Trackday costs - Another good reason for living in France
Discussion
So, I just came back from a Porsche day at Goodwood which was not cheap, but it was a charity day, so I bank some brownie points to play with, next time some leftie or greenie starts having a go about having fun with my own hard earned money, in a capitalist pig decadent sort of way.
Anyway less of the political rant.
Porsche day at Goodwood. £175 for a half day. or £350 for the whole day (as it cost a tad more to drive up from 81170 in France) and the ferry to Portsmouth, a full day was the only option really. So £350 for the basic track day. No tea or coffee, no breakfast, no water coolers, no lunch, no petrol station on site. Nada. On sale were overpriced, tea and coffees and I must admit, very tasty, bacon butties (a welcome change from pain au choc or croissants).
Parr Motorsport sent a transporter with a shiny cup car and a few other p-cars to try and flog, along with possibly half of their employees, to stand around all day, doing very little that I witnessed. What they didn't think to bring along was anything useful, like a nice shiny snap-on tool chest, a couple of low entry jacks, a windy gun, a compressor, just in case one of the track day warriors needed a bit of assistance.
Contrast this. On November 6th, I am booked on a Porsche track day at Nogaro, which is a better circuit by most measures than Goodwood. Track day organised by Signatures, the main dealer in Toulouse. The track day (3hours in the morning and three in the afternoon), split 50/50 with novice and warrior sessions, means 90 minutes track time in te morning and possibly more in the afternoon, as many choose to leave early, and it usually becomes "open pit lane" by 3.30pm.
Sinatures bring along two fully equipped LWB vans. If you want your wheels changing your tyre pressures set correctly, your brake pads or fluid changing, they provide the labour for free. You just pay for parts and consumables. You can even get an oil service by the techs at lunch-time for parts + oil + 70-80 euros cash (approved by the dealership principal).
Lunch at a nearby restaueant starts with a 30 minute fois gras and wine tasting, followed by a three course lunch prepared by young chef, with Michelin star sous chef experience, but not his own star as such. Cost of this. 75 euros for the track day with all itr includes, and 33 euros per person for lunch. So even with sterling down the s
tter, that's still less thean £100 for a service, that if they could offer, would be over £500 in the UK. (Add the tech support, and the lunch to the £350).
Oh, and the drive to Nogaro on empty country roads beats any UK road driving too.
Kinda makes up for some of the st you get from the functionnaires.
Anyway less of the political rant.
Porsche day at Goodwood. £175 for a half day. or £350 for the whole day (as it cost a tad more to drive up from 81170 in France) and the ferry to Portsmouth, a full day was the only option really. So £350 for the basic track day. No tea or coffee, no breakfast, no water coolers, no lunch, no petrol station on site. Nada. On sale were overpriced, tea and coffees and I must admit, very tasty, bacon butties (a welcome change from pain au choc or croissants).
Parr Motorsport sent a transporter with a shiny cup car and a few other p-cars to try and flog, along with possibly half of their employees, to stand around all day, doing very little that I witnessed. What they didn't think to bring along was anything useful, like a nice shiny snap-on tool chest, a couple of low entry jacks, a windy gun, a compressor, just in case one of the track day warriors needed a bit of assistance.
Contrast this. On November 6th, I am booked on a Porsche track day at Nogaro, which is a better circuit by most measures than Goodwood. Track day organised by Signatures, the main dealer in Toulouse. The track day (3hours in the morning and three in the afternoon), split 50/50 with novice and warrior sessions, means 90 minutes track time in te morning and possibly more in the afternoon, as many choose to leave early, and it usually becomes "open pit lane" by 3.30pm.
Sinatures bring along two fully equipped LWB vans. If you want your wheels changing your tyre pressures set correctly, your brake pads or fluid changing, they provide the labour for free. You just pay for parts and consumables. You can even get an oil service by the techs at lunch-time for parts + oil + 70-80 euros cash (approved by the dealership principal).
Lunch at a nearby restaueant starts with a 30 minute fois gras and wine tasting, followed by a three course lunch prepared by young chef, with Michelin star sous chef experience, but not his own star as such. Cost of this. 75 euros for the track day with all itr includes, and 33 euros per person for lunch. So even with sterling down the s
tter, that's still less thean £100 for a service, that if they could offer, would be over £500 in the UK. (Add the tech support, and the lunch to the £350). Oh, and the drive to Nogaro on empty country roads beats any UK road driving too.
Kinda makes up for some of the s
t you get from the functionnaires. sessions are dire though, I tend to go out and do 6 laps at a time, it's kind to the car and I can go out when I want all day rather than sit about watching another session !
the track day price is the cheapest part of the day also. the Hotel, Travel petrol and wear on the car is way more, so you tend to not look at the track day entry price, when you work out it's cost you £1.5k anyway for the day in real money.
the track day price is the cheapest part of the day also. the Hotel, Travel petrol and wear on the car is way more, so you tend to not look at the track day entry price, when you work out it's cost you £1.5k anyway for the day in real money.
Porsche911R said:
sessions are dire though, I tend to go out and do 6 laps at a time, it's kind to the car and I can go out when I want all day rather than sit about watching another session !
the track day price is the cheapest part of the day also. the Hotel, Travel petrol and wear on the car is way more, so you tend to not look at the track day entry price, when you work out it's cost you £1.5k anyway for the day in real money.
Where are the sessions dire?the track day price is the cheapest part of the day also. the Hotel, Travel petrol and wear on the car is way more, so you tend to not look at the track day entry price, when you work out it's cost you £1.5k anyway for the day in real money.
We all know that the real cost is a lot more than the entry, but if you live down the road, and pay 100 instead of 400, then you have more for fuel, tyres, brakes and some nice grub.
Orangecurry said:
The worst 'I live in empty France and you live in crowded UK' thread ever 
I don't disagree with anything you said there...
But you don't have any decent pubs in France, therefore it is easily worth the extra 50k per year to live in the UK
You are quite right Jonathon, and I do miss them. However, opening next summer will be the nearest thing to a decent English foodie pub. I hope that I can create something a bit like Gerry Stonhill's Masons Arms in South Leigh used to be............ before the liberals took over. I don't disagree with anything you said there...
But you don't have any decent pubs in France, therefore it is easily worth the extra 50k per year to live in the UK
bobt said:
Where are the sessions dire?
.
because if you get a red flag in your session that's the am session over for your group..
plus people seem to want to get the most out of a session, so stay out longer/harder etc !
sessions suck imo, open pit lane is the only working solution, do a few laps have a tea, chat, do a few laps :-)
Edited by Porsche911R on Friday 28th October 14:00
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I don't doubt that there are lots of track days for less than £175 in the UK. I did a few before I jumped ship in 2003. Mainly in the South, so Silverstone, Brands, Castle Combe, Goodwood, Snetterton. Nogaro is certinly up with the better UK tracks. However, there were never mechanics on hand for free, there was never coffee, croissants, and a good lunch all in the deal. The Soutf West France P club also do the Barcelona GP circuit, Paul Ricard, Magny Cours,the new Pamplona circuit in Spain. All of these are just 125 euros. So either the track owners or the trackday organisers must be makign some money in the UK. I agree that the important thing is track time and not the rest of the stuff, but the rest does add up to make the day much more enjoyable. c'est tous.
A couple of years ago on PH a group of Aston owners arranged a private track day at Snetterton on the "300" track.
They needed 35 drivers at £350 each to cover the circuit hire, marshals, insurance etc totalling circa £12k.
Porsche Club ran a Silverstone day about 5 years ago, I understand circuit hire cost was around £35k.
I guess land and wage costs in the UK are a tad more than France. Days run by RSR, Trackdays.de etc on mainland Europe are generally more expensive than UK track days and Spa days run by UK organisers tend to be cheaper than European organisers.
They needed 35 drivers at £350 each to cover the circuit hire, marshals, insurance etc totalling circa £12k.
Porsche Club ran a Silverstone day about 5 years ago, I understand circuit hire cost was around £35k.
I guess land and wage costs in the UK are a tad more than France. Days run by RSR, Trackdays.de etc on mainland Europe are generally more expensive than UK track days and Spa days run by UK organisers tend to be cheaper than European organisers.
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