Lap Sprint

NAMSC Lapsprint

Lapsprint is a category designed to foster participation in Motorsport by allowing people to sample racing in their own road car.  This class is aimed at giving potential members a taste of motor sport without having to buy a race car.

Lapsprint is controlled as to the number of cars on the track at any one time and all cars are separated so no door to door racing or overtaking occurs in accordance with the regulations stipulated and must be strictly adhered to.  A delegate is elected amongst the drivers in this class to represent the category at general and committee meetings and distribute requests from the Executive to members.

Lapsprint is intended for:

1. Street registered cars

2. Non registered cars that are not race cars

3. Race cars that don't fit into an existing category - 3 cars minimum for a category 

4. Race cars not interested in racing, but want to be on the track

5. Electric cars are not permitted due to insurance and track equipment requirements

 

Prepare for the Event

Essential Requirements for you, the Driver

WARNING! Motor Racing is Dangerous and accidents can and do happen. All care is taken to protect you, but you are warned that there is a possibility of an accident-causing injury, death or property damage.

 

NO INSURANCE COVERAGE ON THE TRACK

 

Every entrant must register online before the close date, usually Wednesday prior to the weekend. 

PRE DRIVER-BRIEFING AND COMPETENCY - You will be required to attend a driver briefing and complete at least three laps of the track prior to your first event.

These laps are usually completed the Saturday before the Sunday meeting and conducted with witches hats marking the relevant important sections of the track.  All drivers will be observed from the tower by an executive club member or competent official. Once successfully completed this process new drivers will be signed off for participation in NAMSC club events.

Clothing must be of non-flammable material (no synthetics) and cover you from neck to wrist to ankle. This includes your footwear, which will be closed-in shoes or boots (no synthetics, thongs or sandals).
It is not necessary to wear a driving suit – jeans and cotton long sleeved shirts are ok. Shoes need to have a leather upper, or wear driving shoes if you prefer. Joggers with a leather upper are ok as long as they are not synthetic, but sometimes the soles can be too wide for effective pedal operation, so assess carefully.

Safety helmet to AS/NZS1698 standard or equivalent as listed in the Motorsport Australia Manual and can be open or full-face style for Road Registered cars. If your car is not road registered it will need an approved Log Book, except if it is competing in the Multi-Club event. Cars whose Log Book category requires the mandatory use of a Frontal Head Restraint (FHR) must also use an FHR at a State or National level event.

Supplementary Regulations download them for the chosen event. These will be available from under the Entries Tab, or they will be a link, when entries are open. The Supplementary Regulations should be read carefully so that you don’t have any unwelcome surprises on the day.

 

Car Preparation

Before leaving for the track make sure all your fluids have been topped up, Check the condition of your tyres and the pressures. Make sure to check them after every run as they will build up heat & pressure significantly which will result in quite a loss of grip. Don’t compete if you have worn or damaged tyres.

Make sure you have plenty of meat on your brake pads as they will wear much faster than on the street, and remove any unnecessary loose items before you leave as that will save you doing this at the track.

Finally, read the Supplementary Regulations. They will not only contain important information about the day, but will tell you if there is anything else you will need to do to your car beforehand like taping over forward facing glass lenses as an example.

Towing points or straps are required to be fitted both front and rear to allow for the speedy recovery of the vehicle by the rescue team. OEM tow points are permitted to be used on road registered cars as long as their location, if not clearly visible, is marked with a red “Tow” triangle sticker or made from insulating tape.

Remove all loose articles from the car, including jack, floor and boot mats, spare wheel, tools, and anything in the cabin. Scrutineers will check for loose items and will pay particular attention to cameras, which must be fixed in the cabin away from the driver and have a secondary tether (e.g cable ties) if removable.

Optional extras

A harness in place of standard seat belt. A harness keeps you in place more firmly than a 3-point seatbelt. They should be securely mounted with no fabric wear. Note that harnesses are not road legal so road registered cars will need to retain the OEM belts. Harnesses are not to be used after the latest date of: (a) FIA – Mfr date plus 10 years to Dec 31st or 5 years from expiry date or (b) SFI – Mfr date plus 2 yrs.

Gloves are optional, but considering that the rest of you is covered up, may be a worthwhile addition.

Improved driving seat. Leather and vinyl seats don’t hold you in place very well. Neither do older, armchair style seats. Consider changing to a fabric covered, well-fitting seat, although it doesn’t have to be a dedicated racing seat unless you want to spend the money. Make sure that if you do change the seat that the mounting points are secure, air bag system is not interrupted and meet RMS requirements for road registered cars.

On Your First Lapsprint Track Day

1. Best advice is to take it easy and don’t try and break lap records first time out. Work up to your speed, don’t be a hero on cold tyres and brakes. In a street car you’re not racing for sheep stations so don’t be stupid. Mistakes can be expensive not to mention embarrassing – enjoy yourself without endangering anyone else!

2. Use your mirrors! You should always know who is coming up behind you. When you are about to be passed, hold the racing line because the person behind you will then know exactly where you’re going.  Accidents on Track Days can happen when drivers go off the racing line. It is the responsibility of the faster car to get around the slower car and as long as the slower car sticks to the line, the faster car will have no problem getting around. You should be constantly watching your mirrors and know exactly what’s behind you. Don’t drive unpredictably!

3. If your car has some sort of problem, you should take it off the track wherever it is safe. This is particularly important if you are losing liquid, you should definitely get off the racing line immediately. If your car has to remain off the track during a session and if safe to do so, stay in the car until told by a marshal it’s safe to get out. Otherwise exit the car safely and get behind a safety barrier as soon as possible. Do not walk on the track.

4. Work up to your speed and concentrate. It’s so easy to lose concentration for a split second and end up somewhere you don’t want to be.

5. If it’s your first time, try and remember the race lines, braking and turn-in points etc from the drive with the witches hats. Driver development is probably more important than car development. Until you’re running consistent times lap after lap don’t worry about the car – worry about your driving!

6. After you have finished your cool down lap and come into the pits, your adrenaline will still be pumping so it’s easy to forget a few simple things such as:

a) When you park your car leave your handbrake off and stick it in gear or P for autos. NEVER pull the handbrake on after a session on the track. Heat build-up in the brakes/rotors can cause the brake pads to adhere to the rotors and this should be avoided at all costs.

b) Leave your bonnet open to let any heat out as quickly as possible and finally don’t forget to take your seatbelt off before trying to exit your vehicle I’ve seen others attempt it, and it does provide good entertainment for those watching!

c) Immediately check your tyre pressures when hot and adjust them to your required pressure. On the track, your tyres will build up heat which increases pressure, and they must be checked while hot. When cold, reduce by around 4 psi to allow for this build-up.

 

What to do on the day.

Gates Open - the gates will open at 7.00am for officials and competitors to arrive and sign on. 

Sign on as a competitor, usually from 7.30am 

Attend Drivers Briefing usually 8am or when called – it is COMPULSORY. Sign the attendance sheet – that’s compulsory, too.

Vehicle scrutineering is usually from 7.30am to 8.30am

Any persons assisting you in the pit bay must sign on, wear a wrist band and wear fully enclosed shoes so you can go into the pit bays.

Arrive at the circuit early as garages/car ports are occupied very quickly, and the scrutineering queue can become long.

Unload everything from your car, and fix your numbers to the car. Tape them on if they are magnetic.

If this is your first time driving on this track, place an “X” on the rear of your car (about 15 cm square) in insulating tape of a contrasting colour that is clearly visible to cars behind you.

Change wheels if necessary – double check the wheel nuts for correct tightness!

Take your car registration papers and/or log book and helmet to scrutineering to be checked off and receive your scrutineering sticker.

Last minute checking might include adjusting your harness if you are using one and checking that bonnet, boot and doors are all shut properly, the wheel nuts are properly tightened if you have changed your wheels and that your starting tyre pressures have been set.

Have a cup of coffee and go the loo!

Queue up for your first run in your allocated grid group when instructed.

Go out and have fun but take it easy for your first few runs!!!

When you return to your garage after a run, do not apply the parking brake as your brake pads could adhere to your hot disks.

Immediately open your bonnet to help the engine cool down then quickly check your hot tyre pressures and let them down to the pressure that you want to run at in your next session. Check your engine’s belts and check for fluid leaks and fluid levels. Repeat this after every session.