The Statman’s Track Guides – Camping – The F1 Stat Blog

Camping at a racetrack is not for everyone, but it is generally the fastest way to get into the track each day, so at big events with lots of traffic over multiple days, I would absolutely recommend it. With all the right gear and knowledge camping can be great fun and perfectly comfortable.

So as with the general track guide, here are some tips, this time for camping.

1. Make a checklist of everything you need before leaving, check everything off as it is packed, and double check everything, you want to make sure you have absolutely everything.
2. If you have a choice of where you pitch your tent, know where the toilets are and don’t go too close or too far from them.
3. Bring food and snacks, not all campsites will allow you to leave over the weekend to restock and not all will have food available on site.
4. Take some bin bags with you, many campsites will give you some on entry, but having more is always an advantage and you can fill them up as you go so when it comes to packing up and leaving it’s a quicker process.
5. Some campers are noisy, you’ll hear all sorts of noise over the night, if that bothers you, bring earplugs.
6. Don’t leave valuables in the tent, tents are not secure, thefts happen, anything valuable either take with you or leave locked and hidden inside a car.
7. Know where your tent is, many campers will have flagpoles, navigation by those is always the best way to quickly find your tent on a busy campsite.
8. Get to know some nearby campers, you’re all there for the same thing so have at least one thing in common, you might make some new friends, or maybe they have something spare that you forgot and are willing to let you borrow it. Campsite camaraderie is a thing, food, tools, blankets, chairs, and more are sometimes shared around between campers.
9. Shower queues can get long, either prepare to wait a long time for a shower or get up very early to avoid the queue.
10. Bring clothing/bedding for all situations, sometimes in a tent it gets very hot, other times very cold. I’ve camped in snow before in a sleeping bag that was not suitable, it was not fun, while other people in my tent were absolutely fine because they had thicker bedding.
11. Take some form of entertainment, evenings can be long and you’ll want something to do to keep you occupied.
12. Store drinks under your car, if it’s sunny everything in the tent will get very warm, if you want drinks to keep cool, under the car is the best place to do it.

The general tips are out of the way, so here’s a list of things you should probably bring.

• A tent, also bring more tent pegs than you need, a mallet, a peg remover and a tent repair kit just in case
• Some tent lighting, there are loads of battery powered or USB rechargeable ones around
• An airbed, you can sleep directly on the floor or on a thin mat, but airbeds aren’t expensive and are so much more comfortable
• A pump (I personally use this one, it’s small, wireless and works great)
• Suitable bedding, I have a 4 season sleeping bag, but many people will bring a duvet and blankets
• A power bank for recharging phones or any other USB powered things you have, I have a very similar one to this
• A small BBQ is always good but if you can’t leave the campsite after arriving you may only be able to use it on the first night
• A cool box/bag, won’t keep things fresh forever but for at least the first day it will work great
• Seating, camping chairs are good, for some extra comfort an inflatable sofa is great
• Tables, I have two, a tall one and then a short one
• Bin bags
• Entertainment
• Toiletries
• Clothing for all weathers including waterproofs
• Food
• Toilet roll, just in case
• A first aid kit
• Friends, camping is way more fun with them

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