Good Starter Track Day Car?

[Mark and Shanel]

Hi All,
My daughter and I are looking to buy a car we can start doing track days and other events with, and to jointly learn car mechanics as I have limited knowledge on such things.  (She is saving to do her Young ARDs license so she can get to drive also.)  We are looking for advice:

1 - We have circa £2k budget to start with, and want to buy base car we upgrade and develop as we go.  What is the best to start with?  I will keep it SORN and tow it to the tracks etc. I would like rear wheel drive to match my road car, and have been looking at MX5's, but my daughter has said she prefers something that does not look so 'happy'!  Also looking at mk3 MR2's but seen that RX8's are very reasonable second hand.  I am trying to minimise the risk of rust so keen on age.
2 - Are there events that she could use the car for (aged 14) and been doing Young Driver since she was 11.

Many thanks.

[Moleman]

I have friends that started off with a little Peugeot & one with a Citroen which you can do a lot with for 2K. Start off with the stripping it out, then the brakes then work your way up to doing the engine up. You can have just as much fun it one of those. 

[Iancider]

Yes I would go with that.

Most small cars can be stripped-out to lighten them.  You wan the car to be mechanically sound but appearance does not matter too much and you can do a lot with brushed paint or vinyl wraps or the like.  There are a bunch of hot-hatches out there that would be interesting. Even f they only have 10,000 miles left in them - that is a lot of track time!  Interesting that one of the best track cars is the MX5 with its near perfect handling.  You can make it look more aggressive with many body kits on the market.  Of course don't forget second-hand kit cars - just every now and then a bargain does appear at about £2k which would be a lot of fun on the track.

As for your daughter driving - I know there are possibilities for young drivers but in general trackdays ask you to produce a driving licence.  There are events for younger drivers but you have to work harder to find them.  If you bring her to Combe on June 20th I feel sure somebody would be happy to give her a passenger ride and she would get to see many of our cars.  We like trainee petrolheads!

Regards
Ian

[Mark and Shanel]

Many thanks for the advice.  I think we will try and come to Combe on the 20th and take a look.

[Moleman]

My mates with these little hot hatch track cars will be at Castle Combe on August 17th on our track day. Pop along to that & they would be happy to give you guys a ride to show you what you can do with them. 

[SPAXIMUS]

For my money I would go with an MX5. They are cheap to buy, huge availability of cheap parts both standard and modified and when track prepared go like stink.
There is also a race series for MX5 which IIRC your daughter could race in a soon as she has her ARDS licence. They are actually racing at Castle Combe on bank holiday Monday so it might be worth going along and having a chat with a few drivers.

You can take a lot of weight out of them and being rear wheel drive are a better learning tool than any hot hatch.

Camber Dave (track developments near Combe) can make them handle.

They do rust but not as fast as a French hatchback and there are so many about you can buy solid ones easily.

[Camber Dave]

I held off for a couple of days to see what others thought.

I have an MX 5 which will eventually get to the track (BKCC Aug if all goes to plan!)
As others have pointed out there are plenty of cheap bits available.

I would also opt for rear wheel drive for a better driver experiance. MR 2's and MG F's are an alternative. You will lower/upgrade the suspension eventually so don't be put off with what it comes with.

The Hot hatch is a tempting cheap start but become expensive when upgrade parts are factored in. The main problem is when lightened and lowering. As most of the weight comes off the Rear Axle the weight distribution goes from 60/40 to 70/30 adding too the inherent understeer characteristic.
Obviously a driver will learn to drive accordingly and there is often a different line through corners.
The other problem is when lowered the car. With McPherson struts the the roll centre goes down by about twice as much as the chassis (ie lower it 60mm and the roll centre goes below ground  causing an increased roll moment) 
To Fix it: Add stronger springs and anti roll bar - all increasing the understeer and lack of compliance and feel.
Revised chassis mounts, hubs and lower arms are thousands of pounds.

Most well known kitcars with a V5 seem  fairly expensive, but are good value for money. Take advice as some are better suited for track than others.

If you are prepared to trailer your car there are many kitcars that are unfinished or increasingly, wrongly registered.   
These would be advertised and have the appearance of a Lotus, Westfield or Locost 7 but the log book will have the name of a  Dutton, Ford or Triumph Spitfire as the donor car before its rebuild.
Although possesing an MOT as sold, when re-registered they would need a IVA Test. 
Follow the Locost Builders Forum as Members often flag these up.

I would also urge you to come to the Castle Combe show on June 20th and our track day in Aug.

PM me if you have any specific suspension questions.
Dave

[Mark and Shanel]

Looks like Mx5 then! Seen a few this weekend.  We will come to the Aug track day for a look but the June one might be difficult.

[SPAXIMUS]

I went to Castle Combe today to the race meeting and I have to say the MX5 racing was just fantastic. They have very strict rules to keep costs down, very hard punishments for bad driving, every car is fitted with a camera so there is never no doubt what happened. Today a young girl came in fourth IIRC and at the end there was probably less than 5 seconds between first and fourth.

There are two classes, MK1 and the MK3 which is the super cup. The MK 1 had around 40 cars racing, split into two races depending upon time in qualifying. After the two races the top 5 in the slower class moves up and the slowest 5 move down for the next races again so no one sandbags a win.

They provide very good hospitality, vital if you are looking at sponsorship. Two links below are handy, the second has a for sale section. There are a couple of top spec cars on there ready built, but you could get a standard one, strip bits down and slowly do one your self, but those have top notch prep and parts so are good value.

http://www.brscc.co.uk/Championships/BRSCC-MAZDA-MX-5-CHAMPIONSHIP

http://www.brsccmazda.com/