How far would you travel to a track and why??

[RudeTony]

Like the heading says.....
How far would you travel to a track and why would you....

[The Pookster]

I'd like to vote for more than one.

[gnr racer]

Yeh, those options definately need more than one vote

[RudeTony]

I agree with you that more than one can be chosen but it's very important it's claer which people have the most importance to.
Its simple to say the best people with the best track and the best rostrum and so on.
Post here if there is anything you feel needs a mention - cheers all

[GRIFF55]

100 miles isn't that far maaaa, it is a shame you cannot select more than one

[racingdwarf]

Is this in genral just to have a race on a sunday? as doing nationals most do more miles than that each time.

I would travel a distance to a good meeting with a good track quite regularly....but not twice a month for club meets.

I live in norfolk and love rallyx at slough, good track good rostrum and a 300mile round trip:cry:

[ben]

Option 4 for me Nick! Got to have nice food..

[RudeTony]

This is for a good Sundays racing and not for a National event - I think the majority of people would travel for a National and whether the track, organisation, rostrum and so on are good is another matter.

[RogerM]

It's a hard one, I voted for more than 100miles if the track was ace.

There is a track in my regional series I really like but struggle to justify the 100miles in each direction I takes to get there for a regional event. That is why I've not been there in the last 2 seasons, even though it is one of my favorites.

I find the travelling really hard as I am always in the car on my own, usually having to leave not much after 5am, after getting up for work at about the same sort of time every day. By the time I get to the track I am usually tired, fed up and no longer looking forward to the day.

It used to be a 110mile round trip for me to PDA and going there on a wednesday night meant I was awake for about 21 hours on that day! I did it because it was a unique venue and that made it worth it.

I guess we should ask "what is Tony planning?"

[Welshy40]

Mmm good one. I would say an hour and a half is really the max for me, as its all down to being exhausted due to lack of sleep. Still I say that and im doing the Petit and thats a long drive (nothing compared to Griff's journey though)

[The Pookster]

I agree with you that more than one can be chosen but it's very important it's claer which people have the most importance to.
Its simple to say the best people with the best track and the best rostrum and so on.
Post here if there is anything you feel needs a mention - cheers all

I'd travel for the combination of good weather and track, but not good track and bad weather, or good weather and bad track, if you get my drift.

[sldmodels]

I chose good organisation, as it should cover all the other good aspects of a meet. The furthest places I have gone, is West London, Swansea and Cardiff (I'm in Stafford).

[Danny McGee]

I'd travel as far as necessary if the weather was going to be good and the track was ace. I.E. Indoors :)

[Smartalec]

I chose good organisation, as it should cover all the other good aspects of a meet. The furthest places I have gone, is West London, Swansea and Cardiff (I'm in Stafford).
Do you even own a 1/10th off road buggy Sarah? :confused:

[simoncrabb]

Good racing and travel go hand in hand when you choose to live on the beach like me n Griff!

[/tobys]

100 miles round-trip or each way?

[sosidge]

I wouldn't travel any where near 100 miles for a club meeting.

I currently travel about 35 miles/50 minutes each way for a club night, and that is approaching my limit.

For nationals (which I have never entered outside of one that was held 15 miles from my home) you obviously have to be prepared to travel. For regional level meetings, I would maybe travel 2 hours each way on a Sunday.

[mole2k]

I travel 20 miles each way to my local weekly club then 55miles each way every other week to another club, that's all indoors. The nearest outdoors track to me is 115miles and I only really get to that infrequently as it's just me driving by myself, I would be much kore prepared to travel more with company.

[Gaz_Stanton]

I think the nature of the track defines how far I'm willing to travel. Comes down to Cost vs Enjoyment (and probability of)
If the track is great and weather cannot ruin it then I'm more likely to enjoy it more. The more I enjoy it the further I'm willing to travel.
I'd be happy travelling a couple of hours to a great track but probably wouldn't go to a crap one round the corner.

P.S. I think travelling thousands of miles to have the racing rained off is really taking the p1ss! :cry:

[sldmodels]

Do you even own a 1/10th off road buggy Sarah? :confused:

err, what does it matter what car I have?

[millzy]

living in the Welsh Valley there is nothing close for me- as in under the 30min drive luxury some have- the closet being C.O.B.R.A (club in cardiff) Tally then Caldicot.

Both cobra and Caldicot have smallish indoor venues with low height rostrums, this for me is not an issue as the clubs are well organised and both offer a relaxed atmosphere this making the travelling worth while



I have always travelled the length of the Uk for racing as back in the day we never had a national scale track in Wales the Mid west being the closest , now we have Tally travelling more than 40mins for regional is just not worth it in my book

However for National events I don’t see travelling an issue if your committed

[Crazy L]

Personally, in my current situation, no more than a ton for me, I'm poor and cant afford the petrol :cry:

Before though, I had no probs in driving from portsmouth to Maxbashing every month or fortnight and Newbury on a Friday night after work (for OFFROAD, still a bit bitter that was stopped. grrr)

RC is not my only hobby, so I have to spread my meagre wages across them all and running a house :cry:

[antnee]

No more than 100 miles, Got West Bridgford on my doorstep (well I can see the indoor hall from my bedroom!) Broxtowe 30mins away, Worksop and RHR 40-50mins away, Coventry 50mins away, don't need anything else tbh

[Jamie.T]

I would travel most of the lower part of the UK if the track was good, but more importantly a decent bunch of people to have a few beers with on the Saturday night.

Also helps if there is a take-away place near-by and its not too far out in the wilds. I never went to the oOple invernational, but it looked like the ideal event i would attend, and that is approx 4 hours for me as i live in South West Wales.

[danDanEFC]

I voted 'no more than 100' but that is probably due to my local track being 20 mins away and it's brilliant!

[Si Coe]

I'll drive up to an hour for a track, but after that its too far. Now this makes for some weird definitions of 'local' because travelling across Manchester on a weekday for Roundabout actually takes longer than zipping up the motorway to Preston, even though its a lot closer.

[racingdwarf]

Hmm well if it's for club racing 100m trip once a month is the most I would do in the winter, but in the summer my travel budget is well taken up with nats etc:(

[Mike Parker]

I think most would travel 100+ miles whether it be for nationals or regionals, me included and be definately up for the nationals next year :)

I'm very close to Batley for the club meets, they run a pretty regular calender and a very laid back & well organised day too so quite lucky in that respect :)

[Smartalec]

err, what does it matter what car I have?
Because, unless i'm mistaken, the thread is about off-road tracks ........ if you don't participate in the class why vote? :confused:
P.S. i'll stand corrected if it's NOT about off-road :)

[/tobys]

post #8 suggests that we should be making a judgement not on the bigger meetings (of which travel is part and parcel) but for club meetings.

Personally, 100 mile round trip would be acceptable (i.e. 50 miles each way) but 100 miles each way wouldn't UNLESS it was prep/practice for a larger meeting.

[showtime]

How far would you travel to a track and why?
I would NOT travel more than 100 miles you gotta do what you gotta do! if it aint worth the drive don't go!
I would travel more than 100 miles if the organisation was good be a bit of a shame to go all that way if it was a shambles
I would travel more than 100 miles if the track was ace definitely the best reason
I would travel more than 100 miles if the food was ace i'm a fatty & i like food but i aint gonna drive 100 miles to a track just because it has a good burger van! good food can help a venue not make one!
I would travel more than 100 miles if the rostrum was ace you dont look at it you stand on it. as long as its sturdy, covered & offers an excellent view of the track then its all good :) oh & it needs to be in the right place depending on track layout
I would travel more than 100 miles if top drivers were in attendance always nice to see everyone, why not :)
I would travel more than 100 miles if there was prize money makes no difference to me as i aint gonna win any. cheaper entrys for everyone rather than chipping in to the prize pot for people who get it all free anyway
I would travel more than 100 miles if it didn't clash with other events once again depends how good the track/facility as a whole is. no point going anywhere else if its shit when you get there
I would travel more than 100 miles if the meeting was part of a National competition if you're doing a national series you gotta be prepared to put the miles in. the clues in the name "national" not local!
I would travel more than 100 miles weather dependant its a long way to go to get rained off. if the reports were looking crap & poor weather was guaranteed i wouldn't go. its supposed to be enjoyable!

so basically its a combination of things that makes a venue appealing/successful :)

with a covered track you can guarantee the weather but you still need that great track layout & decent rostrum :thumbsup:

[Jamie B4]

Tricky one Tony as could be a couple of issues - but think the main thing is the track, surface, weather, cash available and competition ie if benefical to oneself with other competition. Tend to have a look at the entry form

[MikePimlott]

I voted for track being ace. BUT what makes a good track is also the grounds, Rostrum and organisation etc etc and if it was a good track the good drivers would be there and there would be a national held there.

Plus how good is the local pub if were camping :p

[Matt Airbrushing]

As I dont race competitively any more I wont travel long distances to get to nationals or big meetings just for the racing.

However if lots of people I know are going to a meeting and it sounds like a good place to race and a good laugh then I would travel 100 miles+ (and camp overnight and get drunk)

[antnee]

I think most would travel 100+ miles whether it be for nationals or regionals

regionals should be no more than 60 miles away imo (unless you live right on the edge of a region)

[wacattack]

Depends if they put a cap on the number of tyres you could run throughout the day :D

[Smartalec]

Depends if they put a cap on the number of tyres you could run throughout the day :D
LOL :thumbsup:

[Col]

As someone who races strictly club and nothing else anymore if it ain't on my doorstep I ain't going.

[rich67]

Because, unless i'm mistaken, the thread is about off-road tracks ........ if you don't participate in the class why vote? :confused:
P.S. i'll stand corrected if it's NOT about off-road :)

Dont see off-road only anywhere so stand corrected :D

I only do local club meets, indoor tc, so I dont go far.

[Si Coe]

In a way the class is very important. How many of us regularly drive past a touring car or 1/8th club to reach a further away 1/10 club? I suspect quite a few do.
In the past, when the nearest clubs have all been TC's I've switched to them, but never really liked it. I'd rather go further to race what I want to. But if there were no offroad clubs for 100 miles, and some good TC ones nearer I might change......

[Smartalec]

Dont see off-road only anywhere so stand corrected :D

I only do local club meets, indoor tc, so I dont go far.
Quite correct, it doesn't say anything about off-road only on this poll, but Tony's related poll asks if we prefer dirt/clay, grass, astro ........... have fun with the touring car on those surfaces :p

[RudeTony]

Hi yah all, just to clarify that this is targeted at OFF ROAD racing tracks .....my fault I assumed everyone knew I only race off road.......

Another poll soon gents and I can only tell you that your input is so so valuable to the future :)

[showtime]

Tony just build a clay track with huge jumps, a great rostrum, good organisation, really good food & guaranteed no rain ever really close to where i live & i reckon you should see me there a few times a year!

can't say fairer than that :thumbsup:


oh & chuck in a few hotties as well for some random clunge action & you'll be sorted :woot:

[c0sie]

Id drive over 100 miles if;

The organisation was good, the track was ace, the regular National/oOple drivers were in attendance, it didnt clash with anything I organsised, and it was either over a few days or not rushed like mad if one day (oOple Invernational for example!).

I dont care about prize money, why do I want to line the pockets of those who are always going to make the top end of the A no matter what meeting they attend?

Never really understood the idea behind the "dash for cash" thing. Yeah its great to watch the heros dominating the A, showing us why they are the top in the UK, Europe, World, but I dont see the fascination in giving them a shit load of cash to do what their sponsors sponsor them to do.

[RudeTony]

Lads - Prize money events are NOT giving the top drivers money - there are so many ways in organising these things it's unreal......:)

ps - I am happy that people are voting for the 'good track' as reason to travel as this is what I believe in but dissapointed to see some people would not travel irrelevant to how good a venue was.....

[/tobys]

Tony,

If the track was awesome, dirt, didn't eat tyres, there was a big enough turnout and it was good weather/indoors, then I would make a longer journey.

I travel upto a couple of hours each way for regionals, so if a meet had 7-8 heats (preferably at least 5 heats per class) then I would see that as being a fairly large meeting and would find that appealing - even better if you could run a series (although it would probably be difficult to avoid clashes during the summer months).

But a 200 mile round trip for racing against 30 or so others (which I would guess is a reasonable turnout for a 'regular' club meeting) is not cost effective for me - sorry.

Knowing how ace "Planet Hampshire" was, if anyone can make it happen, it's you :thumbsup:

[RudeTony]

Thanks for the kind words....all I can say at this stage it's going to happen but it HAS to be right so patience is needed...:)

[rich_cree]

I used to happily trek 180 odd miles or so from west london to tiverton for their winter series because it was the only dirt track and not think much of it. I'd be pretty happy to do the same again for a decent dirt track.

The drive to tiverton was all motorway pretty much too, so at least it made covering the miles nice and fast in the mornings.

[Steve.T]

I live in Bracknell (Berkshire) and used to travel 120 miles to a club in Essex.
I have to stop this now as the club is no more but the reason I went so far for club racing is the people, the track and the fact it was "laps" racing, although I still would have gone if it wasn't.

[feniks]

still missing some options tony.
for me a track needs to be ace and the organisation aswel and also the track time needs to be there . the first two could be good but if you just run 4 or 5 heats I will no longer make the distance and go race at a lokal track with les off everything.
I come to england more than the rest of my county men just to practice and get a small club meeting .
if I can have the track time on the saterday.
if you look at the EIR race this year they are planning a free pracktise on the friday , 10 qualifs on the saterday and sunday with even 3 finals for all on the sunday. that is wort the travel and this for 160 peaple . or like the oople race that was worth it to me.
hope this make's sence to you all.

[RudeTony]

still missing some options tony.
for me a track needs to be ace and the organisation aswel and also the track time needs to be there . the first two could be good but if you just run 4 or 5 heats I will no longer make the distance and go race at a lokal track with les off everything.
I come to england more than the rest of my county men just to practice and get a small club meeting .
if I can have the track time on the saterday.
if you look at the EIR race this year they are planning a free pracktise on the friday , 10 qualifs on the saterday and sunday with even 3 finals for all on the sunday. that is wort the travel and this for 160 peaple . or like the oople race that was worth it to me.
hope this make's sence to you all.



Hi and yes all is crystal clear - for club events I dont think we run practice on the day before but for sure I am liking the Saturday practice time on the track and this of course also takes away the home advantage and so on.....mmmm!!!!
Open practice on the Saturday and normal race format on the Sundays!!! MMmmm!! and we are talking Electric and Nitro here of course - Not on the same race events before anyone asks!

[barnyard]

I am with Rich on this one i used to travel the 200mile to tiverton just to race on dirt.

Now i race 1/8th i still travel the 150mile+ to Slough or Herts just to race on dirt even though there are 3 astro tracks within 90 mile of where i live.

Given the option i would always travel further to race on a good (aka dirt) track with great organisation rather than the closest to home.

[feniks]

electriks tony.
in belgiem tracks are open the day befor a meeting so poeple would be able to set there cars up a bit and now the track . as otherwise ceeping up with home drivers is hard. U now becaus jou ware at the GP and I am not even a lokal there I drive at that track perhaps 2 a jear .:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[rob8246]

It's all about the track for me.

Best location, best rostrum, best organisation, best catering etc all counts for Fuk all if the track sucks. Simples.

The point is validated by my home 8th club Slough. Although they now have THE complete package, many of the racers drive a long way just for the track. 100 odd entries for club meets sums it up.

Evdo, get it done! :thumbsup:

[GRIFF55]

Yeh MAAAAAAA, the winter's coming and we need a bigger pda 2!!:thumbsup:

[Robocop]

Well living in the south west we have to travel to go racing if we are doing nationals unless you do 1/12 as we have one in plymouth i have been traveling from plymouth to chesterfield to do the shootouts,just started 1/10 off road again so will be doing more than 100 miles to race but 99% of the racing is in the midlands but that is just how it is.
Just wish that clubs think about it sometimes i go on a sunday to go racing i dont care how long i am at the track but i dont want to drive over 100 miles for the tracks to be rushing through and booting you out the door
i know i have gone off subject but hay

[Col]

Yeh MAAAAAAA, the winter's coming and we need a bigger pda 2!!:thumbsup:

Why did PDA close?

[flipside]

I voted for good organisation. But in fact mean how the race format is. For example Oople race was good, because lots of track time was assured. Friday practise, lots of qualifying and 3 finals for everyone.

That's the reason I'm not going to petit this year. Way too many people, you have to wait hours in between 2 runs, hardly any practise, and only 1 final (and tq qualifying).

So for me the main thing is track time, as it's a bit crazy to travel a long way to be a few minutes on the rostrum.

edit: so I agree with bart on this issue :-)