Lug_Nut
Track days are not cheap..If I recall $300 for all day 8am to 5PM catered Breakfast and Lunch. The day starts with a meet and great, moves onto a safety orientation, then track time, lunch, and more track time.
What do you get for that ...2 if not 3 safety corner workers in every corner and an Ambulance and crew (If not 2)standing by all day. The biggest proportion of cost is for the safety staff. The Track Safety team would also do an hour safety brief so EVERYONE understands the Flagging Signals to avoid compounded incidents.
Groups would be devided by experience ... but since there are no racers in the TDI club then the grouping would be divided by experience of a undetermined measuring stick. But letz say 2 groups ..some with experience and the other with none.
That said ... sessions on track would run on twenty minute intervals for each group.
Generally an hour off for Lunch
So letz see, say 20 participants that's 6000$
Thats 6 hours track time divided by 20 minutes. I say 6 hrs on track because the organization of groups probably eats up time between sessions. Thats 6 hrs clean barring any incidents. Less if there are incidents.
That would make it (9) 20 minute sessions per group for a total of 180 mins on track at a cost of 100$ an hour. But in most track days 7 to 8 session are more realistic because there are incidents as you said.
But rules are instituted to avoid incidents. Like no passing in corners , passing only on a chosen side, no passing the group lead car..etc., etc. etc.
Crashes are crashes and you have to live with that and they are pointedly driver error, mechanicals are mechanicals, if a turbo blows it was meant to blow, wheither on the track or one day on your daily commute.
If and I say if; a track day event were too occur your mental state has to be willing to suck it up. As long as NO ONE GETS HURT it's a successful event. Regardless of cost EVERYONE I have ever known that participated in a track day will do it again because just being able to let your vehicle or bike stretch it's legs on a track; thinks it was worth every penny spent.
Just because we drive TDI's does not mean we own the term cheapskate. Everyone counts there pennies. Because thats the nature of todays society...some are just cheaper then others. I had a friend who had been riding bikes for 20 years and showed up at my 1st track day. He was angry at me because I was running my bike on track and had only been riding bikes for a year. I looked at him lanquished in his anger and said the only reason your "pissed" at me is because your to cheap to buy a track day. He laughed and said I was right. He treated himself to a track day a few years later.
Thus, to have a track day it must be well thought out and well planned. Be willing to pay to play. Understand that crashes happen and catastrophic mechanicals do occur and you must have the mindset to accept that without whineing. Lastly SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY is the most important factor in the success of the event because EVERYONE wants to go home safely.
However, my previous posts were not about track days they were about Motorsports Facilities being a great place to have an event because they cater to motorsports events wheither you use the track or not.
Now that was an interesting exercise...which I opted to explain because you asked.
Motorsports Road Race courses are all over the USA and in Canada mostly in Eastern Canada with Mt. Tremblant having the nicest of those in Canada. Your from MA so I quess your familiar with Loudan which was my home track when I was racing bikes. I heard a group was building a nice club track in Tamworth NH, but, to be honest I don't know if that ever came to be. I know they timbered the land but thats the last I heard of that project. For people living in N.E. such as yourself there are a fair number of tracks to check out. Watkins Glen, Loudan, Limerock, Poconos, and NJ Motorsports Park. I know that Limerock and NJMSP host American LeMans racing. Maybe I'll see you there as a spectator at one oof those venues ..eh?
Lug_Nut thanks for asking the question and I hope my answer helped.