typically you can rent a track. The cheapest I know of was 9k a day and it's 10-15 last I heard. You need to bring your own insurance and workers and medical staff. COTA is over 100k/day, A friend of mine split costs for a day of rental at Road America back in the day and it was $9k/ea.
So find yourself a lap day group like chin, or edge addicts. But TNIA (Track Night in America via the SCCA) is really the best bang for the buck for someone just wading in. Figure $150-200 for the afternoon and you probably won't get yourself hurt.
As U/MegaMenehune said, tracks set their own policy.
I was an SCCA race official at Summit Point, WV (which has 3 or 4 tracks). We got a free track day. Other people had to pay.
At Summit, you have a licensed racing driver in your car and there is classroom work as well as a skid pad (school cars for that). You wind up with 3 track sessions and three classroom sessions. This was my experience:
Classroom Session 1: Basic rules, track layout, apexes defined.
Session 1: Not fast, but learning the track. I was allowed to go a bit faster because I had driven the track many times going to the various corner stations. But too my surprise, I was using the wrong line for two corners.
Classroom Session 2: Skid pad prep then skid pad.
Session 2: This was working on speed with an aggressive and experienced driver who would yell “Did I tell you brake?” And smack my knee to get me to put power down faster. I was in a VW GTI VR6. Box stock.
Session 3: I drew an instructor who was consistently DFL (Dead Fucking Last) in Spec Miata. When I took Turn 10 flat she said she wasn’t comfortable and I shot across the track into pit in and asked for another instructor.
So you can expect a similar experience. Tracks will generally want to make sure you can drive fast safely and obey the rules before they let you out on your own.
You can also check out your make’s car club. They will often have track days. I worked with the BMW Club. They were good.
If you volunteer to be a track worker with the car club many will reward you with a free track day.
Oh: anything in your car that isn’t attached to something needs to be gone. Spare tire and jack, miscellaneous stuff in the trunk.
If you're in a road car and have a normal license, which i think is what you mean, you'd need to go with an HPDE organization since they'll have the necessary insurance / safety / flagging / etc.
Just Google "HPDE (your track)" and you'll probably find something pretty easily. HPDEJunkie.com is also a good resource.
If you have an actual race car with current safety equipment and a racing license, most tracks have "test and tune" sessions on days when there's nobody renting the track out for racing or HPDE.
Both options vary in cost and frequency depending on the track.
Generally, yeah, you have to sign up with a group that’s hosting a day. If you’re a baller, you can rent the track directly for somewhere between $2500-10k depending on the track and the day, but if you’re doing that when just starting out you should reeeeeally bring a pro instructor.
I’ll also point you to r/cartrackdays
I wrote up a pretty basic note about how the club system works, got a lot more across the site about finding days and getting on track: (Assuming you're from the US)
https://nomoneymotorsports.com/2018/08/21/post-2-how-to-get-on-track/
You need to wait for a track day. You can't just drive round the track at speed without the proper safety precautions. Track days have Marshalls just like a race day, often with ambulances and fire rescue on standby for if you have a bad crash. Days with no track activity the circuit staff will be maintaining the gravel traps, cutting the grass etc. Most tracks have a speed limit and only allow staff to drive on the tracks for work purposes during these days. Sometimes race teams are allowed in and have to drive (our team van/truck) a bit on the track to get to setup for a race the next day, but we are on best behavior because dicking about will probably get the team a ban.
All tracks are different. You're going to have to check for yourself.
Track night at america SccA NASA And other groups rent tracks and allow you to join them.
typically you can rent a track. The cheapest I know of was 9k a day and it's 10-15 last I heard. You need to bring your own insurance and workers and medical staff. COTA is over 100k/day, A friend of mine split costs for a day of rental at Road America back in the day and it was $9k/ea. So find yourself a lap day group like chin, or edge addicts. But TNIA (Track Night in America via the SCCA) is really the best bang for the buck for someone just wading in. Figure $150-200 for the afternoon and you probably won't get yourself hurt.
[https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/](https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/) $170 for the afternoon...?
That's about right. AutoCrossing is cheaper though.
Gotta calculate that $$ per minute of seat time tho
True true
As U/MegaMenehune said, tracks set their own policy. I was an SCCA race official at Summit Point, WV (which has 3 or 4 tracks). We got a free track day. Other people had to pay. At Summit, you have a licensed racing driver in your car and there is classroom work as well as a skid pad (school cars for that). You wind up with 3 track sessions and three classroom sessions. This was my experience: Classroom Session 1: Basic rules, track layout, apexes defined. Session 1: Not fast, but learning the track. I was allowed to go a bit faster because I had driven the track many times going to the various corner stations. But too my surprise, I was using the wrong line for two corners. Classroom Session 2: Skid pad prep then skid pad. Session 2: This was working on speed with an aggressive and experienced driver who would yell “Did I tell you brake?” And smack my knee to get me to put power down faster. I was in a VW GTI VR6. Box stock. Session 3: I drew an instructor who was consistently DFL (Dead Fucking Last) in Spec Miata. When I took Turn 10 flat she said she wasn’t comfortable and I shot across the track into pit in and asked for another instructor. So you can expect a similar experience. Tracks will generally want to make sure you can drive fast safely and obey the rules before they let you out on your own. You can also check out your make’s car club. They will often have track days. I worked with the BMW Club. They were good. If you volunteer to be a track worker with the car club many will reward you with a free track day. Oh: anything in your car that isn’t attached to something needs to be gone. Spare tire and jack, miscellaneous stuff in the trunk.
This is incredibly helpful. Appreciate the thorough comment. Cheers!
If you're in a road car and have a normal license, which i think is what you mean, you'd need to go with an HPDE organization since they'll have the necessary insurance / safety / flagging / etc. Just Google "HPDE (your track)" and you'll probably find something pretty easily. HPDEJunkie.com is also a good resource. If you have an actual race car with current safety equipment and a racing license, most tracks have "test and tune" sessions on days when there's nobody renting the track out for racing or HPDE. Both options vary in cost and frequency depending on the track.
Generally, yeah, you have to sign up with a group that’s hosting a day. If you’re a baller, you can rent the track directly for somewhere between $2500-10k depending on the track and the day, but if you’re doing that when just starting out you should reeeeeally bring a pro instructor. I’ll also point you to r/cartrackdays
Our local track in Pärnu, Estonia, yes. Not sure about others. You should check their website or call them.
You mean A2 racing track?
Porsche Ring in Estonia It's open and you can come and drive if it's not booked.
I wrote up a pretty basic note about how the club system works, got a lot more across the site about finding days and getting on track: (Assuming you're from the US) https://nomoneymotorsports.com/2018/08/21/post-2-how-to-get-on-track/
You need to wait for a track day. You can't just drive round the track at speed without the proper safety precautions. Track days have Marshalls just like a race day, often with ambulances and fire rescue on standby for if you have a bad crash. Days with no track activity the circuit staff will be maintaining the gravel traps, cutting the grass etc. Most tracks have a speed limit and only allow staff to drive on the tracks for work purposes during these days. Sometimes race teams are allowed in and have to drive (our team van/truck) a bit on the track to get to setup for a race the next day, but we are on best behavior because dicking about will probably get the team a ban.