The thrill of driving the right car on a track day

There are millions of car enthusiasts across the UK that tune into BBC’s Top Gear religiously to see the best cars racing around a track. But for most of us driving is much more of a mundane task to get us from A to B; whether it is getting to work, picking up family and friends or driving into town and back. We never get to experience the thrill of driving a car to its full potential.

That’s why track days were invented where you can rock up to a track near you, say Castle Combe Circuit near Bristol, and burst around the tight bends to your heart’s content. There are no speed limits and if you spin off well it’s your car you pay the consequences. The point of a track day is to test your everyday car around a race track, but while used cars are good for the day-to-day stuff, which ones come to life around a track?

Small and light cars

Obviously, the lighter the car you have the more fun they usually are to burst around a track while they are far less expensive to run for long periods of time and will wear better. Consider something French, like a Renault Clio, which can do all the everyday stuff admirably, but will come alive when you loosen the taps on a summer’s day when brutally ramming it around a track.

Great-driving roadsters

More often than not you are going to want to take part in a track day during the summer, so a vehicle with a racing pedigree and a retractable roof would be ideal; and you will find none better than the Mazda MX-5. Mazda’s genre-defining two-seater is about as planted as a road car gets with the ability to fire it around corners and winding country roads. Being light and nippy makes the MX-5 ideal for any track day as well as summer driving with the roof down.

More powerful drive trains

If it is the pure adrenaline of raw speed that you want on a track day then you want a powerful motor that can do the turning and twisty bits too. BMW are normally a safe choice with the M3 being the best or simply a Subaru Impreza that will give you the buzz and driving capability to keep you smiling all the way round the track.

If you are looking for a great mix of everyday motors that can moonlight as a track day car in Bristol then you will find a wide range at Car Base Car Dealer Bristol and all at an affordable price.