Trackdays without worry

To get the best out of a trackday with your car, you’ll need to spend just a few minutes thinking about the worst that could happen. And that means a look at trackday insurance. Jonathan Crouch checks it out
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Oct 2010, 14:18 BST

In a world of speed cameras, police radar traps and growing traffic congestion, it’s hardly surprising that trackdays are becoming more and more successful in the UK. Any number of operators can offer you a chance to drive your car to the ultimate on virtually any circuit you care to name. For just a few pounds, trackday insurance will mean you can drive hard with peace of mind.

If you’ve saved and saved to buy or modify your perfect set of wheels, then it’s natural to be just a little nervous of committing it to the racetrack. But if you don’t, then you’ll never properly experience your car’s real capabilities - or indeed your own. Taking the plunge and booking a trackday, either through a circuit or a private operator - is easy. Doing so though, without investigating trackday insurance, is pretty foolhardy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It’s obviously important to use the right broker, so I asked around and was recommended to Everitt Boles, a company who’ve been specialising in this kind of thing longer than most trackday users can remember. They’ve a simple website you can visit (www.moris.co.uk) that’ll quote you within minutes and they’ve expert staff at the end of a ‘phoneline always primed with ready advice. Chatting through my needs with their helpful team, it became clear that there was a lot more to this than I’d thought.

You might, for example, be surprised to learn that fun, low cost trackday cars cost very little to cover: for a day, a MK1 Mazda MX-5 worth around £2,500 would set you back between £60 and £80 with an excess of £250. Hardly unreasonable. If you’ve something a little nicer - say a £12,000 Lotus Elise - you’re looking at around £135, with an excess of £1,100. Those figures are for airfield-based trackdays (of which there are many). Add around 30% to the premium for the extra risk of a permanent circuit.

Find out too about extra drivers: I was surprised that adding these to my policy had such a relatively small effect on the premium - but that was with Everitt Boles. Check the small print carefully if you’re using another broker. Some insurance companies will also sell you personal injury insurance as an add-on, though you might find that you’re covered anyway by regular personal injury insurance, if you have any: check the fine print of any policy before setting out.

Vehicle recovery can also be a contentious issue, though it shouldn’t be if you simply break down, since Track Days don’t come under the exclusions most recovery companies will make for motorsport. Check your policy for safety. They probably won’t cover you if you’ve crashed though.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If all of this sounds a little worrying and complex, then don’t be put off. Just a few minutes on the ‘phone and surfing around the internet can deliver peace of mind that’ll add immeasurably to your trackday adventure. If you want to do it, then you want to do it right.

Trackday Insurance

Need to know

Who we tried: Everitt Boles (www.moris.co.uk) - 0207-709-9559

Popular Trackday operators: Goldtrack (www.goldtrack.co.uk) / Motorsport Vision (www.motorsportvision.co.uk) / Javelin Track Days (www.javelintrackdays.co.uk) / Easytrack (www.easytrack.co.uk)