Circuit Club Trackday Wakefield Park 25.4.2015

[Monyx]

Debut for my car at the track, have booked & paid for the Anzac day weekend and will be driving up from Canberra for the Sat trackday prob 8:30 start at the track. If anyone is thinking of doing a day I've done a couple with Circuit club, they include transponder timing and have experienced/racers avail for private tuitiion as passenger in your car. Very well run, organised etc. Contrast this to one of my first outings at the generic WP 'Speed off the Streets' where it was bit more chaotic - cheaper yes, but no timing, no tuituion and watch out for 'non-performance' models - nearly got taken out by bone-stock Cortina lurching its way around the track years ago!

http://www.circuitclub.com.au/page/upcoming-events

[dis-lex-sic]

Wakefield is a great little track that is tight and challenging with very little to hit if you get it wrong.

Very rewarding when you get it right.

I will be there the day before you on 24.4.15 doing a practice day on my motorbike to get ready for a race meet there in May.

They use Natsoft so you will be able to post up lap times from the Natsoft website.

Have a great day and let us know how you go.

Post up some pics too.

[Monyx]

Good for spectators/photographers too - not too far to walk around and action always in view.

I've driven it a couple times (1:16 in a 350Z on cheapo Chinese rubber - but I didn't stand on the brakes too hard so wasn't going balls out)

Fun in the car, not sure about the bike tho - little tight - although my everyday transport is a Hayabusa so perhaps 600cc class or post-class sort of class be fun.

[ISFBloke]

I might just make my way out there to warm up the tires before Eastern Creek...

[Monyx]

Hopefully I have rubber to drive home on - my oem Bridgestones have done just shy of 17k kms and this will surely finish them off.

Driver's briefing from 8:45 I and track-time from 9am, I'm sticking some gaffer tape in to secure the natsoft timer so it doesn't thump around the glovebox :)

EDIT:just confirmed the arrangement from circuit club FB page:

Circuit Club Sign in at the office at 8:30am, compulsory driver's briefing at 8:45am and track opens at 9am until 4pm.

[ISFBloke]

You will have rubber left plenty that's not the issue, the trouble is you will have no grip left as after a few heat cycles the road tires will lose grip almost completely (I made the same mistake on the same track the first time around it was like driving on slime) you need R compound tires for an enjoyable day. Don't say no one told you so;)

[Monyx]

Track day report: After a week of rain for Goulburn, Sat cleared for a dry track in the morning, but shortly after lunch while parked undercover in pits area hail and rain moved in. Didn't stop me getting some wet driver practice in the afternoon as the a,b,c,d sessions were abandoned for 'open track' as some started to pack up and call it a day.

I managed a not so respectable best time of 1:15.0928 - my excuse is it took me three sessions to learn how to disable TRC - I kept hit the button once, and of course now I realise this was just for snow or bogged situation as kept turning back on as I drove off. On the 3rd sessions I held it down for 4-5s finally realising my mistake, so by wet sessions I could hang the tail out a little.

There's obviously a lot still 'on' as with TRC off if I was late braking into corner in the wet, the car would become very unstable, tending towards oversteer and sending the back end out - definitely didn't feel natural or progressive and was annoying. No problems sliding out of corner, bahaved as a powerful rear wheel drive would, just a little less predictable than a manual that I'm used to.

If you're interested Natsoft results for the day here (click on circuit racing then WP 25.4.14. (btw the old Excels and Pulsars were stripped-out track cars that race in a new MRA series that was scheduled for Sun in case you're wondering) I think most guys 'n gals were running R-spec track tyres, so my 19k kms old OEM Bridgestone RE050 didn't do me any favours at factory 35psi spec. I now know to put them up to 42-45 reduce flex & heat. :P

Crappy angle Gopro from my helmet cam in the dry and some sliding around in the wet with TRC off.

OH, why does the car stall when I spin it at the end of the video coming onto the straight...it's an auto!?