The second Lotus Only Track Day for 2018 was held at Wakefield Park Raceway in Goulburn. There was another huge group booked in with over seventy Lotus sports cars entered in Drive, Sprint or Race groups catering to all levels of experience.
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It was the debut of Steve’s Lotus Evora GT430 on track, plus we had a Lotus Exige Sport 350 race car for the APC series getting a shakedown with a record number of first timers joining us for this round as well.
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Temperatures were minus 5 to kick off the morning but that didn’t dampen spirits with fresh coffee brewing and everyone ready to get on track. Entrants were a mix of road registered and race cars with a number of couples and even father/son combos sharing the driving for the day.
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Owners had the whole racing circuit to themselves for the day. Owners of sports cars like the Lotus Elise, Evora or Exige are encouraged by Lotus sports car dealerships around Australian to enjoy their performance cars at track days, driving events or even participating in a Targa Rally. Â Lotus also holds days at other circuits around Australia like Phillip Island, Mount Panorama Bathurst, Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek and Winton Raceway.
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The Wakefield Park racing circuit is about a 2 hour drive south of Sydney and typically what most owners do for this event is drive down on the Friday afternoon, have dinner together as a group on Friday night & then be ready first thing in the morning on Saturday to get out on the track with their vehicle. It becomes a social event as well as a track day driving experience. Wakefield Park Raceway is a 2.2 km motor racing circuit that was named after Charles Cheers Wakefield, the founder of Castrol Oil.
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The majorty of drivers use their road registered vehicle and for people doing a track day for the first time, Lotus includes driving instruction with a professional racing driver sitting in the passenger seat with you on the track. The other element that makes Wakefield Park Raceway the perfect track for beginners is that there is lots of run off areas and very few walls. It means if you do make a mistake that in most cases you will go off into the grass and avoid damaging your vehicle.
Lotus track day reviews
"Thank you for a very professional track day. It was my first LOTD and I had a great time.I will be back for more. Thank you."
"Not only does SSC run a great track day, they also turn on perfect weather! Is there anything they CANT do? Credit also to Race Solutions who are so friendly and professional. A class act. Thanks also to Mark for making it happen."
"To all the SSC crew. Thanks for organising another great Lotus event. I hadn't been to Wakefield and it was an awesome day at an awesome track. Thanks guys & gals."
One of the noobs here (running in Sprint Group 2). Was my first LOTD and really enjoyed it, big thanks to the SSC crew for such a well-run event, and other drivers for making everything safe and enjoyable! I was pretty happy with a 1:13.58, new PR for me and over 2 secs improvement over my last drive at Wakefield.
Beginner, intermedia and experienced track day driving groups
One of the important things Lotus Cars Australia spends a lot of time on is making sure everyone has a great driving experience on the racing circuit. To do this they split all the drivers into different groups so that each person is driving with other people of similar ability. This means each session is safe and everyone can drive at their own pace without the pressure of cars going past them regularly so they can concentrate on their driving.
You don’t need any previous driving experience on a racing circuit, the team will ease you into the day and there is a special group for beginnings who get personal 1-on-1 tuition and training to get them up to speed.
Beginner, intermedia and experienced track day driving groups
The best part about doing a sports car track day with Lotus Cars Australia is that the community of people are very inclusive and welcoming. It is the perfect environment for best mates or even husband and wife to come out and enjoy a day of performance driving together.Â
Lotus track day frequently asked questions
The Drive Track Day group is perfectly suited for beginners who are doing their first track day so you can experience one of the worlds greatest race tracks without the pressures of being timed. There is no safer opportunity to do so than in this track day group where you have access to professional driving instructors who will be providing out of car tuition and tips to help increase your confidence when you go out on track. You will get expert guidance and advice about the dynamics and balance of your Lotus, correct driving lines, braking points and more. You’re guaranteed to go home a better driver.
For the faster or more experienced drivers we will have two Sprint Track Day groups which receive full timing during the day. For those who are a little more competitive or would like to test themselves against the clock all drivers are sorted into a fastest to slowest running order to ensure you get to make the most of your time on Australia’s best racing circuit.
All drivers in the Sprint Track Day groups will receive a timing transmitter so that lap times can be accurately recorded during your 6 sessions of 20 minutes each.
No, you don’t have to have a specific racing license but you will be required to have a Motorsport Australia L2S License which can be purchased online form their website
Yes, we use the full Mount Panorama Racing Circuit just like you see on TV where Australia’s best racing drivers have been before. This is not a hill climb event that uses just a section, the complete track will be closed.
No, this is a track day for road registered Lotus sports cars. There may be a couple of Lotus racing cars but these will be put into different groups to ensure driver speed and experience is not mixed between drivers.
This is not a competitive racing event and all cars will be spaced out on the track as best as possible to ensure it is safe.
This is not a speed limited track day so you can go as fast as you are comfortable driving.
A Lotus Exige sports car will reach over 250km/h down Mountain Straight and we will try and group drivers into relevant groups based on experience and our knowledge of their previously demonstrated driving performance on a race track.
This is not a competitive racing event and all cars will be spaced out on the track as best as possible to ensure it is safe.
No, passengers are not allowed to be taken on the track.Â
If this is your very first track day we would probably recommend doing a few days prior to this one before attempting to drive on Mount Panorama. This race track is one of the fastest in the world and is essentially a road lined with concrete walls. Unlike other race tracks in Australia there is very little run off.
So while it is possible for a beginner to attempt this track day we would suggest getting some prior experience first to ensure you are comfortable and confident.
