Donington Park Circuit, DE74 2BN, Castle Donington, GB
Had a great time at Donington Park, I love that circuit.
I was lucky enough to attend the OPEN PIT lane at Branshatch on the 19th June - and when book-a-track say open pit lane they mean absolutely no ques or waiting to get out. At the drivers brief the serious business of running the event safely were spelt out and the zero tolerance to rule breakers was re-enforced. With a little of 30 cars booked in to the evening session the track was never too busy, which meant some very clear laps to stretch the legs of one of the BAT R300 Hire Cars. I had a friend Stuart who had never driven a Caterham before and after some sighting laps at a good steady pace was confident enough to try a few laps on his own. I booked a session with one of the BAT ARDS Instructors - Stuart was handed over to the Chief Instructor and within a few short laps was given some really helpful pointers to make the most of the rest of the tract evening. At the end of the evening Stuart had the biggest smile I had seen in ages. We cannot recommend Book-a-track highly enough, forget the rest drive with the BEST.
Arrived at Donington early and found my garage already set aside and got unloaded. Signing on and brief were upto Jonnys usual standard and despite having heard it hundreds of times before, it's still as fresh as the first time! Track was a lit.e greasy early on, but the sun came out late morning and the afternoon was superb. Driving standards were excellent throughout, with slower cars always indicating and moving across, with the much higher powered cars having heeded Jonnys request at the briefing to give a 'big lift' on the straits to let us lower powerd cars through. Another superb BaT day at a circuit I'd not driven properly for about 8 years!
From the start of the day, everything is run professionally but friendly as well, free refreshments throughout the day, plenty of staff available if you have any questions. The day I had was fully booked with an open pit lane but there wasn't too may cars on the track and seemed like the right type of folk driving on the day. It was my first event with BAT but I would definitely use them again.
Been away from the trackday scene for a couple of years, Johnny and his crew have moved up a couple of notches since the last time I saw them. It's the little things that help improve the day, for instance, having someone going round fitting the safety briefing wristbands whilst the briefing is going on to save 50 or so people queuing up afterwards.......so easy! Great day, looking forward to the next one, well done BaT team
The perfect weather obviously helps, but really enjoyed your care and approach. Excellent briefing!!! Good mix of cars and Drivers. Some of the "experience day" Caterhams were pretty darned slow, but on the whole the instructors waved us past pretty quickly, so fair dues. Perhaps a few less on eve sessions on the indy circuit would be a good thing. I am normally with my Lotus-On-Track Guys, (which is the ultimate for elise/vx220) but you guys are certainly an excellent alternative. Really enjoyed my day with You.
Shared a BAT Caterham with my son at Brands and had a really great evening. We were both first timers in the car and not very experienced on track so really appreciated the instruction session from Sarah. Open pit lane can be intimidating for the inexperienced but all the other drivers seemed to be on best behaviour although they kept passing us! The car was in good shape and the organisation of the event was excellent so many thanks to the whole BAT team. Will we be coming back? Most definitely!
Recommended, not only for fantastic venues and a brilliant fleet of Caterham hire cars, but also for well run events and approachable staff. The driver briefing was clear and concise and this was backed up by responsible driving from all that attended. The options for data logging and professional photography services presented a nice opportunity to add value to the day. In all a safe, fun, and professionally promoted event. Will be back again!
Minor niggle - The instructions for booking in were inadequate, we were told to report to race control the time on the website said 4:30 but the email said 3:30, at Brands Hatch the race control is inside the circuit but no instructions were given on how to cross the track either by foot or with your car - all very confusing. Otherwise great.
An Almost Perfect Experience!
1. Booking arrangement is fuss-free 2. Organisation on the day is fantastic 3. Zero-tolerance to on-track tossers makes a welcome change to some trackday organisers 4. Although paying extra for not queueing is acceptable, the price has crept to the point where I'm less likely to "take a punt on a day" unless certain external factors are aligned (e.g. weather looks perfect, travel/accom not needed, other friends are attending as well)
Good events, but open pilane format is not good for fast cars.
One of the only organisers to do the full GP circuit at Donington so I booked on with these. Good briefing however it was quite obvious not everyone listened. Actually got overtaken on the right hand side round a corner by some muppet in one of the BookATrack caterhams. Got there nice and early and managed to use one of the unreserved garages. Also no mention of slick use. Fitted my slicks, did a few laps and came back to the pits due to red flag on the track, I then get told by one of the organisers that I can't use the slicks without a cage. So I had to take them back off again. Was a waste of time taking them. Unfortunately this was one of the hottest days we had had of the year so far and I had to run on my wet tyres - Not Ideal. Paid for tuition which was good. Was a good day in the end but could have been better. Think I will stick to using Javelin Trackdays in future.
Attended a day at Rockingham at the weekend - the sun was shining and we had a great day. Courteous driving, good organisation and a sensible number of cars booked on ensured we got a lot of quality track time. Not the cheapest, but given you don't spent have the day waiting behind a slower car or watching your mirrors, definitely the best value day I have done. Thanks!
The sun was out and the standard of driving was high, not once was my fun spoilt by a red flag! It's great knowing that numbers on track are controlled at sensible levels which maximises the enjoyment factor for all.
Well organised as always Great driving standards. Only small gripe was that I would have expected the track to be swept clean at the start of the day. The banking was covered with marbles off line right from the start.
Bookatrack excelled as always with great organisation, a great venue and this time they even managed to arrange great weather! The staff are always professional and friendly, the briefings always informal but effective and the days are always run with a strict eye on safety; despite the range of speeds of cars on track you never feel in danger or hassled. As always, I can't recommend BaT highly enough and I'll be back with them next time..
Although we had mechanical issues that finished our day after the first hour, organisation was faultless, even down to the complimentary refreshments. Great set up, great weather and a big thanks to Rockingham for the long circuit.
Great day out, very safe driving environment and loads of track time. Great value, can't wait for the next one.
The drivers briefing at the start of the day truly endorses what you will expect to experience on the circuit. Problems are dealt with fairly and sympathetically and the whole atmosphere of the day is one of enjoyment & value for money.