GP Academy #3: Driving Etiquette and Behaviour [PART I]
From day one, our GP Days Track Days followed a pretty simple philosophy...
...we want to make our Track Days super accessible and build a truly fun community where everyone takes responsibility for the other - no matter the car, no matter the experience.
That's why the general behavoiur during our Track Days and especially your Driving Etiquette are a topic extremely close to our hearts and something we take super seriously. So please excuse if the tone of this article is a bit more straight forward than usual!
Why do we go into so much detail?
All the rules we've put into place for our Track Days serve one main objective: Keeping all of us safe on and off track!
For that reason, we even ask the true Track Day veterans among you to read this post closely as it always serves as a good reminder of what GP Days Track Days are really all about and also differentiates us from many other Track Days you may have visted.
This series of our GP Days Track Day Academy is made up of two parts:
- Around the Circiuit and in the Paddock (Off - Track)
- In the Pitlane and on the Circuit (On - Track)
- What to do in case I'm having an incident while on track?
Part I will look at how to behave around the circuit as well as the Paddock. While Part II will mostly be about your Driving Etiquette as well as your behaviour in case of an incident.
So without further ado..
...let's get started with Part I - Around the Circuit and in the Paddock
Keep it Calm in the Area around the Circuit.
As many of you know, race tracks don't always have the best reputation among residents living around it. If we're really honest to ourselves...can we really blame them? Anyone who has paid attention to the noise we're making throughout the day knows, that even if you love cars, it might become a bit much if you're exposed to it every second day.
While there is no denying that a Track Day or race track for this matter is a place where making noise is unavoidable and part of the fun, the roads and area around the circuits are definitely not.
That's why we kindly ask you to:
- Drive sensibly on the roads around the tracks we visit and take it especially slow in the village around. Use a high gear, low revs and keep it calm
- Our Community doesn't want to be associated with unnecessary showboating, burnouts or the likes
Let's show the people that the Track Day and Motorsport community is there to share a passion and not to show off or cause unnecessary nuisance. Let's keep it quiet on the rounds around the tracks!
Pay Attention in the Paddock and Take it Slow.
The Paddock is a place for all of us to gather to have petrol-fuelled chats, take a break after some fast laps on track and do some work on our cars. There's usually lots of activity with people walking around, talking to each other and potentially not being as attentive as they should be.
That's why during all our Track Days, there is a maximum speed of 20km/h in the Paddock. You will get a reminded on this in each E-Briefing as well.
To illustrate what the Paddock is all about, we compiled the "GP Days Paddock No-Gos" as a guideline for you:
- Warming up your car (and tyres) by exceeding the speed limit - there is a race track right next to you...use it! Starting your car and letting it idle for a bit is obviously not a problem!
- Going over the speed limit while entering or exiting the pitlane - again...there is a rece track right next to you!
- "Showing Off" in front of other participants (burnouts, etc.) - seriously, nobody wants to see that!
In general, avoid anything that may endanger other participants and any one else present in the Paddock during the Track Day.
The points may sound obvious to you, but you cannot imagine the things we have already seen people doing in the Paddock!
We cannot stress enough that if we see a participant or any person related endangering other people in the Paddock, the person as well as the related participant will be excluded from the Track Day without prior warning - Zero Tolerance!
In Part II of this series, we we'll have a closer look at something equally important - your general behaviour on track and the pitlane as well as driving etiquette.
Check it out here...
