Track Time versus Safety Equipment

[...m...]

...here's my situation - mehve is foremost a road car, enough so that intrusive safety equipment like harnesses, cages, HANS and the like would compromise her primary function, but i've really enjoyed the limited track time i've had, enough so that if the opportunity presented itself i'd gladly spend the preponderance of my leisure pushing her in time trials...track time would doubtless make me a much better driver, and is certainly a far safer environment than canyon carving, but the safety-focused drivers here have quite rightfully noted that if it's worth doing it's worth doing properly, with a full contingent of safety equipment...

...i'm caught between two worlds - on the one hand, i deeply value open-road touring and don't wish to compromise that experience with excess safety equipment (nor by stripping out weight which contributes to touring comfort), yet on the other hand i greatly appreciate the track experience but am reticent to commit without proper safety gear...

...so which is safer?..taking advantage of hard-driven track experience to make me a better driver on the roads, but without full track safety equipment, or staying off the track at the cost of less experience and perhaps the temptation to occasionally push things on the road harder than i should?..

...unfortunately, a dedicated track car isn't really an option for least the next four or five years, but maybe this whole discussion is academic and i should just start autocrossing with my stock seatbelts and helmet instead, especially considering that i probably can't afford significant track modifications regardless, so realistically i should recognise that i'd have difficulty affording the routine and unexpected expenses of tracking her, let alone the membership costs...

...i've probably already answered my own question, but thoughts?..

(motorsport is expensive!)