If you’re a bit of a thrill seeker and love cars and driving, then a track day will be right up your street. It’s a chance to push yourself and your car in safe environment and get a white knuckle experience that you’re in control of. However, there are a few extra considerations that you need to think about which are a little different to your average hobby. Here’s what you need to know.

Find the right car

Chances are, you won’t want to run your regular car ragged by thrashing it at the track, the kind of driving you’ll be doing is extremely hard on the parts and isn’t ideal if you need your vehicle to get around. If you’re planning on doing regular track days it’s worth taking on a project car, something that’s easy and not too expensive to fix when parts break down and something quick which you enjoy driving. You can take just about any car to the track, it doesn’t even have to be road legal. However, it’s worth choosing well if you want to have the very best experience. Mazda MX-5’s, Toyota MK 2’s and Honda Civic Type R’s are great budget choices and are often found frequenting the tracks up and down the country. Check cheap used car showrooms like Mountbatten and see if there’s something there which fits the bill.

Consider transport

The car you take to the track doesn’t need to be taxed or insured so there’s no worry about having to spend hundreds every year just so it can legally sit on your drive most of the time. However, if it’s not road legal then you’ll need to consider how to get it to the track since you won’t be able to drive it there. Using a trailer is a good choice, plus if it breaks down you have transport to be able to get it home again.

Think about the costs

Track driving isn’t a cheap hobby. Track days can cost in excess of £200 a day, plus you have fuel, tyres, transport costs and repairs to your car. Make sure you’re able to afford it before investing in the car and everything you need, fixing your car after each event will definitely be a labour of love and something of a money pit. However, many hobbies aren’t cheap and if you get genuine enjoyment out of it, it’s a fun way to spend the day. You could always cut costs by going 50/50 on a car and even on the day itself with a friend. You’re able to take it in turns every few laps, or one of you could take the morning and the other the afternoon.

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