Which supercar experience ?
Discussion
Vixpy1 said:
I did an Aston day. They do nurse you round. Couldn't down shift into second for the bends, and wouldn't let me hit any interesting speeds on the straight. Was over very quickly.But, it was very cheap and I enjoyed it nonetheless.
mrmr96 said:
trooperiziz said:
NorthernBoy said:
The Palmer day at Bedford has always delivered for me. Properly fast cars, and instructors urging you to use them to the limit.
Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
This, not cheap, but every petrol head should do this at least once. Incredible day.Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
Palmersport
Palmersport
Palmersport
Palmersport
Palmersport
All Day Long.
PS Palmersport
[Hope you've seen this Ian
].Special K said:
I drove for an experience company for a short while a few years ago.
We tried to give the customer the best experience as possible but unfortunately sometimes you had to restrict some people. In an Atom you have very restricted movement and communication is sometimes a little hard. Also the attitude of the person could dictate how far they were allowed to take the car. Don't get me wrong I sat next to some very good drivers but equally I sat next to some people who thought they were great only to find out in reality they weren't.
Your Dad got to experience an Atom in 3rd around a circuit. To be fair he would have got to experience how the car felt and how the car handled without giving the instructor heart failure. Don't forget this was an experience day and not race training ! With the Atom the gearchange can be a bit tricky if your're not used to it, very short gear lever and when you're trying to concentrate on braking and changing gear in something that is 2-3 times faster than the car you arrived in you can get a little overwhelmed ! If you want to go and drive a car however you want then go and rent one for the day, you can even rent an Atom for a trackday but it'll be a lot more expensive than an 'experience' day
So if you go on an experience day then don't be disappointed if you're not allowed to scare the s
t out of the instructor, just remember that you know how good you are but he won't have driven with you before so you need to show that you are capable of listening and following their instruction. Maybe then you would be allowed to venture further into exploring the car more. Also there is the car to consider, wear tear and general maintenance costs a fortune when a car is permanently on a circuit !
Not saying your Dad was a bad driver or anything but look at it from the flip side of the coin
Yea that was another reason I thought about, having a manual people could ride the clutch and destroy it! We tried to give the customer the best experience as possible but unfortunately sometimes you had to restrict some people. In an Atom you have very restricted movement and communication is sometimes a little hard. Also the attitude of the person could dictate how far they were allowed to take the car. Don't get me wrong I sat next to some very good drivers but equally I sat next to some people who thought they were great only to find out in reality they weren't.
Your Dad got to experience an Atom in 3rd around a circuit. To be fair he would have got to experience how the car felt and how the car handled without giving the instructor heart failure. Don't forget this was an experience day and not race training ! With the Atom the gearchange can be a bit tricky if your're not used to it, very short gear lever and when you're trying to concentrate on braking and changing gear in something that is 2-3 times faster than the car you arrived in you can get a little overwhelmed ! If you want to go and drive a car however you want then go and rent one for the day, you can even rent an Atom for a trackday but it'll be a lot more expensive than an 'experience' day
So if you go on an experience day then don't be disappointed if you're not allowed to scare the s
t out of the instructor, just remember that you know how good you are but he won't have driven with you before so you need to show that you are capable of listening and following their instruction. Maybe then you would be allowed to venture further into exploring the car more. Also there is the car to consider, wear tear and general maintenance costs a fortune when a car is permanently on a circuit !Not saying your Dad was a bad driver or anything but look at it from the flip side of the coin
Edited by Special K on Monday 2nd July 21:40
I'm guessing why the majority of the cars they use are the auto/paddleshift variant, so then even the worst driver can't damage it!
JDMDrifter said:
6th Gear get my vote , I drove a murcielago at prodrive and thoroughly enjoyed it , I'd only passed my test a few weeks before and I was still allowed to push the car.
I was just about to book the 6th gear one when i saw this little undertitle at the track (Longross) near me :"Please note that Longcross Proving Ground is a test track with little or no 'run off', and as such may be subject to speed restrictions imposed by the venue providers for safety reasons. Thank you".
I think i'll be going for this one :
http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar...
Lamborghini Vs Ferrari experience
• Welcome, Introduction and Safety Briefing
• 2 laps demonstration with instructor driving performance training car
• 4 laps driving a Lamborghini Gallardo or Murcielago
• 4 laps driving a Ferrari
• Individual Driving Experience Certificate to finish
And the nearest location to me is Dunsfold park, which i'm familiar with from obviously Top Gear and the Dads day out events. Even driven my own GT over it a few years back after being part of the convoy up there.
Should be fun
I've been fortunate enough to take part in a number of 'supercar experience' days driving Ferraris, Lambos and the like. The trouble is they do tend to 'restrict' you and you always have other cars around you to be careful of.
Best one I've been on by far is 'Ultimate Car Control - Driver Encoded Knowledge' run by ex BTCC champion Robb Gravett. OK, so not exotic super cars per se just Jaguars ......... but XFRs and XKRs etc. Not only do you learn high speed car control but you get to rag the absolute rear end off all the cars - you are actively encouraged to go faster and torture the poor vehicles!! Lots of lairy oversteer to be had on tap and lasts most of the day so plenty of time in the car. As an indication of what to expect the intructors told me the tyres last a maximum of four sessions!
Most fun one though was a rally car experience. Only Group N prepared but lots and lots of fun at relatively slow speed in the mud - eventually the side windows get so filthy you can't see out - which is the point to come in and get them cleaned as you never drive looking out of the windscreen!
Most 'scary' was the slowest - an 'off road' driving course. The angles the 4x4 vehicles get to is just awesome and you feel the things should just topple over ......... but they never do!
Best one I've been on by far is 'Ultimate Car Control - Driver Encoded Knowledge' run by ex BTCC champion Robb Gravett. OK, so not exotic super cars per se just Jaguars ......... but XFRs and XKRs etc. Not only do you learn high speed car control but you get to rag the absolute rear end off all the cars - you are actively encouraged to go faster and torture the poor vehicles!! Lots of lairy oversteer to be had on tap and lasts most of the day so plenty of time in the car. As an indication of what to expect the intructors told me the tyres last a maximum of four sessions!
Most fun one though was a rally car experience. Only Group N prepared but lots and lots of fun at relatively slow speed in the mud - eventually the side windows get so filthy you can't see out - which is the point to come in and get them cleaned as you never drive looking out of the windscreen!
Most 'scary' was the slowest - an 'off road' driving course. The angles the 4x4 vehicles get to is just awesome and you feel the things should just topple over ......... but they never do!
I'm already trained in high speed car control. I work on rapid response cars and fly through traffic at high speed (on blue lights) on a daily basis so that's not really what i'm after.
I want the sound and the thrill of acceleration of proper supercar.
Though i must admit that palmersport looks fun as well, specially that formula 1 type thing singleseater, it's like a big go kart!
Palmersport, expensive but actually great value,as someone suggested save up and have the time of your life.
The Porsche thing at the Silverstone centre wa surprisingly good value as well, got the moneys worth in tyres alone,
Caterham slalom works out at roughly fifty quid per minute in the car. rubbish value, full circuit day is better.
As for somone mentioning the "supercar limits" Groupcon thing at North Weald,avoid.
The Porsche thing at the Silverstone centre wa surprisingly good value as well, got the moneys worth in tyres alone,
Caterham slalom works out at roughly fifty quid per minute in the car. rubbish value, full circuit day is better.
As for somone mentioning the "supercar limits" Groupcon thing at North Weald,avoid.
Little update, got this gift for my birthday last year, but only just used it.
In the end we've gone for this two car platinum package ( http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... ) driving a Ferrari 458 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. And we paid extra to do it over a weekend, and for "double the distance" giving you roughly six miles in each car.
In this topic ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... ) on here i'd asked for to stay near Dunsfold and someone recommended the Richard Onslow B&B which is what we gone for, and as said in that topic by Charlie, the food there was indeed exceptional.
The room was also very nice, and breakfast the next morning started with fresh juices and warm crossoints, before a lovely full english.
So if anyone ever needs to stay near Dunsfold Park, i'd really recommend staying here.
view from our room
Dunsfold park itself was a 10 minute drive away so that was handy.
We parked up in a big carpark towards the end, and a minibus drove us to the other side (near the Top Gear hangar) where we signed in, had a little briefing outside, and were then taking round in the track in groups of 3 in the Vauxhall VXR8 before we had to que by your red/yellow/blue/green flag, depending on which car you'd booked to drive.
several supercars, waiting to be enjoyed
part of the package is a passenger "hot lap" in this, with some tips/advice on the corners etc
My dreamcar was waiting for me :
And a few shots taken before my experience :
Then it was my turn to get behind the wheel of the lambo :
I enjoyed the lambo, but wasn't blown away. My own car is quite fast, and last time i was on a track i was a passenger in a scudderia which was really going for it, so i guess maybe i was just expecting more of that car. It was my first time with a flappy paddle gearbox, which took getting used to for the first lap, but i did enjoy it.
The instructor was alright and let me enjoy it, even overtook a few cars, but it was braking and accelerating when he said so, and he would let you hear it if he didn't agree.
And then it was my turn in the Ferrari, and after a 10 minute wait i could finally get behind the wheel.
And OH MY GOD, what a car!! The instructor was much nicer, and after leaving the pit he asked me what i do for a living, just as we're coming past this ambulance car parked up on the side of the track, so i said i normally drive those, to which he replied "ahh so you're advanced driver then, well, show me what you've got".
And i did, i really enjoyed the 458, it's such a magnificent machine. We kept overtaking all the other cars, and even when i thought i was going too fast and looked at him, he just told me to keep going. He didn't tell me to slow down or anything, he actually let me enjoy myself which i was really impressed with.
It was such a thrill. And even the instructor said he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
And now i really really want a 458!
I think for the money we paid (just under £ 200, for the experience, and then a bit extra for the photo's) it was defenately well worth it.
It wasn't too busy on the track so there was plenty of "foot down" time, and after getting to know the track in the lambo i could really enjoy it in the 458.
I went home feeling well chuffed, and got some nice photo's, video's and little bits (including a score card, scoring 35/40 on my lambo drive, and 38/40 on my 458) to remember the day by.
Now.... who wants to buy me a 458 for my next birthday....
In the end we've gone for this two car platinum package ( http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... ) driving a Ferrari 458 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. And we paid extra to do it over a weekend, and for "double the distance" giving you roughly six miles in each car.
In this topic ( http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... ) on here i'd asked for to stay near Dunsfold and someone recommended the Richard Onslow B&B which is what we gone for, and as said in that topic by Charlie, the food there was indeed exceptional.
The room was also very nice, and breakfast the next morning started with fresh juices and warm crossoints, before a lovely full english.
So if anyone ever needs to stay near Dunsfold Park, i'd really recommend staying here.
view from our room
Dunsfold park itself was a 10 minute drive away so that was handy.
We parked up in a big carpark towards the end, and a minibus drove us to the other side (near the Top Gear hangar) where we signed in, had a little briefing outside, and were then taking round in the track in groups of 3 in the Vauxhall VXR8 before we had to que by your red/yellow/blue/green flag, depending on which car you'd booked to drive.
several supercars, waiting to be enjoyed
part of the package is a passenger "hot lap" in this, with some tips/advice on the corners etc
My dreamcar was waiting for me :
And a few shots taken before my experience :
Then it was my turn to get behind the wheel of the lambo :
I enjoyed the lambo, but wasn't blown away. My own car is quite fast, and last time i was on a track i was a passenger in a scudderia which was really going for it, so i guess maybe i was just expecting more of that car. It was my first time with a flappy paddle gearbox, which took getting used to for the first lap, but i did enjoy it.
The instructor was alright and let me enjoy it, even overtook a few cars, but it was braking and accelerating when he said so, and he would let you hear it if he didn't agree.
And then it was my turn in the Ferrari, and after a 10 minute wait i could finally get behind the wheel.
And OH MY GOD, what a car!! The instructor was much nicer, and after leaving the pit he asked me what i do for a living, just as we're coming past this ambulance car parked up on the side of the track, so i said i normally drive those, to which he replied "ahh so you're advanced driver then, well, show me what you've got".
And i did, i really enjoyed the 458, it's such a magnificent machine. We kept overtaking all the other cars, and even when i thought i was going too fast and looked at him, he just told me to keep going. He didn't tell me to slow down or anything, he actually let me enjoy myself which i was really impressed with.
It was such a thrill. And even the instructor said he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
And now i really really want a 458!
I think for the money we paid (just under £ 200, for the experience, and then a bit extra for the photo's) it was defenately well worth it.
It wasn't too busy on the track so there was plenty of "foot down" time, and after getting to know the track in the lambo i could really enjoy it in the 458.
I went home feeling well chuffed, and got some nice photo's, video's and little bits (including a score card, scoring 35/40 on my lambo drive, and 38/40 on my 458) to remember the day by.
Now.... who wants to buy me a 458 for my next birthday....
Medic-one said:
carl_w said:
I've booked my dad on the V8 Touring Cars thing at Rockingham -- he's going next week. 450 bhp in a proper racing car.
I've looked into that one as well. Did you dad enjoy it ?Medic-one said:
If you had the choice between doing that again or a Ferrari type experience which one would you go for?
It's an interesting question. I'd rather have many laps with the V8 touring car on my own (no instructor) to get the measure of it, but that's not an option. Would a Ferrari-type experience be *that* much better than my daily Z4MC? I'm not so sure. V8 Touring Car vid is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vH3gY8RCsU
Edited by carl_w on Friday 31st May 23:49
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