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I’m planning on taking my F to the track for the first time on Friday May 27th to Buttonwillow in Cal for a track day event. It might be fun if others want to come as well for a chance to meet in person.
Buttonwillow is be a good track for a first-time track driver. It is, IMHO, the safest track in So Cal for a street car. There is almost nothing to hit if you go off, really only two corners where you want to be cautious. And if you go off it is dirt rather than rocks and such. The worst case scenario, if you are not crazy, is the car gets dirty.
It is a fun track, nothing scary, some big corners where you can push hard if you are inclined, and some that are slow and great for learning. Here is their website.
They divide drivers into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced run groups, with controlled, mandatory “point by” passing for Beginner and Intermediate to keep things safe. Track days are NOT racing, no one will be dive bombing you in the corners or crowding you. Passenger are allowed.
They also offer instruction if you’re inclined, and rental helmets. And you don’t have to be a “member”.
You can get track day insurance for your car here if you want. I probably will, cheap peace of mind.
As far as car prep I’m not aware of any F specific stuff needed. Make sure your tires, brakes, and cooling system are up to snuff. Stock brake pads and fluids should be fine unless you are used to pushing a car hard on a track. If you want a brake fluid change for a high performance fluid with a high wet boiling point would be cool. Check with Speed District directly about convertibles. Most tracks and groups seem OK with convertible F’s, but you should confirm.
Speed District also has the track for Saturday, but Saturday will be more crowded, and I probably won’t stay.
I plan to drive up on Thursday afternoon going north out of Ventura on Hwy 33, which is a great mountain road with almost no traffic that ends with some straight bits where you can air it out. And I’ll come back that way on Saturday morning.
Respond here if you are interested and we can make a plan to meet up.
I've been to many, but never in a car that I couldn't afford to ball up. Even at "safe" events like this, stuff happens. I've seen several people put their cars into the walls, or, just as often, throw oil in their pan away from the pickup during corning, resulting in a destroyed engine in seconds. At another event, someone lost control, went into pit row, and heavily damaged 3-4 cars waiting to go out. Just sayin', have fun, but first answer the question, "if I break or destroy the car, am I okay with that?"
I've been to many, but never in a car that I couldn't afford to ball up. Even at "safe" events like this, stuff happens. I've seen several people put their cars into the walls, or, just as often, throw oil in their pan away from the pickup during corning, resulting in a destroyed engine in seconds. At another event, someone lost control, went into pit row, and heavily damaged 3-4 cars waiting to go out. Just sayin', have fun, but first answer the question, "if I break or destroy the car, am I okay with that?"
if you have additional insurance…sure why not. Unless of course the car has sentimental value and cannot be replaced.
I've been to many, but never in a car that I couldn't afford to ball up. Even at "safe" events like this, stuff happens. I've seen several people put their cars into the walls, or, just as often, throw oil in their pan away from the pickup during corning, resulting in a destroyed engine in seconds. At another event, someone lost control, went into pit row, and heavily damaged 3-4 cars waiting to go out. Just sayin', have fun, but first answer the question, "if I break or destroy the car, am I okay with that?"
kb58 is correct that "stuff happens". On the other hand, Buttonwillow is a track specifically designed to be safe. There is really only 1 wall on the track, the pit wall. And it is on the inside of the turn onto the front straight. The only way to hit it is if you go off on the turn entering the straight and try to claw your way back onto the track at speed before you slow and regain full control.
As far as hitting other cars, there is no way to hit a car waiting in the pits, because of that wall. I'll stand by my opinion that Buttonwillow is by far the safest track in So Cal by far to get some track experience at. And, track driving is an order of magnitude safer than canyon carving.
Anytime you go on track you do run a risk that someone will do something stupid and cause contact. In my experience it is fairly easy to spot the knuckleheads and stay away from them. Rookie track drivers would be running in the Beginner run group, which mandates "point by" passing, where the car behind cannot pass unless the leading driver uses his hand to point to which side to pass on. Thus, you can't pass until the driver in front has seen you and you both know what side to pass on. You very seldom see idiotic behavior in beginner groups, it's the "experts" you have to worry about.
Regarding the oil issue, I'd be shocked if that were a risk for an F. Can anyone with first hand knowledge weigh in on that? Remember, we're talking track driving, which does not really differ from road driving except for potentially higher G forces. Higher G's will move the oil around more, but I think this forum would be full of horror stories if that were an issue for an F. I'd be worried about this if we were talking about a skid pad, where you might hold a turn for a minute or more, but peak G's on a track last for only a few seconds.
Bottom line, get the insurance if you need it. I'll be running in the open passing group with the "experts, and I'll be insuring my car.
Buttonwillow is a great track to learn and give you the opportunity to learn about the limits of your car with little to no risk. I've driven it with two different groups, So Cal Audi and Hooked on Driving and each sets it up a little differently. With Hooked on Driving, they eliminated the small uphill curve just in front of the back long straightaway which makes it much longer and allows for very high speeds before the 'V' shaped turn at the end heading into the "S" curves. It's a fun track that doesn't put you on edge unlike some that have walls waiting for you at every turn. In December of 2013 when the F-type debuted at the Los Angeles Car Show, four of us lucky forum members got to take home cars for the better part of a week to test drive. I was going to Buttonwillow that weekend with my XKR and asked JLR if I could take the F-type to the track, and they enthusiastically said, "Yes!" just take pictures. I was driving with So Cal Audi, and they don't allow convertibles of any kind on the track during their sessions, but I got them to allow me one lap at lunch time when the track was closed along with a photographer. Boy, was it a lot of fun. Below are a couple of shots. Hard to believe, it's almost 9 years ago!
I've been to Buttonwillow probably 40-50 times, albeit on a motorcycle each time. It is a track with few dangers in the impact zones and the only corner I worry about is turn 2, but the main problem there is someone else cooking the corner. It's in the middle of nowhere, which means you won't be crippled by sound restrictions. I recommend this track, just know the hotels in buttonwillow, which is about 12 miles away, are sketch, at best. I'd rather stay in Lost Hills.
I had no oil issues with my car at T-Hill. The car is designed to be driven hard.
I've been to many, but never in a car that I couldn't afford to ball up. Even at "safe" events like this, stuff happens. I've seen several people put their cars into the walls, or, just as often, throw oil in their pan away from the pickup during corning, resulting in a destroyed engine in seconds. At another event, someone lost control, went into pit row, and heavily damaged 3-4 cars waiting to go out. Just sayin', have fun, but first answer the question, "if I break or destroy the car, am I okay with that?"
I’ve been racing since I was 14. Started in 1962 with an old straight 8 Buick. Raced Indy car drivers, Grand Prix drivers, amateurs, professionals, newbies, experienced, small slow old cars, big fast cars, in the past 62 years I’ve had one tiny incident on a cool off lap that took me less than 15 minutes to repair.
I always start with Junkyard engines. My last Jaguar was mostly stock ( cams and pistons, aftermarket). Won a lot of races. Raced it for 50 years on that Engine without ever rebuilding it. Or blowing it up. In fact it’s at the Packard museum with that engine still in it. Same gearbox and rear end.
In all my racing I’ve never had a problem. The car always went back into the trailer as it came to the event. ( Yes garage rash happens)
That’s not a promise of trouble free events. Just a very realistic appraisal of most events & people I’ve known.
05-06-2022, 05:35 PM
Track Day at Buttonwillow
