Track day , where ?

Hi guys,

How do you get to the track in MA? Which organization you go with ?

I only joined BMW CCA but they don't have many trackdays... Cheaper would be better

Thanks

torque124 said:

Hi guys,

How do you get to the track in MA? Which organization you go with ?

I only joined BMW CCA but they don't have many trackdays... Cheaper would be better

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hi I instructed for the BMW CCA, Ferrari and other clubs around here for many years. If you want to have a bunch of track days the NJ Chapter used to have a lot of days at Lime Rock in CT. which is a small but fun track. The Genesee Chapter of the BMW CCA used to run lots of weekend track days at Watkins Glenn which is a great track. Another place you can have a lot of fun, but a bit further drive is Mt. Tremblant north of Montreal. I may even like that course more than Watkins Glenn. If my memory is correct, the Boston Chapter of the BMW CCA used to do a few days up there as well from time to time.

Of course you know about NHIS in NH which is where the Boston Chapter used to do the majority of their events. Those are the 'local' tracks that I know about.

One other suggestion, if you get bit by the track bug, as I did, you will definitly want to get a dedicated set of tires and wheels. As i said in another post, a day or two on a track will ruin any set of tires for the road. Besides, you will do so much better on a dedicated track tire.

For local tracks there is also Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson CT (in the North East corner). I'm not sure who you would need to hook up with to run there though. It used to just be a circle track but recently they refurbished the old road course there. I have been there for a few autocross events and the place looked pretty nice.

torque124 said:

Hi guys,

How do you get to the track in MA? Which organization you go with ?

I only joined BMW CCA but they don't have many trackdays... Cheaper would be better

Thanks

Click to expand...

I forgot to add one more to my list of local clubs. If my memory is correct, COM, corvettes of Massachusetts also used to do a number of days at NHIS. I just went to their home page and it looks like they now have an event at Watkins Glen as well.

How do these track days usually work? Do you have to run laps with others or can you do it by yourself? How much does it cost? I'd love to find a place where I could do a few laps by myself, so I could safely test out my car's performance/handling.

BosMus said:

How do these track days usually work? Do you have to run laps with others or can you do it by yourself? How much does it cost? I'd love to find a place where I could do a few laps by myself, so I could safely test out my car's performance/handling.

Click to expand...

The clubs that I mentioned all work pretty much the same way. The exception might be COM. Attendees are assigned to run groups based on their experience, such as novice 0 - a small number of HPDEs), intermediate and advanced. Usually there is a run group for the instructors to give them some time on the track, though they often take students for rides to demonstrate certain skills.

You would have to check with each of the sites for the cost but I guarantee you the greatest cost for the day is not the admission fee, it is the rubber you leave on the track and the brake pads and rotor wear. If you intended to do this only once, this may not matter.

I am not aware of a place where you can just rent the track and run by yourself, of course except if you rent the track directly which would be pretty expensive and most are booked.

The other suggestion I make is that if you go by yourself you won't learn anything. If you go to one of the schools like I suggest above, you will learn more than you think in just one day. You will be a much safer driver, and I don't just mean when driving at the limits. You will be better in day to day driving in any car.

Just my 2cents.

That helps a lot. I didn't mean the whole track to myself, I meant running laps surrounded by 10 other cars would make me overly cautious. I see an autocross school event for novices on sept. 25 on the BMW CCA website which sounds about right, I'll have to sign up for that.

BosMus said:

That helps a lot. I didn't mean the whole track to myself, I meant running laps surrounded by 10 other cars would make me overly cautious. I see an autocross school event for novices on sept. 25 on the BMW CCA website which sounds about right, I'll have to sign up for that.

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An autocross event sounds great and I would encourage that. I would also suggest that it is a different exercise running on a road course track. You will not be pressured, in fact, you will be shown how to safely point faster drivers around you. Remember that since people are grouped with the novices together, you wont be running with experienced people and there will always be an instructor sitting in the passenger seat. As I said, it has been a while since I instructed, but I bet there will be people at the autocross event that can give you good information about track events. An autocross event though is a good place to start. Enjoy.

Don't forget about Palmer Motorsports track in MA, they have been having events all year.

I did 2 autocross events in my previous gt500, but I did not enjoy it that much.... It's like a sea of cones when you get out, and I needed 3 runs only to get hold of the track, and not miss any cones.
I am done with autocrossing, I will try to get to track days mostly... Plus, in autocross, you barely get 10 runs a day if that, and a run is like 2 min.

Thanks for all suggestions guys...

I do trackdays with COMSCC, great club and they have quite a few different options for events (even as far as Canada and upstate NY). I like them because they are a dedicated group of guys with lots of repeat drivers everytime so you get to know almost everyone. First day they usually run 4 separate groups (2 solo, 2 with instructor) and then the second day they do time trials for those that have "graduated" to either solo or licensed.

I probably won't be able to get to the last few events this year, but plan on bringing the 'stang to the track next summer with them.

What about car insurance? Technically it's a school and not professional racing, what are the chances of there being an issue? I have safety insurance but I'm hesitant to mention it to my agent since this is a one time thing.

BosMus said:

What about car insurance? Technically it's a school and not professional racing, what are the chances of there being an issue? I have safety insurance but I'm hesitant to mention it to my agent since this is a one time thing.

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If you mention it to your agent, you'll get most likely dropped immediately. Also, if anything happens, most likely insurance will not pay a dime. Having said, accidents in autocross are extremely rare. Speeds are relatively low and it is one car running at the time. Track is a whole different story.

https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/ is inexpensive and goes to Palmer.