Midvaal Track Day - August 2014
 

Hi fellow trackaddiktz.

Any interest in an informal track get-together at Midvaal Raceway sometime in August?
Edit: Provisional date 23/08/2014

Either a Saturday or Sunday but preferably Saturday because there's normally less cars on track there on Saturday.

There are very rarely other civvie cars at Midvaal. Normally it's just racecars practicing - which is exciting and fun. Most I've seen there is 15 or 20 at a time. If there are bikes, then they get a seperate slot, and if there are open-wheel single-seaters (which there normally are), then they also get a seperate slot, and all other cars go together. So you could be on track with a Wesbank Modified or Super Saloons car or GT40 or whatever... Cool. Slots are normally 15-20 mins and give a comfortable 10 laps or so. You normally get at least one slot per hour.

Because you mix it with racecars, the rules at Midvaal are different to Zwartkops. You can overtake anywhere and be overtaken anywhere. The key rule is to stay on the racing line. If a faster car wants to overtake, it's his responsibilty to find a way around you safely. If he can't then he must stay behind you. A racing driver won't expect you to deviate from the racing line or to slow down and you risk taking him out by doing that. But they're experienced track drivers. You're the rabbit so they'll give you a wide berth - LOL.

I like Midvaal a lot because (IMO) it's a safe track (safe in the context of not dinging your expensive civvie car). It has big grassy runoff areas, and most corners are tight and quite slow, so the bulk of your big mistakes will result in a spin onto the grass, a cloud of dust and a red face, but are otherwise painlessly forgiven. :)

At this stage, the track is available on the 2nd(Sat), 9th(Sat), 10th(Sun), 17th(Sun), 23rd(Sat), 24th(Sun), 30th(Sat) & 31st(Sun).
There is no guarantee though. If they get a private booking for a day then they'll close the track for that day. However, that's rare. We'd just need to check a few days ahead to make sure that the track is still available for the day we've chosen.

Cost is R500, spectators are free. I don't think they charge for passengers (not sure), but they'll have to sign an indemnity.

There is no catering, and it's lekker informal there. The pits are nice and shady. Bring your deckchairs, skottelbraai, family, and come have a jol. You're even welcome to put up a gazebo on the grass between the pit lane and the track if you want to.

Edit: Here's what the pits/pitlane/pitwall area at Midvaal looks like... [ame="http://youtu.be/sM2jvMk4gIE"]http://youtu.be/sM2jvMk4gIE[/ame]

Great idea, i'd be in any weekend after 5th.

:confused0068:Seems our other fellow enthusiasts are a bit hesitant? Lots of reads no replies? Think Rms crash at zwatkops scared a few

Could be. The problem with Zwartkops is that you don't get many second chances. It's safe in the context of not killing yourself, but it's very easy to ding your car there. I never take my TC off at Zwartkops, and I drive with restraint there. At Midvaal I have the confidence to give it horns except for turns 5 & 9 where I'm careful.

I was watching Midvaal racing on DSTV CH189 yesterday. Between Modified Production Cars, Super Saloons and Inex Legends (8 races) there were 10+ "spins and offs" and not one went into a barrier or tyre wall. :)

I would love to attend. However, I'll be in the eastern cape at that time.

Let me know what date you guys decide, would love to go


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Will do so. At this stage it's Saturday 23rd August, and possibly also the afternoon of Friday 22nd if we travel up on Friday.
Might as well get in a session or two on Friday too - the track will be very quiet then. :)

Firming up...

We'll be at Midvaal for a track session on Friday afternoon 22nd Aug, and another on Saturday morning 23rd Aug.
Lindy & I will be staying over in nearby Meyerton.
I checked track bookings today, and those days are still free for open practice.

On Friday, we'll probably have the track to ourselves (or almost).
On Saturday, there's likely to be 3 groups - motorcycles, open-wheel single-seaters, and other cars.
Each group gets about 20mins/hour on track.

Feel free to join us. This is not an organised track day or anything like that. It would just be fun to have a few kindred 86 spirits there to share the fun with. :)

Here's a Midvaal snippet to whet your appetite...

[ame]http://youtu.be/l93lHF6vg1U[/ame]

Any idea what it will cost to go on the track?

R500/day, see http://www.midvaalraceway.com/TrackDays.aspx
If you do a session on Friday and another on Saturday like I plan to, then it'll be 2 x R500.
Your R500/day gives you use of the track from 7am to 4pm, but I can assure you that 4 or 5 hours there with a 20 min session per hour will exhaust you... :)

You don't have to commit up front, or make a booking or anything like that.
It's very informal - you're welcome to just arrive and spectate for free.
And you can hitch a ride with someone as a passenger to see what it's all about, and then decide if you want to take your own car on track.
I'll gladly take you out for a few laps if you want to.
I'm not a big fundi, but I have done 100+ laps at Midvaal so I know it quite well, and I take it easy when I have a passenger with.

Just bring the necessary, then your options are open :)
The "necessary" being a crash helmet, a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, long trousers, and closed shoes (tackies are OK, just not slops).

Realise that taking your car on track doesn't mean that you have to absolutely pull the arse out it. On Midvaal I normally short-shift at about 6500rpm, and I don't go down to 2nd anywhere. I'm mainly in 3rd, going to 4th in the pit straight, and to 5th in the back straight (SC about 190, NA about 165) With an NA 86 you'll probably need to drop down to 2nd in two places and use 4th in the back straight. But you can still have a hell of a lot of fun and be quick without unduly hammering your car.

Here's a lap of Midvaal which I recorded in January.
It's rubbish video on my old Nokia, but you should be able to see what the track's like. One long and very fast straight with a run-off if you get your braking wrong, and several tight and technical turns which are challenging and great fun but are taken at non-scary speeds (70-90). The lap in the video isn't quick - about 1.30. I had a passenger with and all the nannies were on, VSC, TC, VD, ABC, XYZ, et al. So you can go quite fast and have lots of fun while still wearing your parachute - LOL. :)

You'll see potholes and bad verges - they've all been beautifully fixed and the track was great when I was last there in April. :)

[ame="http://youtu.be/HpvTEHb4Lls"]http://youtu.be/HpvTEHb4Lls[/ame]

I've decided to postpone my trip to Midvaal on the 22nd/23rd and reschedule it in September or October.

We've just moved to our new home :D but we're scrabbling to get our old house ready to rent out from 1st Sept, and there's more work than we thought :(

If anyone was planning to go through that weekend, please continue to do so - it's an open weekend.
Just call the track a few days before to confirm that it's still available.