accucel

As a new member of the Keilor club here in Melbourne, I have to say that it is very frustrating travelling for 30+ minutes each way to get a few practice packs in, only to find the clay surface absolutely drowned in water or a mud pit due to rain that happened days before.

I'm not sure of the specific qualities of clay in terms of water retention, but of the last 5 times I've gone there on a rare sunny day, the track has still had standing water sitting on it. I realise saw dust can be used to dry it out for club days, but for someone like me who is still trying to improve their skill and who works most Sundays, it has proven very difficult to get much use out of my membership.

Additionally, on cold mornings with frost, the moisture causes the track to be low on traction, even with a fairly aggressive tyre such as JConcept's 3Ds. Once the track is dry and has formed a groove it is awesome, but this seems very dependent on warmer weather and a lack of rain, both of which Melbourne lacks for the majority of the year.

My last gripe with clay (last one!) is the maintenance aspect. I love working on my cars, but I hate the constant need to scrub tyres between qualifiers and globs of clay sticking to everything it can. I can't imagine anyone finds that part enjoyable.

In summary, carpet or astro all the way!