Having always been in and around circuit racing since I 7 years old I have always thought of it as a far superior form of motor racing and that drag racing was plain boring, but now having tried both my opinion has changed a little bit.

Circuit racing at the level that my car is at I feel is quite a bit harder, getting it to stay on track, powering out of corners cleanly and picking the right lines and not out braking myself I feel offers a pretty big challenge and plenty of fun, as a complete exercise it involves a bit more skill. The rush of blasting down the straight and powering out of the turns is huge!!! There is a bit more risk
of a mishap I feel too, the walls can get a bit too close!

Drag racing as far as I see it at my level is that it all comes back to the main challenge being the launch, being able to get the power to the ground effectively and getting a good take off. The rest of the run really concerns keeping the power down, shifting up the gears cleanly and having the nuts to keep it planted all the way. Safety wise its not that bad as long as you don't do anything too stupid, the biggest danger for me would be snapping something in the drive line.
However I am sure driving a 9 second car is a different story!!
One other good thing about the drags is you can prove how quick your car really is, fact and fiction get separated by your time sheet
because its the only real true benchmark for comparing performance.

Both I feel are a lot harder then they look, consistency pays a big role too if you want to be good at either as a driver. I think the drags is an easier step to take due to the lower risk and the ease of which you can enter

Drag entry
e.g.
Drivers License
Rego papers
Helmet
$45

Where as circuit is:
Drivers license
CAMS basic comp license or Wakefield one
Blue triangle for battery location
Fire extinguisher
Lights covered
Bonnet latch
$170 +


I will agree both are good fun and a real blast although the circuit does have a bit more appeal for me, ripping through corners is mad fun!

Hopefully I will do both this year and find out for myself.

Originally posted by EZ 2002
Having always been in and around circuit racing since I 7 years old I have always thought of it as a far superior form of motor racing and that drag racing was plain boring, but now having tried both my opinion has changed a little bit.

Circuit racing at the level that my car is at I feel is quite a bit harder, getting it to stay on track, powering out of corners cleanly and picking the right lines and not out braking myself I feel offers a pretty big challenge and plenty of fun, as a complete exercise it involves a bit more skill. The rush of blasting down the straight and powering out of the turns is huge!!! There is a bit more risk
of a mishap I feel too, the walls can get a bit too close!

Drag racing as far as I see it at my level is that it all comes back to the main challenge being the launch, being able to get the power to the ground effectively and getting a good take off. The rest of the run really concerns keeping the power down, shifting up the gears cleanly and having the nuts to keep it planted all the way. Safety wise its not that bad as long as you don't do anything too stupid, the biggest danger for me would be snapping something in the drive line.
However I am sure driving a 9 second car is a different story!!
One other good thing about the drags is you can prove how quick your car really is, fact and fiction get separated by your time sheet
because its the only real true benchmark for comparing performance.

Both I feel are a lot harder then they look, consistency pays a big role too if you want to be good at either as a driver. I think the drags is an easier step to take due to the lower risk and the ease of which you can enter

Drag entry
e.g.
Drivers License
Rego papers
Helmet
$45

Where as circuit is:
Drivers license
CAMS basic comp license or Wakefield one
Blue triangle for battery location
Fire extinguisher
Lights covered
Bonnet latch
$170 +


I will agree both are good fun and a real blast although the circuit does have a bit more appeal for me, ripping through corners is mad fun!

Ive never taken my car to the drag strip (for fear of embarrassment), but i can tell you one thing: Im loving the circuit racing :)
Even when i dissintegrate engine mounts, send the throttle butterfly through the hood and tear up radiator hoses, dumping coolant all over the track and my tyres, and sending me straight ahead at 100kph where i was supposed to be taking a 100-110 degree turn! :D
:help
:redspot

Originally posted by CafeRacer
Even when i dissintegrate engine mounts, send the throttle butterfly through the hood and tear up radiator hoses, dumping coolant all over the track and my tyres, and sending me straight ahead at 100kph where i was supposed to be taking a 100-110 degree turn!


And the award for the biggest sh*t stain in his pants goes to... :astromile

Originally posted by blown3
And the award for the biggest sh*t stain in his pants goes to... :astromile

:laugh nah id say that goes to an Alfa.
I got back on the track and was heading for the pits, next corner i look in my rear vision mirror and see a red 70's Alfa go straight ahead thanks to me dumping coolant on the track ;)
Thats not to say my pants were in good shape afterwards... Nothing a bit of Fabreeze wont fix :astromile
:redspot

Drag racing is something where you can turn up and race with no special preparation. It was a blast!

I haven't tried circuit racing. I would be worried about crashing my car.

Originally posted by MrBlonde
I haven't tried circuit racing. I would be worried about crashing my car.
you cant crash your car at wakefield. Its all runoff, no walls.
Do you think a poor student would risk losing his only BMW? :)
you should at least come to a track day and watch how it operates. Theyre plenty of fun as im sure Gatt will tell ya ;)

I've tried both... drags a few times and track only once at wakefield.

Drags aren't as easy as they look and its heaps of fun. As Kenny said theres no preparation apart from the last minute dodgy weight reduction :D Also you can easily race your friends and check out some fast cars...

Track is awesome fun and although I was shit scared about f*cking up my car the first time out it turned out to be quite safe and I really got to reach (and pass) the limits of my car... I know I still have heaps far to go on the track but I reckon it tips the scales on this one because it lasts a whole day and the adrenaline rush lasts more than the 12/13 odd seconds..

you cant crash your car at wakefield. Its all runoff, no walls

As for this... I disagree.... Mr Caferacer you're obviously not pushing hard enuf :D

Nah seriously I've seen a car after its gone sideways past the kink on the straight and lose half its rear end. This was no newbie either... this guy posts regular 1:07's around the track.... Other cars have also flipped and although this is a VERY RARE event it can happen....

But seriously I don't think much has compared to the first time I truly lost it around the track reaching turn one and finding out I'm going WAY to fast..... it was awesome...

Originally posted by 400hp
As for this... I disagree.... Mr Caferacer you're obviously not pushing hard enuf :D

But seriously I don't think much has compared to the first time I truly lost it around the track reaching turn one and finding out I'm going WAY to fast..... it was awesome...

Not hard enough? lets see.. ive lost it around Turns:
1, 2, 6, 7, 8... various times :)
:buttrock

Originally posted by CafeRacer
Do you think a poor student would risk losing his only BMW? :)


Isn't that an oxymoron?

Originally posted by blown3
And the award for the biggest sh*t stain in his pants goes to... :astromile
Wasn't that awarded to you after the first time I took you for a spin in my 2002, I recall a real bad smell coming from the passenger seat after you got out!! :D

Drags don't go for long enough I had 5 runs which would of totalled about 1 min and 20 sceonds of racing (a slow lap for me at Wakefield) but what I like is that your given your time card straight away so you know if you have gone better, they always take a while to get you your times at the track.

Circuit though gave me the biggest grin factor, just powering down the straight passing other cars like they're standing still was awesome, also putting the throttle down and heading up the hill at Wakefield fighting the car as it comes on boost and the rear starts to fight for traction is mad fun.

The best of both worlds would have to be the class of Sport Sedans that my Dad races in. Its made up of cars that have the power output of 9 or 10 seconds cars that handle like open wheel racing cars and pull up hard. Plus they sound real mean and can put on some top racing with plenty of different car and motor combos.

Originally posted by EZ 2002
Wasn't that awarded to you after the first time I took you for a spin in my 2002, I recall a real bad smell coming from the passenger seat after you got out!! :D


Yes I agree - and then I had to add another one to the collection after Kenny took me for a drive in his car.

Originally posted by MrBlonde
Drag racing is something where you can turn up and race with no special preparation. It was a blast!

I haven't tried circuit racing. I would be worried about crashing my car.

When I did Defensive Driving with Aaron McGill at Oran Park - there was a timed lap where I was trying pretty hard to beat the:
-1 x modified Sti
-2 x WRX (bug eyed)
-1 x modified WRX '99.

I almost ended up smacking the YOKOHAMA bridge - power oversteer followed by wicked fish-tail :buttrock