steve_g

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davyboy

Big boys toys - If you bend it, you mend it!

I had done done a fair few track days without insurance. Now I drive a classic car, track day insurance is free. I would happily drive my GF's Clio Cup on a trackday without insurance (she might not be happy though ).

I think you just have to work out what would happen if you crashed and wrote off the car. Ask yourself the following.....

How much is it worth? Could I cope without a car? If it going to put me in financial ruin?

hugo

I go to the track 3 or 4 times a year and don't bother with track insurance. I go on the more 'gentlemanly' meetings with SIDC mainly, where everybody is like-minded. As you hurtle towards a corner its almost as if people are saying 'no...after you sir'! Wouldn't dream of taking the pride and joy onto a 'hot hatch' meeting. Enquired about insurance once with one of the countrys leading track insurers and it was about £300 for the half day with a couple of grand excess. In the event of a mad complete wipe-out it may be worth it but otherwise you are paying for your dings yourself, whether or not you have insurance <touches wood several times very vigorously!>

steve_g

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Steve vRS

I'm insured with Greenlight who do a days track cover for £80 an event. This is with a double excess and acts as normal comp insurance.

I wouldn't take the car on track without it.

Steve

dave cos4x4

have done a few without insurance.

Everyone takes reasonable care when doing them as most are in the same boat.

As for tyre wear,depends wether it's a proper race track or an airfield.

didn't wear too much on the race track,but on the airfield,they were dead afterwards.

Got one booked in brunters and i'm now taking a cheap set to put on.


Dave.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Most of the time I do - especially if its a proper bo circuit like Donnington or Brands. Bedford Aerodrome no.. I use Egar Lawson/Competion Car Insurance. This only covers for panel damage with a high excess, so max I would get is £5k as that takes care of most dents.

I have been out without, normally those turn up & think why not type events I succumb to but if pre-planned I do.

Max I ever went was £12k cover & it cost £150 but subaru tracking at the time was inexpensive & I think Egar Lawson took a bath over a few crashes (Oulton 2001 anyone?) & the rates rose.

PTMW! is only worth a few grand now but I'd still probably cover the minimum (like £4k) if I went some place like Brands.

The expense really comes when you decide you want a) more track days & b) to fiddle with the bits on your car to make you faster on trackdays

RRH

I would usually take out track cover if running a road car- although the cost can be almost prohibitive, they are far outweighed by the cost of totalling your road car.

I got to the point where trackdays were costing me a fortune- doing two or three a month, sometimes two a week- so it paid to buy a dedicated track car.

The downside is I now have to tow the bloody thing everywhere, but as I tow it with the Impreza, I have a fall back position if it breaks

I really would advocate the use of track cover.

Ohterwise its a bit like shares- only do it if you can afford to lose it.

hope this helps,
simon

Nexuas

I took out cover with Trackdays.co.uk Cover was for £6500 with £550 excess. and it cost me a shade under £70. yes it seams expensive for just one days cover, but if you bend it, then there is a help to mend it...

If it is tyour first ever trackday I would take it really easy and go somehwere which is a low pressure circuit, and a relaxed event.

Get some people together and hire Curbourgh near Litchfield. If you can get 10 of you it works out about £35 per person and you can run as many times as you like during the day. One car on the track at any one time reduces the risk of an off. If is a fairly low speed circuit with tight corners and short straights, but has plenty of run off and is a good place to find your trackday feet.

billythekid

I have been in on the track day scene for about 5 years now. Competion Car Ins are the only people to use IMHO. I have never (touch wood) had to make a claim though.

Dont think you are not going to have a problem becuase the other drivers on track are good, that might be the case but there is still lots of barrier to hit - if you loose tyre pressure its going to be barrier time. Been there and got a T shirt. All the track days I have been on are very safe, overtaking by consent only. You have to indicate or signal for the car behind to pass, and as shuch I have never seen car on car contact in my time.

I always use "track day" cars or race cars, so they are designed to crash really, earlier in the year I had a fairly big crash - full medical team to the car etc - proper job. However the car looked a mess, but I put it back together over a couple of weekends, job done. A road car is a different story, even light contact with the barrier is going to cost you a grand minimum.

I was recently at a track day where an Evo 7 rolled, they walked away but the car did not drive away.

Suppose what I am getting at for the sake of £100 ish just take cover out.

The only place I would say you dont need cover is airfield days, there is nothing to hit! Trust me I have tried.

I like the suggestion of hiring Curbourough - its a great little sprint track. I started my racing doing sprints, they are great as you get to "compete" but safely as there are no other cars on track. The one thing I would say about Curb' is that its not got too much run off, so to start with I would go to a track day at an airfield. If you are in the North, Elvington is great.

I will PM you with some more info.

nellie

i pay just under £700 quid a year with liverpool victoria,fully comp on a FQ330 that covers track days to.........

jcullen

just out of interest, does your insurance say anything specific about track days? just got my renewal through and thay arn't mentioned...

James

RRH

In theory all insurance policies should cover track days unless expressly excluded, as they are not races, rallies, time trials etc and are non-competetive events.

I'm not sure I'd like to try this one in a court of law- or is there already a precedent?

If someone does challenge an Insurance Co in court and is successful they will change policy wording pdq.

I also insure with LV, and have been told on three occassions that they cover me for trackdays with no special requirements other than the car is road legal- in other words if I have an off while running slicks then I wouldn't be covered.

They wouldn't confirm in writing, but the calls are all recorded and logged, so I suggest you write down time / date if you speak to them about it.

They did mention last time I spoke to them that they are currently settling a couple of reasonably large track-day related claims.

Also bear in mind even if you take out specialist cover from the likes of eggar lawson / competition car insurance, the car must be road legal ie no slicks, roll cages etc etc. They will insure with roll cages etc but the premium can be quite a bit higher- but if you're going to take the cover out you may as well do it properly.

RRH

[QUOTE=billythekid]

The only place I would say you dont need cover is airfield days, there is nothing to hit! Trust me I have tried.

[QUOTE]

The only prob with airfield days is stonechips and crazy tyre wear.

I shredded a set of SO2pps to the wires in three hours, of which two hours were wet!

A friend of mine took his 360 and it got so badly stonechipped he's had to have it painted. more money than sense

Agree they're a great place to start though- just stay off the grass as it's usually badly rutted- the kickback through the wheel can break your fingers / hands / wrists quite easily. I've just come out of plaster following a 'moment' at Croft- no damage to the car but I tore the ligaments in my thumb

MadMark

Yup - have always used them!