This question is for those who attend track days (aka HPDE's), or otherwise having fun on a track which is not covered by your road-going insurance carrier. For a vehicle of the 570S's value, this insurance is about $500-1000 per weekend, with a $5000 deductible.
Do you pay for track insurance, or do you go without? And why?
I've been racing W2W since 1980, so to me, driving a 570S at 90-95% at an HPDE is relatively safe. Other than some idiot doing something stupid (which is why I avoid Open Track type HPDEs and stick to the Advanced Group), or someone dropping copious amounts of fluid, or a part failure, the odds are that nothing will happen except brake and tire wear. I do not get track insurance. Just today at NJMP a C7 Corvette spun at 100mph in front of me and I was not sure which way he was going, so that was a pucker moment. It does not make me wish I had gotten insurance.
When I was tracking a Nissan GT-R and shared the car with a friend for his 60th birthday, then I got insurance. More to make him feel easier than because I thought he might wreck the car. I was pleasantly surprised that Lockton covered both of us for the same price even though my friend was a rookie. It was my first time at NCM.
For a rookie driving a McLaren on track, I'd say first and foremost DON'T. You'll learn to carry speed thru a corner better in an under-powered car. For rookie McLaren owners that must drive on track; build up slowly, leave your ego out of it and consider track insurance.
Other than some idiot doing something stupid (which is why I avoid Open Track type HPDEs and stick to the Advanced Group), or someone dropping copious amounts of fluid, or a part failure, the odds are that nothing will happen except brake and tire wear. I do not get track insurance. Just today at NJMP a C7 Corvette spun at 100mph in front of me and I was not sure which way he was going, so that was a pucker moment.
I know you're citing these as reasons why you don't get track insurance, but these are all reasons why I do, lol. I traditionally never purchased it until the value of my entry started exceeding $50k, and at that point, it was a worthwhile investment just because you can't trust other drivers and their hardware 100% of the time. Different clubs have different standards for advancing drivers and tech inspections, so some events may be low-risk because they're well-structured (i.e. Porsche Club or manufacturer events) while others may not (your typical no-name local HPDE event).
I have seen too many nice cars totaled on the track. Get the HPDE insurance if you can't afford to lose it all. It doesn't take much but a bit of oil spill to end-up in the wall
I used to purchase day insurance but have since moved on to annual policies through Open Track. It’s a much lower price if you track multiple times a year and the peace of mind is totally worth it. As a plus you can add multiple cars onto the policy and even include rentals. Totally worth it and like Exhilr8n mentioned, you’ll be faster too! 😉
I love the idea. Just pulled a quick quote from Open Track. For a new 765LT, you are looking at $3600 per day of coverage with a 10% deductible. Yeesh... I think I might rather be slower!
P.S. I wonder what the ratio of people who keep traction control on (to some level) and still buy insurance. My wife nearly spun our prior 991.1 TTS at Big Willow, but the traction control system converted the spin into a controllable slide.
I have been tracking cars (HPDE and racing) for 30 years. I have on occasion bought track insurance. I think that a full year track policy may be more cost effective for the car. I bought insurance for my car twice. Now I do not any more.
As to traction control, even in the dynamic mode, it will imperceptibly brake the inside rear wheel. As such you will find that you run out of rear brakes first. I ran with it on for the first few events. Now I run with it off, it feels much better off. BTW spend $2k and hire a good pro coach to work with you for a couple of days to really get a good understanding of the car.
30+ years of track days and 25+ years of instructing...... never bought track insurance. With street cars I am not looking to set lap times. I'm looking to work on my skills and have some fun. I pick whatever group that has the fewest cars. Stay away from traffic and the knuckleheads and their egos and you'll be fine. Now, if I'm racing in a series for points or money......... all bets are off! But those aren't road cars either!
Well put Ingenere. I would also add that I don't owe any money on my 570S and while totally destroying it with a rare HPDE accident would be painful, it would not be a financial crisis for me. If that is not the case for some folks with less experience, then track insurance might make sense.
I will add that when I was renting an SCCA racecar (with replacement value set at $50K) for the entire 2016 season, I did take the team's insurance, but only for race days (not practice or qualifying) when accidents are much more likely to happen.
For those of us who have been doing this for some time I think we can all agree that over the past 10 years cars have gotten ludicrously FAST. As such with most of these cars you will be going in excess of 150 mph on a long straight with only a 3 point seat belts. I have lapped VIR and Watkins Glen in about 2:08 in my 570GT on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2’s. That used to be considered very fast. According to my AIM SoloDL theoretical fastest lap is about 1.5 seconds more, and I’m sure if I pushed it harder it would go lower. But I’m doing it to learn more about the car and have fun.
plus it is WAY more exciting than golf.
One more thing about HPDE - If you are new and a beginner in the sport then make sure to go with a reputable group like Chin Track Days | The Leader in High Performance Driving Education They are not just about taking your money and let you loose on the track. They really try to teach you how to learn your car and not to exceed your limits driving it. But accidents do happened and it is just matter of time. ask any good driver and they will tell you that they have had a few.
The only issue with HPDE these days is that you can't have an instructor in the car due to the virus. You can learn a lot from a good instructor specially if they drive a similar car to your.
It's a tricky subject. The short answer is that people with high value cars >$200,000 do not get track insurance (cost prohibitive). Annual policy with open track on a Mclaren/Ferrari is about 4.3% of the value of your car with a 10% deductible. They increased it from 3.3% with 5% deductible (deductible in the past changes from 5% to 10% once it gets above $300K. I had posted an email response from opentrack of why there was a substantial increase on these forums in the past (this track insurance thing is not a new subject, it has been discussed many times). In 2019 on a $300K policy, it was $10K with 5% deductible. In 2020 it is $13K with a 10% deductible.
People with, shall we say cheaper cars do get track insurance because it doesn't cost a whole lot... and they are the ones who drive aggressive, self tech, D.I.Y. types who are trying to track as cheaply as possible and the ones who will cause the most problems at HPDE's. (momentum cars that refuse to press their brakes when the track conditions require everyone to press those brakes).
You basically have 3 issues:
1) getting into an accident due to a fluid leak from another car (happens more often then people like to think or know about)
2) car to car contact due to dive bombing and people with momentum cars trying to not lose momentum and hitting into you
3) you going into a wall due to your driving
You can control #3 and is also dependent on the track you are driving (in california; risk is higher going into a wall at Sonoma and Laguna Seca (I've seen plenty of this), buttonwillow, big willow, thunderhill the risk isn't there. However, risk is higher of 1 and 2 at those tracks (cheaper to rent the track, track fees are less so it brings out the cheaper cars.
If not getting track insurance then you can mitigate your risk:
1) the higher the fees for an HPDE then the more expensive the cars and less cars are on track and they have different/safer attitudes.
2) instead of doing HPDE then do the test and tune days (hardly any cars on track with you but your car has to qualify - mclaren cars have built in roll over protection, get the harness and have fire extinguisher in your car (I qualify with P1, 600LT and will also qualify with 765 for these types of days).
3) do semi exclusive days if your track has it (buttonwillow/big willow have this). It is a bit more expensive (buttonwillow is $750). They limit it to 6 cars on track
4) get a group of people that you know and rent out a run group if you can from the organizer (I have done this with Audi HPDE group)
5) do HPDE days on weekdays. These days bring out a different crowd (older more gentlemen type)
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I had track insurance in my fourth year of tracking and didn't renew. I got the track insurance because an old car spilled oil, and I was driving in a pack of four cars. Two of us made it through the oil spill unscathed (different race line), but two cars (gt3 and gt3rs) were totaled and a track worker died because of it. Too many people bringing old shit cars on track with attitudes to match. I didn't renew because it was too cost prohibitive but I am aware of the risks. I still go out and do the HPDE things on week-ends where there is more cars and more incidents.
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On another note; if you are going to get single event insurance then make sure it is with a group that you get plenty of track time (speeddistrict as an example (7 sessions), vs say speedventures (4 sessions). Do it over a multi day track day (2 to 3 days). Some of the track insurance companies will only charge for one day and you basically get the other day or two for free.
You basically have 3 issues:
1) getting into an accident due to a fluid leak from another car (happens more often then people like to think or know about)
2) car to car contact due to dive bombing and people with momentum cars trying to not lose momentum and hitting into you
3) you going into a wall due to your driving
I'm really happy with the discussion in this thread!
Personally, I'm not a new track driver. Just new with the 570S. For a number of years I raced Superbike, where we routinely wadded up our machines and replaced them out of pocket. My 570S is about 14x more expensive than a "B" bike, so insurance has become a thought.
I will likely rent out Big Willow for a private day with some trusted friends and avoid insurance. If I go into an open track day event (HPDE), I'll spring for the extra $500-1000 for the track insurance, at least for the first time with a group just to be safe.
Hopefully this thread lives on and serves others well for years to come.
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