Track etiquette - letting the slow guys back in

[mac]

It's something I do quite often in the 7 - but I'm not sure if folk actually see me as I don't really want to take my hand of the wheel for two long.

Use of the lights or a wave to let folk back on track is a great idea - just because your on track doesn't mean you can't be courtious.


Mac

[Andy G]

When it's me doing the overtaking, I do like to make a point of a wave to the other driver to thank them for letting me past, similarly I'll use a flash of the lights to let people back on line, which I've very rarely seen anyone else do unfortunately.

Jamie

Yup - good manners cost nothing

I always try and give a thumbs up while passing, although not sure how easy it is to see that as the Atom passes

Wait to you encounter the ironically titled Rage buggies

[GregR]

I'm not at all agianst the L plate, or black cross on yellow background sticker idea - but what do we thing it will acheive? As I read matters (on the forum and on track) people are given a wide berth unless the driver behind knows the driver in front - e.g. tut & scotty (anyone remember Teeside?) or Phil & JJ as I saw on Friday. Is it so we'll give them an extra wide berth?

If I'm honest, I'd prefer a sticker on the front of the cars of the non-novices so that those we're trying to pass know that although we're (stop laughing at the back..) driving crappy S1s, we are faster than their 111R etc. People do have a habit of judging their ability by the power on the spec sheet sometimes (scoobie drivers too!)

Just a view from a different perspective - not just from me driving, but from paxing in other people's cars too

[meatball]

Dunno how visible it'd be Greg......can't really see much out the back of an exige.
I agree with what you are say about sheds though....Ali Crozier taught me that on fri!!!!!

[kenny]

If I'm honest, I'd prefer a sticker on the front of the cars of the non-novices so that those we're trying to pass know that although we're (stop laughing at the back..) driving crappy S1s, we are faster than their 111R etc. People do have a habit of judging their ability by the power on the spec sheet sometimes (scoobie drivers too!)

The sticker on the back of novices cars is a voluntary thing for those that want it. Who would decide which drivers get an 'I'm dead quick by the way so watch out' sticker on the front? If you leave it up the descretion of the individual there will be a lot of trackday heroes sporting stickers who don't neccessarily merit them.

[meatball]

If you are fast.....get a yellow car.
If you are slow.....get a white car???
If you like to brag a lot.......get a silver exige!

[ExigeKen]

If you are fast.....get a yellow car.
If you are slow.....get a white car???
If you like to brag a lot.......get a silver exige!

How to make friends and influence people

[jj]

If you leave it up the descretion of the individual there will be a lot of trackday heroes sporting stickers who don't neccessarily merit them.

Does that mean you`d slap a couple on the front of your car for good measure?

[Victor Meldrew]

If you leave it up the descretion of the individual there will be a lot of trackday heroes sporting stickers who don't neccessarily merit them.

Does that mean you`d slap a couple on the front of your car for good measure?

Move along now.. nothing to see here....

[GregR]

If I'm honest, I'd prefer a sticker on the front of the cars of the non-novices so that those we're trying to pass know that although we're (stop laughing at the back..) driving crappy S1s, we are faster than their 111R etc. People do have a habit of judging their ability by the power on the spec sheet sometimes (scoobie drivers too!)

The sticker on the back of novices cars is a voluntary thing for those that want it. Who would decide which drivers get an 'I'm dead quick by the way so watch out' sticker on the front? If you leave it up the descretion of the individual there will be a lot of trackday heroes sporting stickers who don't neccessarily merit them.

Kenny, if you re-read it, I said non-novices, not people that think they are (or actually are) fast. Arbitrary cut off of 10 trackdays for example? It may well just come down to people happy to slap their cars with stickers It will help the novices out just as much you know, as they'll not have a car right up their chuff for the all of the corners - its easy to forget that speed on the straight bits doesn't equate to faster, especially if you're on your first/2nd outing Happened to me on my first trackday at East Fortune and I ended up getting flashed

[Victor Meldrew]

I've been on track with a good few of the drivers who have been on more than ten track days, driving cars that on paper should be much quicker than me.... I havnt done ten yet.... more like six I think but I was still held up a few times.. no big deal. I like to think that I am pretty good at getting out of the way when the real speed demons appear out of nowhere.

There is no method of judging ability or speed on the number of days youve done or how powerful your car is.

I think I am maybe just that little bit less concerned about riding the kerbs, clouting the odd cone and worrying about tires/gearboxes/clutches than I would be if I was in a £40k mint S2 Exige...

[kenny]

You're all entirely predictable

Greg, I see what you mean, not sure it would achieve quite what you hope for but maybe it would help.

[robin]

Im thinking I may have to install my 'L' plates to the elise for my first track day so everyone knows Im new to it

Morven, let me know when you're doing your first track day and I'll join you with the L Plates! I was talking to Campbell about this on Sunday as I too am terrified of the faster guys on track, hence the reason I haven't been on track in the Lotus. Perhaps the learners could get 10 minutes on the track on their own

Get someone sensible and confident in the passenger seat and you'll be fine. With some work anyone can drive quickly enough around KH not to have to let car after car pass - I reckon within 20 laps most people can get close enough to start having fun.

Back to the original problem ... various posters have suggested holding the inside line at reduced pace rather than getting back on line before the corner .. this would only make sense if there was a car still parallel with you at the entrance to the corner (otherwise you would be heading back out to the correct line). The problem with taking the inside line at corners when you've been hung out to dry like that is that at that very moment you are absolutely relying on the guy on the outside realising that he's going to have to take the long way around because you're going to be parked on the apex - I'm thinking there are about 10 people on this list I would trust to do that; of the rest I just wouldn't be confident that they would be expecting me to continue on into the corner from that position - rather they might be expecting me to come to a stop for them.

Frankly, the problem is the people who are prepared to force this to be an issue. It's a track day; if you want to mix it in the corners, take up racing. If you want to keep doing track days, make sure the person on the inside can rejoin the line before the corner, even if it does mean you need to slow down a fair bit. People driving bumper to bumper up the main straight will obviously need to be thinking that they guy in front might slow unusually early for a corner to allow a slower car back onto line; if you drive up someone's chuff in this situation, I have no sympathy with you.

Cheers,
Robin

[Lazydonkey]

Bloody hell i don't read the forum for one day and this happens !

From my track noob point of view (with maybe 5 trackdays over 3 years) i tend to concur with many of the posts here - but i think it's more to do with how well we know each other and how we desparately don't want to get in the way and spoil things for the faster girls and boys. I vividly remember my first trackday when i was scouring the forum for days afterwards hoping there wasn't a post that said "and who was the dick in the blue VX who held me up"

From my point of view the best thing that could happen is that it is reinforced to all newbies / inexperienced ones that they have paid their money the same as the fasdter boys and you are entited to take the correct line if you want to. Likewise if you want to let someone by, ease off at the start of the straight and then move back in. It's probably quite telling that ive enjoyed my 2 kames sessions more than i have most of my KH sessions?? For many newbies maybe kames or another sprint track would be a great place to start before you go at knockhill for the first time.

Good debate though - and I reallhy think it's more to do with our desire to get on with everyone and not because people are worried about driving standards.

[jj]

You're all entirely predictable

Alright Derren Brown it was a wee bit of the banter

I thought that Friday night was spot on and I got out of peoples way as quickly as others got out of the way for me; if everyone does that then surely things should be just tickety-boo.