Wakefield Park Track Day

[The_Hawk]

I have been looking at going to Wakefield for one of their track days. I have been along as a spectator before and have been wanting to have a bash myself for a long while and I'm pretty keen to get out there :D

From what I can see Wakefield run lots of "Open Practice/Speed off the Street - Cars Only" events all the time.

I was also thinking that it may be better to go on a weekday rather than a weekend in the hopes that there would be less other people there, meaning that you get more of a bash round the track.

Costs are listed on their site, but here is an extract:



SPEED OFF THE STREET DAYS

* Drive your own street car $100.00 per day or road bike $110 per day (week days)
* Wakefield Park licence $50.00 (annually)
* Helmet hire available for $20 per day with a $50 Deposit




Now I have a couple mates who are interested in going when they get their various cars out of the shop. Both have been before and and very keen to go again with their updated vehicles. Both are also members of other clubs (Commodore club and a Torana Club) so can/will most likely have a few other willing participants for whenever it's organised if we need to make up numbers.

I'm aiming a day in March when it starts to cool down a little so those without air con (or those who want maximum power) don't catch fire while on the track. Also it give people more than enough time to organise time, money and their vehicles for the event.

So we have two options:

Plan A:
Pick a "Open Practice/Speed off the Street - Cars Only" day and head out on a Wendnesday. Usually there isn't a lot of people there and usually those that are there are dedicated racers so are in a different class anyway.

Approximate Cost: $100 + Wakefield licence + helmet for a total of $170 if you need everything.


Plan B:
Organise a sanctioned event booked by VWWA, which of course will take much more effort and planning but means we would get the track to ourselves. Also we would have the choice of what day the event is on so potentially we are on a Saturday or Sunday if that suits people better.

Approximate Cost: $150 + Wakefield licence + helmet for a total of $220 if you need everything.



Now I'm dead keen one way or the other, although if it's just me and a few mates it will have to be a weekday.


I have included a poll to get some feedback from all those interested, it's a little confusing but pick one option from each of the 3 sets of questions.



I asked about the idea of this a few months back and FL00DY had this to add:





Track Bookings

* Weekdays $2,050 per day
* Saturdays $3,600
* Sundays $3,800 (and public holidays)
* Insurance cover is mandatory where the track booking sub-books others onto the circuit. (Please call for more information - speak to Garry Willmington directly)

NOTE : There are mandatory requirements if timing is used (please call for more information)

Options on Standby

* Ambulance $495 per day
* Water Truck $165 per day
* Control Tower $150 per day
* Tower Timing Room $55 per day
* Tower VIP Room $55 per day
* Fire Extinguishers $11 each per day + recharge $99
* Crash Rescue Vehicle $330 per day
* Fire Rescue Vehicle $66 per Day
* Recovery Vehicle $165 per Day
* Or Recovery per Tow $33
* Wood Flour & Brooms $16.50 per set
* Witches Hats $2.20 each per day
* Overnight Security Guard $33 per hour
* Flags (per set) $11 per day
* Tilt Tray Recovery $200 per day


Weekend hire of Wakey is REALLY expensive, and some may find that taking a day off (if you can) is better then paying for a weekend hire.

I have one booked for late August with some MINI mates and we have limited it to 19 people, reason being is because over that and there are mandatory extra's such as Ambo. We always book weekdays and give everyone 2-3 months notice to get the day off. At 19 people it works out to be $150 per car, most of us already have Wakefield licenses and helmets, so it's just the $150 and petrol.

The No speed limit days are great value. However as The_Hawk says, you may turn up and find too many people to get decent track time. I've turned up and had lots of track time and was happy to leave bout 2-3pm.



Wakefield Webpage: http://www.wakefieldpark.com

[Timbo]

I think you'll find it very hard to find a free weekend day anytime next year -- they get booked WELL in advance. :(

With enough advance notice, most people can make a week day, especially if it is a Monday or Friday; that makes it cheaper for an exclusive event. This usually requires someone to take the sting of the deposit on their credit card (which is refundable up to a certain time out) then ensure this is covered by others. As FLOODY points out, certain costs can be avoided if numbers are kept below 20. On the other hand, it's more fun with a few more people but based on experience 40 cars is the maximum that can be safely handled, with people getting enough runs.

The 'Speed off the Streets' days are ok and the cheapest option, but you never know what/who is going to be there and how many. Avoid combined bike/car days.

Based on experience, my advice is to decide which way you want to go (ie, book a private day, or just get people along to an open track day), identify a date and publicise it well in advance to gain commitment.

[The_Hawk]

Thats pretty much the point on this, unless I get enough interest to consider a dedicated event it will be a Wednesday open admission job.

I'm aiming for March to give people a bit of warning and also to keep it before it gets cold and after its stupidly hot ... also without waiting another 10 months.

I'm very keen to take the VR6 for a burn :D

[Marc_86]

Ide come along for sure.......already got the helmet and cams licence to no problems. Also its much better to pay a bit extra and just have the track to yourself....just remember those liability forms.

Anyway let me know if you need some help organising the day if you go with plan B cause ive helped run a few of them.

[FL00DY]

Hi all,


TRACK RE-SURFACING

Wakefield Park will be completely re-surfaced with new bitumen. Work starts on the 10th December.

Don't forget to come back in 2008 to better your times.As you can see on the Wakefield Park (http://www.wakefieldpark.com.au/) website, the track is currently being re-surfaced and that it started Monday this week. Now my mates and I that go down there are really peeved with this as we pencilled in the 10th Dec when we were there back in August and then booked it and had everyone paid up, and couldn't avoid the day being cancelled :(

Unfortunately this does mean that the prices quoted above are going up in the new year :( Here are the new prices:
Track Pricing for 2008
* Saturdays $4,600
* Sundays $4,800 (and public holidays)
* Weekdays $3,500
* Any CAMS events will attract a $500 levy which will be charged in addition to the circuit hire.
* Insurance cover is mandatory AASA Permit $800 (For more information - speak to Garry Willmington directly)
* Ambulance $550 per day
* Track Marshal $300
* Control Tower $250 per day
* There are other options on standby eg water truck, witches hats. Phone for details and costs.

So for a weekday without an Ambo & 19 people, you're looking at $226.35 :o

[The_Hawk]

Looks like speed off the street days have also gone from $100 to $120 (plus helmet and license) for a total of $190 (if you need everything)

I'm still in :D

[FL00DY]

Looks like speed off the street days have also gone from $100 to $120 (plus helmet and license) for a total of $190 (if you need everything)

I'm still in :D

The thing I don't like about the price hike is you could have a day at EC for about the same money and not have to waste petrol getting there.

I also voted want to come, weekdays and Plan B ;)

[The_Hawk]

The thing I don't like about the price hike is you could have a day at EC for about the same money and not have to waste petrol getting there.

I also voted want to come, weekdays and Plan B ;)

Whats EC?

I'm always open to other suggestions... mind you I'm still going to Wakefield... but other things are fun too :D

[FL00DY]

Whats EC?

I'm always open to other suggestions... mind you I'm still going to Wakefield... but other things are fun too :D

Eastern Creek.

[GermanwithaVdub]

whats the cost of hiring out eastern creek? cant find it on their site

[the scotsman]

This may get me shot down, but looking at costs is it worth going in with another forum/club such as the sydney vw club and the canberra club, or even a non vw club for some rivalry!? they that would help to give the extra numbers to make it more fiscaly viable. Even if 20 of us go you are only going to be doing 10 laps max at a punt before having to let the car cool down and recover. If there are more there then you could run groups of cars so everyone has time to cool down and has a good day. There is no point in having spent lots of money and then having an empty track while everyones cars cool down. Eastrencreek is very expensive for track days. The other bonus about Wakefield is you can see the whole track from the pit wall. Having done medical rescue at track days back in Scotland, I would always recomend having some sort of medical cover there, if you don't get it you will need it, if you do you wont! Also are you thinking of running timing on the day? It does make a difference!

[FL00DY]

This may get me shot down, but looking at costs is it worth going in with another forum/club such as the sydney vw club and the canberra club, or even a non vw club for some rivalry!? they that would help to give the extra numbers to make it more fiscaly viable. Even if 20 of us go you are only going to be doing 10 laps max at a punt before having to let the car cool down and recover. If there are more there then you could run groups of cars so everyone has time to cool down and has a good day. There is no point in having spent lots of money and then having an empty track while everyones cars cool down. Eastrencreek is very expensive for track days. The other bonus about Wakefield is you can see the whole track from the pit wall. Having done medical rescue at track days back in Scotland, I would always recomend having some sort of medical cover there, if you don't get it you will need it, if you do you wont! Also are you thinking of running timing on the day? It does make a difference!

I think for EC, having a another car club or forum joining us would be a must otherwise it's gonna be very expensive for 20 cars. I'm sure I could get 15-20 MINI's available for a EC weekday in the future.

[The_Hawk]

My brother in law and mate are members of a Commodore and Torana club respectively, so I don't think that numbers would be a big issue, even if I had to organise outside the VW front.

What I like about Wakefield is all the nice run off spaces, it's pretty hard to hit anything (except other cars) if you screw up on a corner, which to me is a good thing. Eastern Creek does have more walls.

An inter-VW Club meet would be very nice with all VW's and all. At the moment it looks like 5 or 6 VWWatercooled people are interested, if we can get that number to more like 20+ we could consider it.

BUT, at Wakefield (which is all I have prives for at the moment) the costs look something like this:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/12/Wakefield-1.jpg
The things in yellow need to be confirmed since I can't see any 2008 pricing for those items. You would also have to add helmuts (assuming they are available for hire) and maybe a Wakefield license if you need one...

If you flick the Control Tower, Crash Rescue Vehicle, Track Marshal and water truck you save about $50/head. As has been said, your probably best off having them.

The other way to lower costs is to get more people, at 30 cars the prices are reduced to about $200 - $250 depending on weekday/weekend. I would be interested in some input to the "right" number of people for a track day.

We can split into classes and run one after another, so 10 car x 3 classes, say 30 minutes per session inc getting on and off the track (although they are pretty organised) you race for 30 minutes in every 90. Over a 10 - 4 days that means 4 x 30 minutes runs each. Mind you this is only my ramblings, don't know how these things really work.

I have emailed Wakefield (since no one is answering their phone right now) asking a bunch of questions. We will see where it ends up.

[The_Hawk]

I have also sent an email to Eastern Creek asking for info.

[Marc_86]

I think your better of paying for all the safety stuff.....also numbers are easy as im sure heaps of people from the ozaudi would come as well...............

[FL00DY]

My brother in law and mate are members of a Commodore and Torana club respectively, so I don't think that numbers would be a big issue, even if I had to organise outside the VW front.

What I like about Wakefield is all the nice run off spaces, it's pretty hard to hit anything (except other cars) if you screw up on a corner, which to me is a good thing. Eastern Creek does have more walls.

An inter-VW Club meet would be very nice with all VW's and all. At the moment it looks like 5 or 6 VWWatercooled people are interested, if we can get that number to more like 20+ we could consider it.

BUT, at Wakefield (which is all I have prives for at the moment) the costs look something like this:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/12/Wakefield-1.jpg
The things in yellow need to be confirmed since I can't see any 2008 pricing for those items. You would also have to add helmuts (assuming they are available for hire) and maybe a Wakefield license if you need one...

If you flick the Control Tower, Crash Rescue Vehicle, Track Marshal and water truck you save about $50/head. As has been said, your probably best off having them.

The other way to lower costs is to get more people, at 30 cars the prices are reduced to about $200 - $250 depending on weekday/weekend. I would be interested in some input to the "right" number of people for a track day.

We can split into classes and run one after another, so 10 car x 3 classes, say 30 minutes per session inc getting on and off the track (although they are pretty organised) you race for 30 minutes in every 90. Over a 10 - 4 days that means 4 x 30 minutes runs each. Mind you this is only my ramblings, don't know how these things really work.

I have emailed Wakefield (since no one is answering their phone right now) asking a bunch of questions. We will see where it ends up.

You wont need everything listed there. Some things are mandatory, like if you have timing or more then 20 people you need an ambo. If you book for 19 people all you need is the Hire cost and the Insurance which equates to $226 per person. I'm sorry but you wont get me to Wakey at $300, at that price I may as well save for a Burrows Drive Day. If we had to stretch it too more due to overwhelming interest it would be $161 for 30 cars which includes ambo. That would be a really great day, good amount of cars and a good price.

[The_Hawk]

The permit is $800, ambulance $550, control tower $200. If you are having a timed event, ambulance & control tower are required. You will also need to contact Lisa at Eldee Timing on 0402 830 313 to organize timing.

The Wakefield Licence is required if they don't have a CAMS licence.
The cost this year is $50. I'm not sure if this will increase slightly in the new year.

The track opens at 9am and closes at 4pm.

Helmets are available for hire at $20 and $50 deposit.


Most people advise some the crash/fire rescue parts being there, when you add in the licence and the helmet, your getting pretty darn close to $300 if not over. Looks like it might be a speed off the streets day anyway.

Still I'm damn keen for March.

[FL00DY]

Most people advise some the crash/fire rescue parts being there, when you add in the licence and the helmet, your getting pretty darn close to $300 if not over. Looks like it might be a speed off the streets day anyway.

Still I'm damn keen for March.

The last day we had we did our own flags at the pit exit. I suggest picking a day in March, let me see about getting 15-20 MINI's, and then we should be able to get 10 or so VW's. I prob wouldn't go to Wakey for any more then $250.

[MACCAA]

Agree with Floody on most points.A combined Mini/VW day would be the best way to go.They regularly get 19 cars plus a few reserves.10 or so VW's shouldn't be a problem-Timbo.Flapps,Floody,Aussie Jimmy,Dragan,Chris,myself and a few others.
This would keep costs reasonable,and still allow plenty of track time with 30-35 cars.I ran the track for the RX8 Nationals at Wakefield in 05 and 06 at Wakefield,and we had 42 cars in 05.With 20min sessions[30 min is too long]
everyone had heaps of track time.
I'll put my hand up to help organize as I've done it before and have good relations with Gary and the crew at Wakefield.
What we have to do is bite the bullet and pick a date and get everyone to commit.The sooner we do this the better-you.d be surprised how few days are available.
Cheers
Len

[Bazzamon]

wont CAMS be involved when you go track racing? I know the Volkswagen Sporting Car Club of NSW is a full CAMS member & are already set up to do this sort of thing... they are also short of members at the moment. It might be worthwhile talking to them... phone number in Yellow Pages

[MACCAA]

wont CAMS be involved when you go track racing? I know the Volkswagen Sporting Car Club of NSW is a full CAMS member & are already set up to do this sort of thing... they are also short of members at the moment. It might be worthwhile talking to them... phone number in Yellow Pages

In a word,no.CAMS is not involved[nor would you want them to be...]It's not track"racing".It's private hire of a track for driver training/drive day.
Cheers
Len

[kenny21]

Hey guys,

Dont even bother with EC, because its a LOT of money that you dont find out until the day and its just not really great. If you want to run at EC then the best thing would be to get a CAMS L2 licence for like $50 or watever it is these days and do supersprints there which is a lot easier and cheaper and better.

As for Wakefield, Ide love to come down either to have fun in a road car of mine or to bring the race car down to do a test before the Championship season starts. If you guys need some help with organising a day or something down at Wakefield let me know via either (Personal M) 0416085440, (W) 0423574641 or email me at either a.kenny@zeiss.com.au or akenny21@optusnet.com.au haha or pm or just on here haha. I know Garry Willmington so if ya need any info or a track day or watever i can speak to him bout it and he is always more then happy to help out a group of people that just wanna go out and have fun on a race track.

Cheers

Alex Kenny

[FL00DY]

wont CAMS be involved when you go track racing? I know the Volkswagen Sporting Car Club of NSW is a full CAMS member & are already set up to do this sort of thing... they are also short of members at the moment. It might be worthwhile talking to them... phone number in Yellow Pages

Yeah CAMS aren't needed for a private track booking.

This is the first I've heard of a VW Sporting Car Club. If the numbers are lacking then how bout posting some events? Do they have a website? How many track day events do they run a year?

[The_Hawk]

Hey guys,

Dont even bother with EC, because its a LOT of money that you dont find out until the day and its just not really great. If you want to run at EC then the best thing would be to get a CAMS L2 licence for like $50 or watever it is these days and do supersprints there which is a lot easier and cheaper and better.

As for Wakefield, Ide love to come down either to have fun in a road car of mine or to bring the race car down to do a test before the Championship season starts. If you guys need some help with organising a day or something down at Wakefield let me know via either (Personal M) 0416085440, (W) 0423574641 or email me at either a.kenny@zeiss.com.au or akenny21@optusnet.com.au haha or pm or just on here haha. I know Garry Willmington so if ya need any info or a track day or watever i can speak to him bout it and he is always more then happy to help out a group of people that just wanna go out and have fun on a race track.

Cheers

Alex Kenny


Also confrimed from EC that there are NO days available in 2008 :? Amazing, but apparently true.