So, I’m sure many of you have either seen or heard of an awesome concept known as Open Track Days circulating through Social and other forms of media. Taking place at various race tracks around South Africa, it allows anyone and everyone to come down to the track with their ride and put some laps in.
The BMW M3, with power and handling it’s the ultimate track day machine.
An Open Track day entails that the management and Marshall’s open the race track to the general public, and at a fee and presuming your car passes the scrutineering and safety standards, one can then race your car around the track. The beauty, essentially, of an Open Track Day is that it allows anyone the opportunity or platform to have some fun and get to know their ride a bit better. Whether you drive a 350kw super car or a 100kw family saloon or hatch, or if you’ve got a project car you’re building in your garage at home, or even if you just want to drive what you’ve got fast without worrying about blue lights being up your bumper, all are welcome!
Myself being an up and coming racing driver and a crazy car enthusiast, I know what it’s like to have a fast car and feel the need to either just put my foot down a bit, or just know that have the ability to control the beast under the hood. Track days gives one that platform to push your everyday road car beyond the limit you can achieve on our public roads.
Open Track Days often feature both super cars and family hatches, fun for everyone.
In addition to the loads of fun just waiting to be had, Track days also opens up a forum for people to get to know each other and network. Whether it be sharing car know-how and experiences or secrets or just making new friends, the sense of camaraderie couldn’t be any better. Many family’s often make a day of it, bring along picnic baskets and setting up a little base camp in the pits.
The track day pits, a place where new friends are made and experiences are shared.
The cost implication of all of this you may ask? Well, definitely a whole lot cheaper than golf…I can tell you that much. All one needs is a healthy set of wheels that passes all the safety standards I.e. No oil leaks, working seat belt, no hairline cracks on brake discs and secure battery. Closed shoes, long pants and long sleeve tops are mandatory.
Costs involved are as follows: About R300 entry and registration fee (R200 for club members), R200 for fuel depending on how many laps you do, and if you don’t own a racing helmet, one can be rented at the track for just R80. No MSA racing license is required, you just show up at the track, register yourself and your car and you’re set!
Killarney Raceway, Cape Town, well known for its monthly open track days.
Killarney Raceway in Cape Town as well as Zwartjops in Pretoria and Aldo Scribante in Port Elizabeth among other tracks in SA all have monthly open track days that people can enjoy. As i mentioned before, no MSA license is needed and anyone can participate regardless of your experience level and power of your car. Check out the links below for more info…
Killarney, Cape Town: http://www.wpmc.co.za/
Zwartkops, Pretoria: http://www.zwartkops.co.za/
Aldo Scribante, Port Elizabeth: http://www.amsc.co.za/
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