Hot Hatch sessions. The SIDC sessions are great and well organised with good discipline on track. Some others less so. It may have changed, but my first track days many years ago were with the Porsche club, and the on-track behaviour was appauling. So choose your day carefully. Like I say, SIDC days are great, hot marques can be so-so, Dreadnought sessions OK...if you're in doubt about the 'standards' of a session, ask around.
OK, so you're at the first track dat. Remember everyone doing track days had been through the experience of a first track day, so you will be in goog company. Go to the briefing and REALLY understand the overtaking rules - they will vary from organiser to organiser so make sure if you know if it's left only, either side 'with acknowldegement' etc.
You will get out for a few warm up laps. Take it easy. Typically there will be cones out at the turn-in point for the corners. Note where they are (they make get knocked about in the session). Your aim is to drive a line cone-to-cone. Yes, they really are in the correct places even though some might seem impossibly late for some corners.
Now park up your car for a while and ask to go out as a passenger with some folks. Chose folks with cars similar to your own....you're unlikely to learn much from a Scooby doing 4wheel powerdrifts through the bends, or a Radical with more grip than you can shake a stick at! Find another Porsche, or a TVR, or something else RWD. At this point the track will still be quite busy with everyone out at first, so just watch the lines and the track ettiquate. You might want to do this for the first hour!
Now get someone to passenger in your car - instructor idally, but anyone who knows the track. After an hour the track will probably be getting quite quiet, so pick your slot when it looks quietest then go for it. As long as you keep an eye on the mirrors and let faster folks by on the straights, it'll only take a few laps to build up enough confidence to ditch the passenger! Just take it easy and don't play racers.
Finally, pack up and drive home....and on the way home start plotting on you you're going to afford/justify the uprated suspension, beefed up brakes and all the other goodies you've just found you 'need'. Thereafter the slippery slope of the car as a money-pit....
I took plunge on SIDC trackday without any prior training, it was OK. I'm sure tuition would be a good thing, but so long as you take it reasonably easy to start with, keep an eye on mirrors and overtake/allow overtaking as per rules, then fine, no problems. Soon get into the groove and you can gradually build up a bit of speed. SIDC days busy but well organised and very civilised, also been on Dreadnought evening which was not so busy and fine on track.
I went along to one of KH's Trackday Schools which was £55 or so. It was a pretty good introduction to the whole business. The best thing was that everyone there was a newbie and it wasn't very crowded. That all made for a pretty low pressure day. Quite funny when it came to be my turn to be behind the instructors car when we were all learning our lines...he tried to lose me and we had a hyoooge gap to the other folk. He seemed a bit miffed when I said I'd only used 1/3rd throttle or so trying to keep up. 
My first (and sadly only) SIDC was a bit intimidating and I spent a lot of time jumping out of the way of faster cars (and their very confident drivers) to begin with. Once I'd got the swing of it and the track quietened down I was able to stretch my legs a bit more.
I'm glad I didn't jump in at the deep end at an SIDC or Dreadnought day. Either way I'd definitely recommend going along to a trackday/night as a spectator if only to see how it works and meet folk.
My first (and sadly only) SIDC was a bit intimidating and I spent a lot of time jumping out of the way of faster cars (and their very confident drivers) to begin with. Once I'd got the swing of it and the track quietened down I was able to stretch my legs a bit more.
I'm glad I didn't jump in at the deep end at an SIDC or Dreadnought day. Either way I'd definitely recommend going along to a trackday/night as a spectator if only to see how it works and meet folk.
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