Cadwell Park is the favourite venue for track day riders, according to a survey by Trackdays.co.uk. It’s the second year running Cadwell has topped the track list, accounting for one in five track day bookings in the last 12 months. It was closely followed by Snetterton (17% of bookings), Donington Park (14%) and Brands Hatch (13%). Silverstone, Lydden Hill and Croft were less popular, scoring 2% apiece. The survey analysed 1600 bookings from a number of leading trackday suppliers across the UK.

So, good news for Cadwell, but the survey also found that track days in general are being hit by the cost of living, with spending down by a third as riders prioritise their spending. Dan Jones, operations manager of TrackDays.co.uk, said: “It is unsurprising to see that in the last 12 months the rising costs of food, mortgages, rent, insurance and so on as impacted the number of bikers spending money on the hobby they love, but we have noticed an uplift in the number of bikers looking for racetrack experiences they can do as a couple as well as off-road bike experiences.”

BMF Chair Jim Freeman added: “Always liked Cadwell, a circuit that respects skill not raw power. I remember tagging onto a chum’s day at Cadwell, about 20 years ago, organised by a club, it was conspicuous that his laptimes were quicker on his ‘orrible aircooled RD 430 compared to his Aprilia Mille, which was just a bit too much. Or another chum who’d been consistently grounding the chaincase on his Velo, also at Cadwell, with photos to prove it. Happy days! Snetterton on the other hand is a classic British airfield track, a power circuit, and a bit boring, dare I say it, except for the squiggly bits in the middle. Like all motor sport, when times are tough, it’s easy to put family first, in fact, it’s the only way. Just be glad that it doesn’t need to cost anything if you’re not doing it, unlike horsey sports, where keeping yer average dobbin in necessaries will cost a bit more than a fresh set of ‘stickies’. ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Rob Baxter –  RBPS Photography