Driving Experiences at ProDrive, Kenilworth
Discussion
Has anyone gone round the track there? Any impressions? My fiancee bought me an Aston v Lambo experience and just wondered what I'm in for! Never done a driving experience or a track day before.
Had done some research on the tracks and companies they'd listed with the voucher and was hoping to book at Bruntingthorpe but apparently its being resurfaced this year. ProDrive was the only one they could offer for that experience.
Thanks
Had done some research on the tracks and companies they'd listed with the voucher and was hoping to book at Bruntingthorpe but apparently its being resurfaced this year. ProDrive was the only one they could offer for that experience.
Thanks
Chicane-UK said:
Yep.. I live literally about 2 miles away from there and have been several times now for supercar experiences. Really well run outfit, friendly instructors and reasonable facilities for an airfield (catering, etc)! Plenty of scope to get cars up to 130MPH+ on the main straight
Cool, that's reassuring. Sounds like some fun to be had! Cheers Flip Martian said:
Has anyone gone round the track there? Any impressions? My fiancee bought me an Aston v Lambo experience and just wondered what I'm in for! Never done a driving experience or a track day before.
Had done some research on the tracks and companies they'd listed with the voucher and was hoping to book at Bruntingthorpe but apparently its being resurfaced this year. ProDrive was the only one they could offer for that experience.
Thanks
When are you booked? I bought my SO the same experience, we went for Kenilworth because they look more likely to have a Murcielago based on what other experiences they offer Had done some research on the tracks and companies they'd listed with the voucher and was hoping to book at Bruntingthorpe but apparently its being resurfaced this year. ProDrive was the only one they could offer for that experience.
Thanks
SturdyJ said:
When are you booked? I bought my SO the same experience, we went for Kenilworth because they look more likely to have a Murcielago based on what other experiences they offer
12 August. I got offered a Murcielago earlier in the day but at a supplement, cheeky beggars. The Gallardo was the standard "no supplement" but only later in the day. As I've never driven a Lambo before I figured I'd settle for the Gallardo... Its the Aston I'm gagging to get behind the wheel of to be honest. Always liked, never driven. Hell of a lot of money for a couple of hours but will be interesting to see how supercars differ from my Z28 handling wise (lots, I'm sure!).
Also worth mentioning that if your car is not available for whatever reason, they always upgrade you without a moments hesitation.. for my first visit I was supposed to drive a Gallardo and an Aston DB7. When I got there, I could see neither and was bumped up to a Murcielago and an Aston DBS
I went up to ProDrive on Saturday for a 'Ferrari Thrill' with Everyman Racing, booked through the Tesco Clubcard thingy. I was very, very impressed. The whole thing was extremely well run with very friendly and professional staff. In the end I drove a Ferrari F430 (it was supposed to be a Ferrari 360 but that was broken - gutted 
) which was twice as fantastic as I was hoping for. My car felt quite ordinary afterwards 
The track itself is quite interesting and has a long straight so that you can get your toe in properly. I'm sure you'll have a great day.
) which was twice as fantastic as I was hoping for. My car felt quite ordinary afterwards The track itself is quite interesting and has a long straight so that you can get your toe in properly. I'm sure you'll have a great day.
One thing worth mentioning.. and the instructors should mention this, but there have been occasions of "wildlife" being on the track.
On my first visit there was out in my third and final car of the day, an Audi R8. Absolutely flat out down the main straight and a pheasant jogged out across the track in front of me.. thankfully managed to avoid it. Thing is, big power cars and inexperienced drivers, and a panic reaction could surely end in a bit of a mess...
I wouldn't mind some clarification from the company on who would be liable in this case as, if you hit an animal at those sorts of speeds you would do some serious damage. But how could you be held accountable for something that happened through no fault of yourself?
On my first visit there was out in my third and final car of the day, an Audi R8. Absolutely flat out down the main straight and a pheasant jogged out across the track in front of me.. thankfully managed to avoid it. Thing is, big power cars and inexperienced drivers, and a panic reaction could surely end in a bit of a mess...
I wouldn't mind some clarification from the company on who would be liable in this case as, if you hit an animal at those sorts of speeds you would do some serious damage. But how could you be held accountable for something that happened through no fault of yourself?
Perhaps I'll ask the instructor if he's seen anything wandering out that day...! Get pheasants all the time round here, stupid things they are...
mavester said:
I went up to ProDrive on Saturday for a 'Ferrari Thrill' with Everyman Racing, booked through the Tesco Clubcard thingy. I was very, very impressed. The whole thing was extremely well run with very friendly and professional staff. In the end I drove a Ferrari F430 (it was supposed to be a Ferrari 360 but that was broken - gutted ) which was twice as fantastic as I was hoping for. My car felt quite ordinary afterwards
I'm afraid of that! Might take the Z28 up there, at least I'll get a bit of V8 rumble going on the way back...) which was twice as fantastic as I was hoping for. My car felt quite ordinary afterwards mavester said:
The track itself is quite interesting and has a long straight so that you can get your toe in properly. I'm sure you'll have a great day.
Cheers! Quite looking forward to that long straight. Never having gone over 70 mph before of course...I'm guessing seeing as you mentioned Bruntingthorpe that this is with Drivers Dream Days/Everyman Racing as we're the only people that offer that venue. Unfortunate that it is being resurfaced bit by bit at the moment really, great location, more speed biased than corners though. Prodrive is a good venue, the circuit is quite bumpy though, and most clients can hit 120+ on the straight in most of the cars. Unfortunately the Lambo's do go above the site's noise limit, and are fitted with silencers, but still can't be redlined (which i'm sure you will appreciate as all circuits have noise limitations. As others have said, Pheasants do like to make an appearance alot, but they're normally quite good at getting out of the way. One thing to watch, after the back straight, there is a small complex (long flowing right, tight left, then a right hairpin) Just on the exit of the hairpin, there is quite a severe bump, and i'd advise not to get on the loud pedal until you are over this bump. The instructor should go through this anyway, If i'm your demo lap driver on the day i'll make sure you know this! Apologies for the essay, any more questions, feel free to PM me.
Cheers, Tom
Cheers, Tom
TAHodgson said:
I'm guessing seeing as you mentioned Bruntingthorpe that this is with Drivers Dream Days/Everyman Racing as we're the only people that offer that venue. Unfortunate that it is being resurfaced bit by bit at the moment really, great location, more speed biased than corners though. Prodrive is a good venue, the circuit is quite bumpy though, and most clients can hit 120+ on the straight in most of the cars. Unfortunately the Lambo's do go above the site's noise limit, and are fitted with silencers, but still can't be redlined (which i'm sure you will appreciate as all circuits have noise limitations. As others have said, Pheasants do like to make an appearance alot, but they're normally quite good at getting out of the way. One thing to watch, after the back straight, there is a small complex (long flowing right, tight left, then a right hairpin) Just on the exit of the hairpin, there is quite a severe bump, and i'd advise not to get on the loud pedal until you are over this bump. The instructor should go through this anyway, If i'm your demo lap driver on the day i'll make sure you know this! Apologies for the essay, any more questions, feel free to PM me.
Cheers, Tom
Hi TomCheers, Tom
Thanks a lot for that, no need to apologise. Yes indeed, it was through Drivers Dream Days/Everyman. I'd seen good feedback for Bruntingthorpe, hence my choice. Hadn't checked out the ProDrive track as it wasn't on the literature with the gift voucher. No matter though, looking forward to it. I'm sure getting in a Lambo will be scary enough, never mind redlining it.
Will PM you with Qs when I think of some. Cheers!I too am booked for a ferrari drive at Prodrive. I always assume these things will be a bit rubbish so i'm not dissapointed, as you can never tell with these things.
I was booked at brunters but yeah, they said the track wasn't up to standard on the phone.
I'm hoping to drive the 355, but apparently you get whatever Fezza they have available by the sounds of it. Despite the somewhat moody tone of my post, i am looking forward to it.
I was booked at brunters but yeah, they said the track wasn't up to standard on the phone.
I'm hoping to drive the 355, but apparently you get whatever Fezza they have available by the sounds of it.
Despite the somewhat moody tone of my post, i am looking forward to it.Had my driving experience today. Loved it. 
Got to the circuit early under grey skies with rain promised. Got taken out with 3 others on a familiarisation lap at 2.50, then for some reason had to wait until about 4.10 for my first laps in the Aston (DB9 convertible)! Was a bit miffed with the wait, especially when it completely peed down while I was out there. I got back from the Aston drive, eventually managed to get a girl's attention to make sure she had me down for the Lambo drive and she said "we've been calling you, where were you?". "Out in the Aston, over an hour late" I replied. Cheek...
The late running meant the "free 4x4 ride" at the end was closed by the time we got back to the car park but hey ho. I got the impression there were more drivers there thancould be dealt with on time but probably wasn't helped by 1 of the Ferraris breaking down which meant some rejigging, no doubt.
Anyway, the drives. The Aston was beautiful inside and felt like a "gentleman's tourer" more than a track car. Very fast but quiet; the paddle shift was very smooth, the car was very powerful and the brakes were quite simply, awesome. The uprated brakes on my Camaro are pretty powerful but my God, the anchors on the DB9 are wonderful! But its not a sports car - its similar to the Camaro (vaguely!) in that its so heavy at the front but handles fairly well considering - I was just pretty wary going through chicanes, its a very heavy beast! But I do love Astons and driving one has only increased that. No idea how fast I went in it - not actually sure the speedo was working as it didn't seem to be doing much on the rare occasions I looked at it.
The instructor said I handled it really well but needed to be more confident braking and gave me 36/40 so I was pleased (I guess they don't score people badly unless they really cock things up!).
The 2nd drive was the Gallardo, a completely different drive. Almost like a supersonic go kart - felt much lighter than the Aston, far more powerful and much better balanced. But harder to handle - felt like it was constantly straining at the leash and the paddle change was more jerky and instant. The instructor encouraged me to really give it some welly and stalk and pass cars and...wow! The thrill of passing other cars at full pelt before slamming the brakes on to squirt the car through the next corner back on the gas...incredible. Was just getting used to the Lambo when it was time to come back in unfortunately. At one point the needle showed me nearing 130mph down the long straight; the instructor seemed very keen for me to experience as much of the Lambo's power as poss and its a lovely track car. Probably not quite so much a "regular use" car as the Aston maybe but if you can afford a Lambo you can afford regular track days.
The instructor seemed fairly impressed and gave me 38/40 but I think I was his last punter for the day so maybe he was being kind.
In summary - awesome fun and the intructors I had were both approachable, more than knew their stuff and were keen for me to make the most of the 4 laps in each car. A great experience and looking forward to doing more. Definitely got the racing bug after driving the Lambo but I guess at 47 I've left that a little bit late!
Got to the circuit early under grey skies with rain promised. Got taken out with 3 others on a familiarisation lap at 2.50, then for some reason had to wait until about 4.10 for my first laps in the Aston (DB9 convertible)! Was a bit miffed with the wait, especially when it completely peed down while I was out there. I got back from the Aston drive, eventually managed to get a girl's attention to make sure she had me down for the Lambo drive and she said "we've been calling you, where were you?". "Out in the Aston, over an hour late" I replied. Cheek...
The late running meant the "free 4x4 ride" at the end was closed by the time we got back to the car park but hey ho. I got the impression there were more drivers there thancould be dealt with on time but probably wasn't helped by 1 of the Ferraris breaking down which meant some rejigging, no doubt.Anyway, the drives.
The Aston was beautiful inside and felt like a "gentleman's tourer" more than a track car. Very fast but quiet; the paddle shift was very smooth, the car was very powerful and the brakes were quite simply, awesome. The uprated brakes on my Camaro are pretty powerful but my God, the anchors on the DB9 are wonderful! But its not a sports car - its similar to the Camaro (vaguely!) in that its so heavy at the front but handles fairly well considering - I was just pretty wary going through chicanes, its a very heavy beast! But I do love Astons and driving one has only increased that. No idea how fast I went in it - not actually sure the speedo was working as it didn't seem to be doing much on the rare occasions I looked at it.The instructor said I handled it really well but needed to be more confident braking and gave me 36/40 so I was pleased (I guess they don't score people badly unless they really cock things up!).
The 2nd drive was the Gallardo, a completely different drive. Almost like a supersonic go kart - felt much lighter than the Aston, far more powerful and much better balanced. But harder to handle - felt like it was constantly straining at the leash and the paddle change was more jerky and instant. The instructor encouraged me to really give it some welly and stalk and pass cars and...wow! The thrill of passing other cars at full pelt before slamming the brakes on to squirt the car through the next corner back on the gas...incredible. Was just getting used to the Lambo when it was time to come back in unfortunately. At one point the needle showed me nearing 130mph down the long straight; the instructor seemed very keen for me to experience as much of the Lambo's power as poss and its a lovely track car. Probably not quite so much a "regular use" car as the Aston maybe but if you can afford a Lambo you can afford regular track days.
The instructor seemed fairly impressed and gave me 38/40 but I think I was his last punter for the day so maybe he was being kind.
In summary - awesome fun and the intructors I had were both approachable, more than knew their stuff and were keen for me to make the most of the 4 laps in each car. A great experience and looking forward to doing more. Definitely got the racing bug after driving the Lambo but I guess at 47 I've left that a little bit late!
I got to drive a DBS when I went, managed to get this shot courtesy of the trackside photographer
Couldn't take the smile off my face for at least a week after, seems like a really decent track considering what it is. Massive straight to really give it some welly (coming from a 1.2 Corsa, the DBS was basically a rocket ship) and then hard braking for a chicane into a hairpin where you can really fling the car around and launch it out.
Would absolutely recommend it to anyone, you only get four/five laps but it's still completely worth it.
Glad you enjoyed your two cars, good notes on the comparisons as well
Couldn't take the smile off my face for at least a week after, seems like a really decent track considering what it is. Massive straight to really give it some welly (coming from a 1.2 Corsa, the DBS was basically a rocket ship) and then hard braking for a chicane into a hairpin where you can really fling the car around and launch it out.
Would absolutely recommend it to anyone, you only get four/five laps but it's still completely worth it.
Glad you enjoyed your two cars, good notes on the comparisons as well
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