A day with Don Palmer
Discussion
The age-old car rag advice column question goes as follows: “I’ve got £x to make my car go faster - what should I spend it on?”. The invariable answer: “The driver”. Well if this is the case, going to see Don Palmer wouldn’t be a bad place to start. And the first thing you need to know about Don is that he is not your typical driving coach…
With a degree in Automotive Engineering, Palmer started his professional life as a mechanical engineer. But for the last 20 years he has been a driving coach, and has racked up over 15,000 hours teaching limit handling. He’s since gained a post-graduate diploma in Coaching Mastery, having worked with names including Jackie Stewart and Sir John Whitmore.
His Car Control Course is held at Bruntingthorpe airfield in Leicestershire, and as usual I haven’t left enough time to get there! All those minutes I’ve worked hard to buy myself on the fast lane of the M5 are lost as I hit the M42 at morning rush hour, complete with the hurrying Brummies that fill it like a bad cholesterol problem. At last, I’m running up the stairs to the airport diner to see a portly, bearded man half way through his morning cuppa. “You must be James, go and get yourself a coffee”. I will, if it’s all the same.
We get chatting and immediately my adrenaline levels come down to a normal level, and this is my first glimpse of what makes Don different. He realises how the brain works, how my brain works, and he knows how to manipulate it to get the best out of me. It sounds so simple, but how many coaches, teachers or even managers take the trouble to put you into a receptive mental state before beginning?
And so to the runway. Don jumps into his trusty Golf TDI, but this one is a bit different. He bought it new and now, sitting at over 300k, it has gone through a metamorphosis into something a bit more serious. A keen eye will notice that it is sitting slightly lowered and on lightweight wheels, hiding beneath which lie meaty AP racing brakes. It won’t, however, take an enthusiast to pick out the Hella Luminator rally lights that adorn the front grill. Barely have I had a chance to clock these and he’s halfway down the perimeter road, and rapidly turning into a dot on the horizon. Fred, Don’s other client for the day, hops into his new BMW M3, I get into my sheddy 328i and we attempt to give chase.
On the main straight Don has laid out cones to make a circuit. It comprises of a straight leading into a high-speed lane change manoeuvre, then into a 180 degree turn followed by a fast zigzag across the whole width of the runway. I volunteer my car and he shows us the route round. Getting out I don’t remember any of it, such has my mind been sent into a state of shock, marvelling at his godly level of car control skill.
The day continues with Fred and me taking it in turns to do laps of the circuit with Don at our side. Slowly but surely things come together for me, my rather messy slides gradually become more controlled, now beginning and ending with some semblance of finesse. And I’m starting to get a better feel through the steering wheel of what the wheels are doing, where I’m gripping and when they’re starting to slip.
Using a section of a tyre and a walkie-talkie aerial Don shows us what it is we’re actually feeling when the car loads up. It’s the difference between where the wheels are pointing, and where the tread blocks are pointing. This is the torsional flex in the sidewall, or to give it the correct term, the ‘slip angle’.
Then, in a somewhat unexpected move, Don starts the engine and spears off the runway and onto the grass infield. Here, grip is reduced to a fraction of that we’ve been experiencing on the asphalt, and as a result the physics of the car slow down to a point where we can observe what’s actually happening. He puts the car into a slide, then simply removes his hands from the steering wheel. Eeek! As if by mind control, the steering wheel moves to opposite lock, corrects the slide, straightens up and continues on the original course. It neatly showed how a car actually wants to straighten itself up, but the controls need to be carefully managed in order to stop from getting into a 'tank slapper'.
Fred’s issues lie not with his physiological motor skills, but his higher mental state. When the car starts to let go he’s tensing up, symptomatic of a mental block. Don tries a variety of techniques to help him get round this, culminating with hypnosis. I try to observe and not get sucked in as Fred, in a state of trance, travels “down the escalator” to a room where he is hypersensitive, before taking that escalator back up to us in the car, ready to try again. I’m a sceptic, I don’t normally go in for this stuff, in fact I’d like to think I’m not susceptible to these techniques, but it seems to work for Fred, and it’s apparent he’s now more at ease with the car moving about.
As daylight starts to fade, we head off in our different directions. Shattered, I pull into the service station for a coffee. I’m left feeling that Don’s strength is his understanding of the psychological side of coaching - he leads people into learning for themselves, rather than just telling them what to do. I’ve had to put in the hard mental effort, but as a consequence have taken ownership of the skills.
Because of this, weeks later I’m still feeling the benefits, listening more closely to the steering wheel as I blast down my favourite local B-roads. If you want someone to give you instructions, look elsewhere (probably one of those “ex-racers” who nonsensically bark at you on track days). If, however, you’re prepared to put in some effort to learn for yourself the fundamental car control skills that will make a long-term difference to your driving, then I implore you to see Mr Palmer.
With a degree in Automotive Engineering, Palmer started his professional life as a mechanical engineer. But for the last 20 years he has been a driving coach, and has racked up over 15,000 hours teaching limit handling. He’s since gained a post-graduate diploma in Coaching Mastery, having worked with names including Jackie Stewart and Sir John Whitmore.
His Car Control Course is held at Bruntingthorpe airfield in Leicestershire, and as usual I haven’t left enough time to get there! All those minutes I’ve worked hard to buy myself on the fast lane of the M5 are lost as I hit the M42 at morning rush hour, complete with the hurrying Brummies that fill it like a bad cholesterol problem. At last, I’m running up the stairs to the airport diner to see a portly, bearded man half way through his morning cuppa. “You must be James, go and get yourself a coffee”. I will, if it’s all the same.
We get chatting and immediately my adrenaline levels come down to a normal level, and this is my first glimpse of what makes Don different. He realises how the brain works, how my brain works, and he knows how to manipulate it to get the best out of me. It sounds so simple, but how many coaches, teachers or even managers take the trouble to put you into a receptive mental state before beginning?
And so to the runway. Don jumps into his trusty Golf TDI, but this one is a bit different. He bought it new and now, sitting at over 300k, it has gone through a metamorphosis into something a bit more serious. A keen eye will notice that it is sitting slightly lowered and on lightweight wheels, hiding beneath which lie meaty AP racing brakes. It won’t, however, take an enthusiast to pick out the Hella Luminator rally lights that adorn the front grill. Barely have I had a chance to clock these and he’s halfway down the perimeter road, and rapidly turning into a dot on the horizon. Fred, Don’s other client for the day, hops into his new BMW M3, I get into my sheddy 328i and we attempt to give chase.
On the main straight Don has laid out cones to make a circuit. It comprises of a straight leading into a high-speed lane change manoeuvre, then into a 180 degree turn followed by a fast zigzag across the whole width of the runway. I volunteer my car and he shows us the route round. Getting out I don’t remember any of it, such has my mind been sent into a state of shock, marvelling at his godly level of car control skill.
The day continues with Fred and me taking it in turns to do laps of the circuit with Don at our side. Slowly but surely things come together for me, my rather messy slides gradually become more controlled, now beginning and ending with some semblance of finesse. And I’m starting to get a better feel through the steering wheel of what the wheels are doing, where I’m gripping and when they’re starting to slip.
Using a section of a tyre and a walkie-talkie aerial Don shows us what it is we’re actually feeling when the car loads up. It’s the difference between where the wheels are pointing, and where the tread blocks are pointing. This is the torsional flex in the sidewall, or to give it the correct term, the ‘slip angle’.
Then, in a somewhat unexpected move, Don starts the engine and spears off the runway and onto the grass infield. Here, grip is reduced to a fraction of that we’ve been experiencing on the asphalt, and as a result the physics of the car slow down to a point where we can observe what’s actually happening. He puts the car into a slide, then simply removes his hands from the steering wheel. Eeek! As if by mind control, the steering wheel moves to opposite lock, corrects the slide, straightens up and continues on the original course. It neatly showed how a car actually wants to straighten itself up, but the controls need to be carefully managed in order to stop from getting into a 'tank slapper'.
Fred’s issues lie not with his physiological motor skills, but his higher mental state. When the car starts to let go he’s tensing up, symptomatic of a mental block. Don tries a variety of techniques to help him get round this, culminating with hypnosis. I try to observe and not get sucked in as Fred, in a state of trance, travels “down the escalator” to a room where he is hypersensitive, before taking that escalator back up to us in the car, ready to try again. I’m a sceptic, I don’t normally go in for this stuff, in fact I’d like to think I’m not susceptible to these techniques, but it seems to work for Fred, and it’s apparent he’s now more at ease with the car moving about.
As daylight starts to fade, we head off in our different directions. Shattered, I pull into the service station for a coffee. I’m left feeling that Don’s strength is his understanding of the psychological side of coaching - he leads people into learning for themselves, rather than just telling them what to do. I’ve had to put in the hard mental effort, but as a consequence have taken ownership of the skills.
Because of this, weeks later I’m still feeling the benefits, listening more closely to the steering wheel as I blast down my favourite local B-roads. If you want someone to give you instructions, look elsewhere (probably one of those “ex-racers” who nonsensically bark at you on track days). If, however, you’re prepared to put in some effort to learn for yourself the fundamental car control skills that will make a long-term difference to your driving, then I implore you to see Mr Palmer.
Speed addicted said:
Sounds good, Cost?
It's £450. Also worth noting I took a lot of life out of my tyres (rears in particular), but this was probably my own doing. At the beginning of the day Don asked us what we wanted to get out of it, and we both mumbled things about going sideways, so that's what we did
Synchromesh said:
Speed addicted said:
Sounds good, Cost?
It's £450. Also worth noting I took a lot of life out of my tyres (rears in particular), but this was probably my own doing. At the beginning of the day Don asked us what we wanted to get out of it, and we both mumbled things about going sideways, so that's what we did
Synchromesh said:
Speed addicted said:
Sounds good, Cost?
It's £450. Also worth noting I took a lot of life out of my tyres (rears in particular), but this was probably my own doing. At the beginning of the day Don asked us what we wanted to get out of it, and we both mumbled things about going sideways, so that's what we did
Rawwr said:
I still remember being a passenger in Andy Walsh's Elise on a very wet Bedford circuit as he followed Don Palmer in a Noble. That was entertaining.
I was once a passenger in Walsh's Elise on a dry Donington track day, and that was entertaining enough, so I can only imagine what your experience was like! Actually, Don did tell me how much he was a fan of Nobles, so that tallies.Great write-up, thanks for that 
For what it's worth, when I started racing (bikes) I realised after a while that 'going fast, but slowly' and hence getting good lap-times without crashing, were more a product of the mind, than the racing vehicle itself.
You can spend as much money as you like on building and tuning a fast racer, but if your mind and psychology are not prepared for the track, then you are wasting your money.
I went a slightly different route, and used a regressive Sports hypnotherapist, and eventually even attending a 'Church of Scientology' - in order to take advantage of their 'Dianetics' psychology, as used by a chap called Keith Code who was responsible for training many motorbike GP world champions.
As you may already realise - human beings have an innate and in-built sense of survival (well, most of us - barring 'Darwin Award candidates, lol!) which will stop us from trusting our vehicle, the track, and the obvious reasoning that a corner CAN be taken at a certain speed, on or in the right machine.
Even in, or on, something that has been built for the ultimate in speed and lap times, our mind and psychology will stop us from going to that uncomfortable place where all our survival instincts are screaming at us to slow down or we'll die!
There is a mental barrier that needs to be addressed and dealt with, before we are able to really attack a race track effectively.
For what it's worth, when I started racing (bikes) I realised after a while that 'going fast, but slowly' and hence getting good lap-times without crashing, were more a product of the mind, than the racing vehicle itself.
You can spend as much money as you like on building and tuning a fast racer, but if your mind and psychology are not prepared for the track, then you are wasting your money.
I went a slightly different route, and used a regressive Sports hypnotherapist, and eventually even attending a 'Church of Scientology' - in order to take advantage of their 'Dianetics' psychology, as used by a chap called Keith Code who was responsible for training many motorbike GP world champions.
As you may already realise - human beings have an innate and in-built sense of survival (well, most of us - barring 'Darwin Award candidates, lol!) which will stop us from trusting our vehicle, the track, and the obvious reasoning that a corner CAN be taken at a certain speed, on or in the right machine.
Even in, or on, something that has been built for the ultimate in speed and lap times, our mind and psychology will stop us from going to that uncomfortable place where all our survival instincts are screaming at us to slow down or we'll die!
There is a mental barrier that needs to be addressed and dealt with, before we are able to really attack a race track effectively.
Speed addicted said:
That's quite reasonable, of course I'd need to get down from Aberdeen and buy something that is better for this sort of thing. I don't think the X6 or MGF would be exactly ideal!
I did my day (and a couple subsequently) with him in a diesel Mondeo and still got a massive amount out of it - I'd even go so far as to say he transformed my road driving following RoSPA. Of course, if you tell him you're happy to hire something, he'll arrange to have you in a 911 
Chris
Synchromesh said:
We get chatting and immediately my adrenaline levels come down to a normal level, and this is my first glimpse of what makes Don different. He realises how the brain works, how my brain works, and he knows how to manipulate it to get the best out of me. It sounds so simple, but how many coaches, teachers or even managers take the trouble to put you into a receptive mental state before beginning?
I've come across this in a classroom environment, but not training for a physical activity so it's interesting to be reminded of it here. The one RoSPA test I failed was due to distractions and upsets in the hours before. The hours before were much the same as when I got a gold grade but someone decided to be unreasonable so I had to alter arrangements that impacted on my mood, my mind and driving. Another side of being in the correct 'head space' is not getting wound up on the road by the actions of others and letting that alter your attitude and subsequent driving and actions, witness foodie's A24 post FoS dashcam footage.Obvious question, how does it compare with the HPC course? It's obviously cheaper.
Do you think the mental training you received from Don Palmer would have got you more comfortable with pushing on perhaps more than you're used to on the HPC course, so it may have been better to do the Don Palmer course before that? Having done both would you say that the Don Palmer course could be considered a worthwhile stepping stone to HPC?
Your E36 looks quite smart, not that sheddy.
Also done one of these days and would highly recommend it. He was also good when I explained the goal for me was racing, as he helped me understand how to get different cars to their limits in a track environment, as well as how to control them in differing circumstances (to the point possible...) once one has exceeded these limits. This in particular has saved me some serious cash over the years...
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