GR Yaris Was anybody from here at Bedford track day today?

[Dav1d]

I was nearby and thought I’d go along to spectate, think I counted 5? 2x red, 2x black and a pure white. If you were in a red car with mudflaps then you had a great line through the hairpin after the banking before the 90 degree right hander. One of the black cars also sounded brill (modified intake maybe?).

I’d really like to do a track day sometime having not done one before but feels like a steep learning curve even with an instructor! Some commitment required into that first hairpin, was great to watch. Sorry for the picture quality, is a still from a video I took.

 

[coded2112]

Dive in! You will never know till you try, you might be a natural...

I started racing last year at the age of 57! Never raced in my life but great fun!!

 

[Dav1d]

Dive in! You will never know till you try, you might be a natural...

I started racing last year at the age of 57! Never raced in my life but great fun!!

Haha - my worry is more the pressure of checking mirrors too much and making a mistake because of it, not committing enough into a corner and then having adverse effects due to weight transfer etc…basically all the usual things which will probably fade quickly once I do it, but plus some social anxiety on top! It really does look brilliant though once you get though that and hopefully will be something good to focus on.

Will definitely look into some instruction though or look for a quieter track. Browsing the threads about it on Pistonheads about track days can be interesting….

Do you race in the Yaris or a different car? Sounds awesome! There was a brill little Clio going round that day and it looked quite fun.

 

[Bat out of Hell]

Bloody hell, I was in Bedford on Saturday playing golf . I would have much preferred a spin on track rather than freezing my nuts off swinging my clubs

 

[Yaris San]

Bedford's the place to learn lots of run-off
From your concerns you might be overthinking it a bit
Take instruction for first few laps

 

[Steve]

Do it David, Bedford is the perfect track to start too, no barriers to crash into and run off everywhere. Start with a novice trackday, they limit the numbers and you don’t get race teams testing at the same time, which can give you a lot to think about when they come around the outside mid corner.

I’m yet to do a proper trackday in the GR, hoping to go to my local track (Pembrey MC) in the spring.

Don’t worry about the social anxiety, everyone just talks cars! We should organise a GR-Zoo trackday at Bedford, it’s nice and central for everyone.

 

[Dav1d]

Thanks both - yeah I have heard it’s a good place to not have to worry about going off track too much. I think I will look into booking something as sure once I’m there and have got going, I will realsie what I’ve been missing. And yes, guess there is an easy conversation starter if stuck at all!

 

[Dav1d]

Long post, but maybe helpful if anybody is thinking similar/if this appears in anybody's feed:

I remembered this thread from ages ago and yesterday, 15 months later, I finally did it and attended a proper track day at Bedford (I did go to Blyton Park last summer but it was a private day and only 2 cars on track at a time). I managed to find a novices day so a good place to learn with less pressure, though there were still some quick cars around who were probably not the same definition of novice as me.

Unfortunately there were no instructor slots left even when I booked it months ago but I saw it as a chance to learn how everything works on a track day and try to at least keep to good lines through the corners. The day was run by MSV and was super smooth, everything was on time and well organised. The entire first session was following laps, but the pace was pretty good and I really appreciated 4 laps in a row with no worries about overtaking.

Reading back through my posts above, one of the worries I had was traffic. During the second session (i.e. first where you could overtake/drive for yourself) I had to overtake a couple of cars myself and also let faster cars through which was good to tick off early on and wasn't really an issue. This could've been because everybody there was pretty decent and respectful too. One thing I did find tricky was when you got caught in a chain of cars. I only really overtook on the main straight and the one parallel to the the start/finish (towards the end of the lap) as I didn't like risking anything too close to a corner on the shorter straights such as the pit straight. However, if there were 3 or 4 cars in front, it was tricky to leapfrog them so I did have the odd lap in a big queue and then waited to pass as things opened up / those in front overtook one by one (screenshot below from random YouTube video I found, it took me another lap to get through). If a faster car appeared though then this got difficult as I tended to pull over pretty early on just to get them out of the way. This meant that I sometimes missed the chance to overtake myself, but I suppose it is better safe than sorry.

Again as per the above, the first hairpin wasn't too bad at all and the corner into the pit straight was one of my favourites when you got it right. The car was also great in the S bends after the hairpin. It held its line really well on the sweeping bends too and it was fun to be able to push it, which I suppose you only get to ever really do on a track. I did notice the body roll a fair bit, but it never felt out of control and I guess that is the style of the car.

While it was a superb day out, at the moment I am a little in awe of how much there is to take in and build on when driving quickly on a track. Part of me wonders if it would be good to have a slower car too so that you don't get away with mistakes (with the Yaris you can still get out of trouble if you are slightly on the wrong line), but then again that's the fun of owning the car and may as well make the most of it.

Technique wise I noticed that I tend to brake quite hard when coming right off the power into corners (i.e. so that the hazards trigger). I'm not quite sure how good this approach is vs coasting a little yet less braking and carrying more speed. Sometimes I'd also start turning too early and not doing one thing at a time. I found that I preferred the slower more complex corners, but the scary bit was the chicanes or hairpins after the long straights where you were flat out (i.e. where to pick the braking point, how much speed you could carry, and when to trust that you would make it through). I like to think my lines were ok-ish (and had watched various onboard videos for tips beforehand) but without an instructor, its hard to tell. I was far from the fastest but the car did let me keep up with others in the twister sections. Still, plenty time to learn and there is zero need for me to invest in any performance upgrades that's for sure, as I am by far the limiting factor though I may get some braided brake lines. I'd love to see what a lap is like when the car is in the right hands.

In a way I was glad when the final session was done and there'd been no issues at all during the day, but equally sad as it was a brilliant experience. I was amazed at how knackered I was (albeit there was also a 2.5 h drive back home); think I'd driven >100 miles on the track over the day (helped by it being a long track at 4 odd miles). The day was in sessions and the concentration required made me grateful that each was only 20 minutes, if it had been open pit lane then I might've over done it.

Over the day I also managed to use most of a tank of fuel so was glad I filled up the night before. There were zero mechanical issues as you'd expect, I even managed to take the tow hook cover off no problem (definitely use trim tools as others previously posted), may need new brake pads soon though and the tyre wear was noticeable by the end of the day. I took some air out in the morning and during the laps, the pressures had risen to bang on what they should be at normal temperatures, so that was a lucky guesstimate.

The obvious next step is to do another couple of track days and try to get an instructor (as per the above, this might be another stressor but worth it in the long run). I'm thinking I might stick with Bedford or try to find a day at Anglesey for a bit of variation and a shorter track (on the straights I did sometimes struggle to overtake cars I'd caught in the corners). The reason being that both have plenty run off areas and are nice tracks for learning on. My local track is Castle Coombe but I noticed that some track insurance quotes ask it's one of the tracks you will be planning to visit (grouped with the Nurburgring), so I guess its reputation isn't unfounded. I'd love to do some of the classic 'proper' circuits e.g. Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Cadwell Park but I think sorting out the overtaking and being generally more confident especially around traffic needs to come first so I might do a couple more of the wider tracks. At the rate I am going though, it might be several years though as when you added in fuel and hotels it was a fairly expensive day. I suppose doing more and more lets you build on things before the skills fade.

In summary, it was well worth it and the car is great - so glad I finally booked it and gave it a try. Probably one of the best experiences I've had in my car, and more generally in life (honest). If you are considering too then it's well worth it. I love driving on twisty roads but what could be around the next corner is always at the back of my mind. As such I drive quite conservatively. Going onto the track opened up a whole new aspect that you just can't get on the roads and a whole new puzzle to learn. It was fun to push the car a little more towards what it is meant to be doing. Bonus pic of an amazing looking NSX:

 

[Michael Knight]

Thanks for the writeup and glad you enjoyed - spending time on track is surely worth, to learn better how car behaves in safe environment, and also to hone your driving skills being closer to the actual limit. Hope you will find a good instructor to give you right steps to move forward.

Braking into corner is a lesson of its own, and it has many approaches. Typically hard is good as it is better to decelerate with full power than standing long on the brakes (short braking is better for pads), but it can slso make driving rather unbalanced and jerky. One way to access right corner speeds is to take first 3-5laps VERY easy, meaning drive straights easy and gradually start doing corners in lets say 80- 90% speed, by avoiding braking into corner almost entirely. I Use this technique for warming up the car, or learning the driving line and also during cool off laps as not using brakes at all. Once you have found out the good driving line and you're comfortable with speed in corners its safe to increase the speeds on straights, and then just drop the speeds into that zone where you were. And then vary the speeds little into entry and feel how the car goes. Having the driving line well settled is key here as othervise you will get into troubles if you access corner too fast with wrong lane. so first the correct driving line, then add more speed and adjust..

At least on higher speeds corners I've noted that GR likes to go them through preferably quite early on than off throttle, so it's worth maybe keeping the entry modest and tap up once you've sure you can nail the apex.

Once you have gotten the feel of right entry speed you can start timing your braking with marking the zones with land marks etc. Often car requires quite little braking if you have a right driving line, but this is of course dependant on car, track and corner characteristics. First its better to slow down car when steering is straight. Trail braking is good technique but maybe best to be used once everything is more or less sorted.

Overall adjusting entry speeds moderately with softer inputs is a better way to approach limits vs. aggressive, where you loose your driving line and entry speed when making too many mistakes at the same time. Driving "easy" at 95% often provides better lap times than trying to do harder 95-100% run.

Sitting next to more experienced drivers gives also a good generic input how corners can be mastered, though there can be many styles so its better if you can sit next to more drivers. One of my most memorable memories at track was with our lead instructor having maybe too hot entry in his GT3 Mk1 after 200km/h straight. After turn in, Instead of panicing he just stayed on power, had one click wider line into corner and drifted back on the correct line. That knowledge and car control of getting out from a trouble in a controlled manner is some mastery to aim for.

 

[Dav1d]

Thanks for the writeup and glad you enjoyed - spending time on track is surely worth, to learn better how car behaves in safe environment, and also to hone your driving skills being closer to the actual limit. Hope you will find a good instructor to give you right steps to move forward.

Braking into corner is a lesson of its own, and it has many approaches. Typically hard is good as it is better to decelerate with full power than standing long on the brakes (short braking is better for pads), but it can slso make driving rather unbalanced and jerky. One way to access right corner speeds is to take first 3-5laps VERY easy, meaning drive straights easy and gradually start doing corners in lets say 80- 90% speed, by avoiding braking into corner almost entirely. I Use this technique for warming up the car, or learning the driving line and also during cool off laps as not using brakes at all. Once you have found out the good driving line and you're comfortable with speed in corners its safe to increase the speeds on straights, and then just drop the speeds into that zone where you were. And then vary the speeds little into entry and feel how the car goes. Having the driving line well settled is key here as othervise you will get into troubles if you access corner too fast with wrong lane. so first the correct driving line, then add more speed and adjust..

At least on higher speeds corners I've noted that GR likes to go them through preferably quite early on than off throttle, so it's worth maybe keeping the entry modest and tap up once you've sure you can nail the apex.

Once you have gotten the feel of right entry speed you can start timing your braking with marking the zones with land marks etc. Often car requires quite little braking if you have a right driving line, but this is of course dependant on car, track and corner characteristics. First its better to slow down car when steering is straight. Trail braking is good technique but maybe best to be used once everything is more or less sorted.

Overall adjusting entry speeds moderately with softer inputs is a better way to approach limits vs. aggressive, where you loose your driving line and entry speed when making too many mistakes at the same time. Driving "easy" at 95% often provides better lap times than trying to do harder 95-100% run.

Sitting next to more experienced drivers gives also a good generic input how corners can be mastered, though there can be many styles so its better if you can sit next to more drivers. One of my most memorable memories at track was with our lead instructor having maybe too hot entry in his GT3 Mk1 after 200km/h straight. After turn in, Instead of panicing he just stayed on power, had one click wider line into corner and drifted back on the correct line. That knowledge and car control of getting out from a trouble in a controlled manner is some mastery to aim for.

Thanks so much for all the tips, I will try to implement some of these when I next get the chance (and learn from an instructor). The driving line is a great point and I suppose it’s the foundation of everything else.

It’s really interesting to note your point on driving a bit easier and staying off the brakes, it reminds me of my mountainbiking days (downhill, though I wasn’t very good!). One of my smoothest runs at an event was where my chain snapped early on and because I couldn’t pedal out of the corners, I wasn’t constantly accelerating only to lose it all through hard braking - at the back of my mind I knew I couldn’t pedal, so carried more speed, braked a bit less and was overall as fast in some sections based on the splits. It was quite eye opening. I guess the same applies in a car, though obviously you do need to accelerate at times to keep the balance right.

Car control per your last point is another aspect to learn so I’ll look for some ways to learn that too - I think I’d probably benefit from knowing how to get out of trouble too. And I’ll try to see if I can sit as a passenger in somebody else’s car too - bet that is valuable experience!