Supercar instructor
Discussion
Hi all,
Looking for some advice from current or past supercar instructors in the UK.
i have been recommended to become a supercar instructor by an instructor at a recent driving experience which is great!
Only info i have been given is i have to pay to do a 1 day course that is either pass/fail and its on a self employed basis
Questions as such are; what are the pros and cons? And what is required to become a self employed instructor? i.e sorting out tax returns, liability insurance etc??
Just want to know how much i need to put into it financially to get started and what would i get out of it financially. i'm not looking to make thousands out of it as long as its a little bit more than breaking even
i currently have a FT Job so this would be something i do on weekends if i were to go ahead
Cant seem to find much about this sort of thing so hopefully there are people on here that i can pick their brains
i was told by the instructor at the time its not all that great when customers dont follow your instruction / other people on the track and wet conditions so i do have some understanding of what the cons may we be
Many thanks
Matt
Looking for some advice from current or past supercar instructors in the UK.
i have been recommended to become a supercar instructor by an instructor at a recent driving experience which is great!
Only info i have been given is i have to pay to do a 1 day course that is either pass/fail and its on a self employed basis
Questions as such are; what are the pros and cons? And what is required to become a self employed instructor? i.e sorting out tax returns, liability insurance etc??
Just want to know how much i need to put into it financially to get started and what would i get out of it financially. i'm not looking to make thousands out of it as long as its a little bit more than breaking even
i currently have a FT Job so this would be something i do on weekends if i were to go ahead
Cant seem to find much about this sort of thing so hopefully there are people on here that i can pick their brains
i was told by the instructor at the time its not all that great when customers dont follow your instruction / other people on the track and wet conditions so i do have some understanding of what the cons may we be
Many thanks
Matt
A few friends have done this in the past and it doesn't sound like much fun. Poorly maintained cars, customers trying to kill you all the time, bad money and no employee rights - if someone crashes under your instruction they just won't ask you back. The only driving you get to do yourself is the hot rides which I don't think makes up for the rest of it.
ChrisPackit said:
Sure he wasn't just flattering your ego?!
A bit like when you tell a girl she should be a Model, when you've got another agenda ?!
Tennis lessons at the local gym.A bit like when you tell a girl she should be a Model, when you've got another agenda ?!
My 7 year old could barely hit the ball, coach tells the wife he has potential, would she be interested in some one to one lessons at £30 an hour ?
Mattwarren93 said:
i have been recommended to become a supercar instructor by an instructor at a recent driving experience which is great!
I thought they all said that to make you feel good? When I drove the F430 on track, the instructor commented that I was the fastest of the day.. I was sure he said that to everyone.. I wasn't interested in going fast, I just wanted to stay sat in the Ferrari for as long as possible.
Craigwww said:
Surely this is a wind up?
You can get your race licence in a day, doesn't make you a racing driver though.
Not a wind up i am sure. Happened to me and a mate when we did a day at Dunsfold. As previously said, they probably say this You can get your race licence in a day, doesn't make you a racing driver though.
to everyone to flatter your ego.
From what i remember (it was a long time ago) you had to obtain your race licence, and they did also require you to collect the cars and
take them to/from the event. The thought of many many idiots trying to be the next Stig every day didn't appeal though
I instruct on these sorts of days a few times a year and it's not a wind up and we don't say it to flatter egos. I have been doing it for about 4 years and have only ever said it once, and he was a Police Class 1 Advanced Driving Instructor.
The training will probably cost about £500 for a day. On top of that whichever company you work for will expect you to buy uniform (circa £50-100 by the time you have bought shirts, fleeces and a coat) and you have the cost of getting yourself to venues.
Insurance is up to you to sort.
You will probably earn £100 per day and you have to pay tax on that yourself, probably through self assessment.
Your training will probably just be a local qualification so not easy to work for more than one company, unless you are already holding a race licence when you can get an ARDS Instructors licence.
Without an ARDS licence you will only be able to instruct on the "airfield type experience days" and not on race circuits. You get paid more if you are an ARDS instructor on a race circuit. But not a lot more. ARDS instructors also get insurance within the annual licence fee.
They are often long days - start at 0800 and finish about 1830. You are expected to help set up the circuits and put things away afterwards, often helping wash cars etc at the end of the day, too. You can have up to 40 clients in a car in a day, some far better than others! It can be very tiring as you are thinking for two people all the time.
There isn't very much driving. You collect the cars and warm them up, probably take them for fuel, and return them at the end if the day. No more than 2-4 laps yourself and no where near decent speeds!
Why do it? Well, I am self employed and it helps to have another string to the bow during fallow periods. I quite enjoy it and you meet some good people but it's not a great earner! Some older people do it to supplement a pension and some youngsters do it as they try to forge a career on the professional race instructing ladder but that is very hard work. I got in to it from the racing route.
You have to do a lot of days to make any half decent money.
Finally, don't confuse this role with the professional instructors and driver coaches who are making a living from coaching race drivers, often on track days. They are far more experienced, a higher grade ARDS licence, and better paid, but most will have had to go through this stage to get experience and upgrades to their licences, as well as doing their own racing.
The training will probably cost about £500 for a day. On top of that whichever company you work for will expect you to buy uniform (circa £50-100 by the time you have bought shirts, fleeces and a coat) and you have the cost of getting yourself to venues.
Insurance is up to you to sort.
You will probably earn £100 per day and you have to pay tax on that yourself, probably through self assessment.
Your training will probably just be a local qualification so not easy to work for more than one company, unless you are already holding a race licence when you can get an ARDS Instructors licence.
Without an ARDS licence you will only be able to instruct on the "airfield type experience days" and not on race circuits. You get paid more if you are an ARDS instructor on a race circuit. But not a lot more. ARDS instructors also get insurance within the annual licence fee.
They are often long days - start at 0800 and finish about 1830. You are expected to help set up the circuits and put things away afterwards, often helping wash cars etc at the end of the day, too. You can have up to 40 clients in a car in a day, some far better than others! It can be very tiring as you are thinking for two people all the time.
There isn't very much driving. You collect the cars and warm them up, probably take them for fuel, and return them at the end if the day. No more than 2-4 laps yourself and no where near decent speeds!
Why do it? Well, I am self employed and it helps to have another string to the bow during fallow periods. I quite enjoy it and you meet some good people but it's not a great earner! Some older people do it to supplement a pension and some youngsters do it as they try to forge a career on the professional race instructing ladder but that is very hard work. I got in to it from the racing route.
You have to do a lot of days to make any half decent money.
Finally, don't confuse this role with the professional instructors and driver coaches who are making a living from coaching race drivers, often on track days. They are far more experienced, a higher grade ARDS licence, and better paid, but most will have had to go through this stage to get experience and upgrades to their licences, as well as doing their own racing.
Edited by andy97 on Tuesday 13th March 12:01
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