Track days are about just you, your car and the track, driving with like-minded enthusiasts, all in the same direction and using the full width of the road on a challenging length of twisty tarmac.

They are an opportunity to take your car away from the public road, and drive your MG quickly and in the relative safety of a racing circuit or airfield track. There are no speed cameras or hidden police officers. There are no caravan-induced traffic jams, and there is no oncoming traffic, cyclists or pedestrians to worry about.

MGs on track members enjoy a good social repartee in the paddock between sessions and often, when travelling to more distant circuits, an enjoyable get together for meal and just a couple of drinks the evening before.

Track days are in no way, shape or form, a competitive event. If you want to do this, get a motorsport licence, and compete in a speed trial or race championship! On a trackday, organisers take a predictably dim view of any participants obviously racing each other, or timing their laps.

We enforce a strict rule of only overtaking on track only by consent between both drivers to minimise the risk of contact. Please see the FAQ below to see how this operates.

Remember, this is a fun event! It's about driving quickly, but with due care and consideration for those around you. As the old MG motto goes: Safety Fast!

Typically, track days are organised into one of two formats: sessions or open-pitlanes. In both cases, only a limited number of cars are allowed on the track at any given time. This is to avoid excessive traffic.

In a sessioned track day, all the participants are divided into 3 or 4 large groups - so usually you'll be with people with similar performance vehicles and with similar levels of experience. Each group will go out, one by one for a 'session', usually between 15 and 30 mins, and then you'll all return to the pits together. Then the next group will go out. This is a good, sociable format, as it allows everyone in the same session to get together and compare driving notes!

The majority of MGs on Track days are sessioned. If we have the full circuit throughout the day, we will arrange members into groups according to driver and car ability. In this way we aim that all cars are lapping at similar speeds, keeping the track clear and minimising the need for overtaking.

An open-pit lane has no sessions. You can go out when ever you like, and stay out for as long as you like. The marshals will only allow a certain number of cars on the track at any given time, so you may have to queue to get back onto the track. This format is good fun - but remember, the longer you stay out on the track, the hotter your tyres will get, the more wear your brakes will receive and the more of a roasting your engine will get - so don't plan to spend the whole day out on track - there's no 'in-flight re-fuelling'!

Track days are a form of motorsport and like anything to do with cars, there can be an element of risk. We minimise this with strict overtaking rules. The best bit of advice is to drive within your limits, start out cautiously and gradually explore both your's and your car's limits during the course of the day. Because there is no competition, do not feel as though you need to go as fast as the next man! Take it at your own pace.

If you are new to track days or driving an unfamiliar circuit, you might want to take a session with one of our trained ARDS instructors. He will show you the best and safest way around and also point out a few tips to improve your driving.

Track days are held on a circuit or an airfield designed for motorsport. They allow run off onto grass or gravel should you get overambitious. Of course there are some hard bits such as the pit lane wall or a bit of Armco barrier and you might want to be a bit less brave in these areas.
Pace yourself accordingly.

All track days are well marshalled, and have full medical and emergency services support. So if the worst were to happen, there are trained experts at hand.

MGs on Track is well known for the courtesy that fellow drivers show each other on track. Most of us drive our cars to the event and we want all to be able to drive home again without accident.

There are basically two possibilities for accident damage; contact between cars or simply driving beyond your ability and coming off the track. There's not much we can do about the second, that's up to you, but contact between cars is most likely through bends and when the car in front hasn't seen you.
Eliminating surprise overtakes considerably reduces risk.

Our policy is that overtaking must be by consent between both drivers, only along the straights (not in corners or braking zones) and always on the same side of the track, which will be defined on the day during the driver's briefing. We expect slower cars to let faster ones past, equally we expect faster cars not to tailgate, weave or worry slower cars which may be in front of them. That way everyone can drive at their own safe speed without getting in each other's way.

So how is this done?
First, its essential that you keep a good look out in your mirror for approaching cars. Unless you are being held up by a slower driver in front of you, the car behind you will be faster - that's how he got there! You might be able to open a gap on the straight but if he's back behind you at the exit from the next bend, that confirms it. So having established that there's a faster car behind you, wait for a suitable section of straight track. As you come out of the preceding bend don't get fully back onto the power after the apex. Guide your car to the non overtaking side of the track and use your indicators or a clear hand signal to let the driver behind know that a) you have seen him and b) are willing to let him by. As soon as he is safely past you can get back on to full power, onto the racing line and enjoy. We expect passing drivers to offer a wave of thanks if it is safe to do so.

To summarise:-

* NEVER overtake in a corner or in braking zones.

* Pay attention to what is behind you - use your mirrors.

* If you notice a faster car behind you, let them past; don't try to out drag them on the straight. If they've come up behind you, they are faster

* Take care to let them past only when it is safe for you to make room for them.

* NEVER overtake unless the car in front has seen you and given you their consent to pass.

Be aware of the marshals and of the flag system. You must attend a driver's briefing at the start of the track day, and these will be explained to you. The basics are (note that the details may vary):

Red Flag: Danger ahead. The session has been stopped and you must return to the pits. Slow down such that you are in full control of your vehicle, able to manoeuvre and stop quickly. However, don't drive so slow that it takes the next 10 minutes to get back to the pits. Be aware of the possibility of personnel and safety/recovery vehicles on track. You should not overtake any vehicle unless directed to do so by a marshal.

Yellow Flag: Caution - be aware that there is a problem or obstruction ahead. Slow down slightly and be ready to manoeuvre or stop. Do not overtake.

Blue Flag: A faster car is behind you, and you are holding them up - let them through as soon as it is safe to do so.

Chequered Flag: Game over - it's the end of the session. Slow down for your cooling lap, and re-enter the pits at the end of the lap.

Black flag: You've done something wrong or something is dropping off your car! You need to go back to the pits and see the chief marshal.

Yes, your classic MG is absolutely perfect for track days - and many MGAs, Midgets and Bs are seen harassing more modern machinery on tracks up and down the country! On a sessioned track day, you will be running with similar performance cars anyway, so there should be little worry about holding up faster cars.

Given the age of these MGs, additional care and attention needs to be invested in their preparation, and checks on engine health, brake performance and safety areas, but apart from that - have fun!

If you are aware of your car suffering from severe oil leaks, you'd be advised to get this attended to: circuit owners and your fellow drivers take a predictably dim view of oil (or indeed any other fluid) on the track!

The only requirement for every track day is a suitable helmet. Please read the FAQ section about helmet specifications.

There are a number of on line companies that will sell you one of these (Racewear, Demon Tweeks, Grand Prix etc), but sometimes helmets are available for hire at the track day. Please reserve your helmet when you book for an event.

If you get 'into' track days, you'll want to invest in your own equipment. Note that if you want to drive a convertible car with the top down, you should have a closed face helmet. Open faced helmets can be used with the soft top up or in 'tintops'.

Other 'safety' clothing and equipment are optional, although most circuits require you to cover your arms and legs. If you want to wear the full Hamilton battle dress - no problem!

Having a AFFF fire extinguisher - ideally with a capacity of 1.5litres - securely fastened in the car and within reach of the driver is a good idea, but not necessary.

Other equipment that you may find helpful are a tyre pressure gauge, a foot pump and a wheel brace to check the tightness of your wheels.

No special licence is needed.
You will need a full RTA (your normal road driving licence) for the class of vehicle you are driving. You will not be allowed on track unless you are able to show this at the event's sign-on. If you have the more modern plastic card type license, both the paper and plastic parts are needed, so don't just bring the plastic!

Your road going insurance policy may not cover you for a track day. Please check with your insurance company and emphasise that track days are non-competitive and no racing or timing is allowed. Some companies will cover you, for a small additional premium (£25-£50), although they will typically increase the damage excess for the day (say £1000).

If you choose to insure your car for road use through our sponsors; Heritage Insurance, their policy can include free unlimited track day cover for MGoT members. If you wish to insure on track and intend to do a number of events during the year, this is an economical solution. Please see details on our [URL="http://www.mgs-on-track.com/Heritage"]Heritage web page[/URL] and follow the link at the bottom.

So, what do people do if their insurance company won’t insure them? An increasing number of specialist companies have developed policies to suit. You can buy as much cover as you feel is sensible, just for the day.

If you are not insured, then clearly you take the risk that you will have to pay for anything that happens. A majority of people are happy to take this risk. It isn't quite as bad as it sounds, since driving around a track is actually a great deal safer than driving on the road. No oncoming traffic, no junctions or distractions etc. The etiquette and rules of track days are well laid out and policed by marshals. Anyone not obeying our overtaking by consent rules, driving discourteously or dangerously will be black flagged and taken off the track.

The objective of 'MGs on Track' is for the majority of our events to be exclusive to MGs, and to group participants according to car performance and driver ability. This means the variation in track speed is minimised, and with it the risk.

Preparing your car for a track day is not as daunting as perhaps it may sound. The main principle that you need to bear in mind is that your car is going to undergo some very heavy use - much more than the equivalent mileage on the road for example. Therefore there are 3 areas you need to look at:

1. Engine     The engine is going to be used hard - you don't need me to tell you this! So with this in mind, check that all the vital fluids are topped up, but not beyond their maximums - having too much is sometimes just as bad as having too little. Check the condition of the oil - if a black sludge is evident on the dipstick, then consider getting the oil changed - preferably before the track day, if not immediately afterwards!

2. Safety     Again, this is not a difficult thing to predict - so check that your seat belts are in good condition and your seat is securely and properly fastened to the floor pan. Check the condition of the brakes - you are going to be using these hard, so if you don't know when the fluid was last changed, changing it before the fluid boils on the track and you lose your brakes, would be a good idea. Likewise, check the condition of the brake surfaces and pads - if you are unsure how to do this, get your local mechanic/garage to check this out for you.

3. Tyres    This is the most vital interface between you, in the car, and the road surface below. Those boring round things will be doing the most work keeping you on the black stuff and off the greenery... So check the condition of the tyres - the tread, the tyre walls (make sure that the walls have no bulges or blisters) and tyre pressures. For track days, you may need to add a little extra air (your handbook may give some useful hints on tyre pressures for prolonged fast running - but these are guides only, so get expert advice and experiment on the track as necessary).

Beyond this, it is a question of having a car in good condition, paying particular attention to the suspension. But most of all, what we are talking about is common sense!

Checks are pretty much as for any road car really:

• Tyre pressures and tyre condition
• Oil level and oil condition
• Water level

Measure around your head just above the ears;

small = 55-56cms
medium = 57-58cms
large = 59-60cms
extra large = 61-62cms