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 P&S looks at the growing popularity of track days and how retailers can benefit
Rather than just waffling on about the fact that track days have become much more popular in recent times thanks to an increasing amount of speed traps on the roads, P&S thought it would be useful to look at how this popularity actually affects our industry. As a retailer it makes a lot of sense to embrace this new found desire to test your metal around a circuit, it’s something that will probably only get more popular and so to ignore the demand could prove to be a mistake. In this feature though, we’ll look at more than just the products that you should be thinking of as there are other benefits you may glean from track days too.
For example, have you ever thought about using a track day as a basis for demonstrating the products you sell? The general theory on this is that track-proven products are easier to sell. This is a particularly relevant idea to those of you that may have demo cars that are track-inspired as undoubtedly you will be using parts on it that your shop sells. In a similar way to the way Pro Class cars in Time Attack demonstrate not only the tuners abilities but the abilities of the parts they use too, this idea can be used on a smaller and cheaper scale by you. Imagine if you have a demo car and can take it to a track day, impressing other users with your pace around the circuit. With the right branding on the car you’ll hopefully attract inquiries from other users about the car and what it’s running. Step that up a notch and you could even take customers out on the circuit in your car to show them first hand the benefits of the parts that you use – and that they could be using.
We caught up with Chris Hoey of Circuit Days and he had this to say about it: ‘Our philosophy at Circuit Days is to positively encourage the corporate customers. Whereas some track day companies are only interested in creaming off the more lucrative private market, I feel it’s our duty as a responsible track-day provider to offer a controlled environment for the Motor trade where they can come to test, evaluate and sell their products in total safety. We believe that the track is the only place to safely put your demo cars through their paces. To that effect, we introduced several ‘trade friendly’ policies right from day one. Firstly, any trade customers are allowed to sign on up to four passengers absolutely free of charge, so please bring them along! Better than that, we also allow up to four drivers, again at no extra cost over the original booking, to drive the same car on that day. Bring your valued contacts along and let them try before they buy. We even include free instructor time to make sure that your are getting the best out of your car - and the circuit. It’s also reassuring if you’re handing the keys to a customer, to know that they are in safe hands in your pride and joy! Currently, as far as I know, we are the only UK Track day provider to extend these facilities to the Motor Trade. Don’t risk your licence, come and get booked in!’
So, track days aren’t just an abstract concept that you can’t get involved with, they can be a beneficial way for you to prove your products and act as a marketing tool to increase your sales. A shop where the people who run it are known for dealing with track days themselves are bound to get the custom from other track day users over those who don’t, as there will be the perception that they can advise based on experience rather than simply just what they have in stock. Speaking of stock, what are the products that you need to be able to supply if you want to involve yourself with track days.
One of the first upgrades will be suspension, a modification that not only helps cars look better, but that can help drivers get their cars around a track quicker. Generally you’ll be dealing with coilover suspension here but with plenty of lower priced units on the market now this shouldn’t shut the door on any customers wanting to indulge in track mods. The key is to be able to supply a the whole range of suspension from the cheaper kits, to the more expensive and comprehensive kits from the likes of Tein and KW. Getting a good understanding of what kit will work best with what car is also a good idea, you can even try to get feedback from customers to help give you a better knowledge. On top of just coilovers though, the idea of stiffening up the chassis will be paramount in their minds so anti-roll bar kits, polyurethane bushes and strut braces are all useful additions.
After suspension you need to make sure the consumables that they will need are all there i.e brakes and tyres. Track days are hard on both of these parts and it’s often advisable to fit new pads and decent tyres to your car before going out there. A choice of uprated pads and a selection of tyres from excellent road tyres to the more specialist road/track tyres like the Toyo R888 are crucial and will be the items you should see with the quickest turnarounds. For many track users there is a fastidious need to make sure their cars are running at their optimum so there are added parts that make sense for you to offer. Brake fluid, braided hoses for brake lines and tyre pressure gauges are all extras that they can benefit from. In fact, if you want to take things even further and are adamant that you will be having a hardcore customer base then you can expand your offerings considerably.
Think about what you may need if you’re heading out to a track day and you’ll get an idea of the products that you could be making a profit on in your shop. All track days require the driver wears a helmet and while they can often rent one, it’s not quite as good as having your own. When was the last time you went into a car accessory shop and saw a decent selection of helmets available? Rather than missing out on a sale to your local motorbike accessory dealer, why not add helmets to your proposition, with the same maybe being said of driving gloves and shoes. As far as their cars are concerned, fire extinguishers are another product that track day organisers recommend, as are towing eyes so that cars can be pulled from gravel/tyre walls should they come unstuck! Track day organisers also tell of dB levels of exhausts, which is something P&S has looked at before. While there appears to be no hard and fast ways to get highly tuned cars within the noise limits, exhaust systems that are designed specifically with tracks in mind are certainly worth looking at too.
On top of all that, there are products that retailers rather than just tuners can stock that will help track drivers get the most out of their cars. Unless you have specialist knowledge of engine tuning you may want to avoid the likes of pistons, turbos etc and unless you can offer a fitting service then rollcages may be out of the question, but there’s no reason to steer away from products that a typical track car may need. Racing seats with FIA approval are a decent bet, although many drivers seems to be opting to keep their cars as comfortable as possible for everyday use so you may find you’re not selling as many to these customers as you would like. Items like gauges however barely impact on the functionality of a car from day to day but for the driver who likes to know exactly what their car is doing under hard circuit driving they can be a crucial aid. Essentially any product geared towards performance including lightweight wheels, carbon fibre panels and silicone hoses are all there to be offered to customers, and are all products that can be of benefit to them when on track. Perhaps even offering track day packages that add up to the customer saving a few pounds could be a profitable exercise i.e Package one – new pads and a set of new tyres, Package two – new pads and discs, coilover suspension and new tyres etc. You’d probably have a better stab at the packages that could work than us, but you get the idea.
Hopefully what you’ve read up until now hasn’t daunted you about getting involved with track days. While it’s not the be all and end all to start catering for the track day market, performance modifications are certainly on the up and track days are often where the most hardcore enthusiasts can be found pushing their cars to the limit in relative safety, so it’s all kind of related anyway. With fuel prices, bad roads and speed cameras forcing people to ease off the gas a little on a day to day basis, track days are likely to keep growing as petrolheads struggle to feed their habits. Fortunately for retailers, enthusiasts are unlikely to drop their fascination with fast cars any time soon, so the market for performance products should be buoyant for a good while yet!
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