Supercar experience day
Discussion
Supercar experience day at Mallory today with a few friends. It was a bit cold, wet and slippery but what a cracking day out! I've done a couple of bike trackdays at Mallory so had a vague idea where the track went but there were extra chicanes in so I was glad to have an instructor in the car.
I drove a 911 (don't know which particular model), Ferrari F430, Gallardo, Nissan GT-R and Ariel Atom. The 911 was fabulous, I was surprised how slow the gearchange was in the Gallardo (but what an engine!), the F430 was great too but the big surprise of the day was the Nissan. What a piece of kit that is. We were restricted to one gear in the Atom due to the wet conditions so I don't really think I got a fair impression of that. In fact I don't think the limited number of laps we had is enough to get a feel for any of the cars, but it's given me an idea of which cars to target if I do another day.
Recommended.
I drove a 911 (don't know which particular model), Ferrari F430, Gallardo, Nissan GT-R and Ariel Atom. The 911 was fabulous, I was surprised how slow the gearchange was in the Gallardo (but what an engine!), the F430 was great too but the big surprise of the day was the Nissan. What a piece of kit that is. We were restricted to one gear in the Atom due to the wet conditions so I don't really think I got a fair impression of that. In fact I don't think the limited number of laps we had is enough to get a feel for any of the cars, but it's given me an idea of which cars to target if I do another day.
Recommended.
underwhelmist said:
Supercar experience day at Mallory today with a few friends. It was a bit cold, wet and slippery but what a cracking day out! I've done a couple of bike trackdays at Mallory so had a vague idea where the track went but there were extra chicanes in so I was glad to have an instructor in the car.
I drove a 911 (don't know which particular model), Ferrari F430, Gallardo, Nissan GT-R and Ariel Atom. The 911 was fabulous, I was surprised how slow the gearchange was in the Gallardo (but what an engine!), the F430 was great too but the big surprise of the day was the Nissan. What a piece of kit that is. We were restricted to one gear in the Atom due to the wet conditions so I don't really think I got a fair impression of that. In fact I don't think the limited number of laps we had is enough to get a feel for any of the cars, but it's given me an idea of which cars to target if I do another day.
Recommended.
Which experience company hosted it? I've a voucher for one with 5 cars, thinking of oulton or Mallory I drove a 911 (don't know which particular model), Ferrari F430, Gallardo, Nissan GT-R and Ariel Atom. The 911 was fabulous, I was surprised how slow the gearchange was in the Gallardo (but what an engine!), the F430 was great too but the big surprise of the day was the Nissan. What a piece of kit that is. We were restricted to one gear in the Atom due to the wet conditions so I don't really think I got a fair impression of that. In fact I don't think the limited number of laps we had is enough to get a feel for any of the cars, but it's given me an idea of which cars to target if I do another day.
Recommended.
Roboticarm said:
Surprising to see that you recommend it, most people I've spoken to have mentioned not being able to drive hard, "instructors" telling them to change up at 3k rpm, brakes gently etc.
Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
The few I’ve done I’ve always been encouraged to drive hard! I drove a manual gallardo and enjoyed that and ragged a mclaren 12cDid you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
I went to drift works (Hemel Hempstead) to drive a Gallardo and yeh the noise was nice but the track was far too small for the car, they then offered me for £60 another car so took out a Ferrari 430 Scuderia race car and that was a lot more exciting to drive but once again track to small for it.
Wouldn't mind a few laps of Silverstone in the 430 Scuderia.
Wouldn't mind a few laps of Silverstone in the 430 Scuderia.
ghost83 said:
Roboticarm said:
Surprising to see that you recommend it, most people I've spoken to have mentioned not being able to drive hard, "instructors" telling them to change up at 3k rpm, brakes gently etc.
Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
The few I’ve done I’ve always been encouraged to drive hard! I drove a manual gallardo and enjoyed that and ragged a mclaren 12cDid you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
I also concluded that because the Mazda's weren't owned by the company who ran the day, they didn't care much about how you drove them. There were other people there driving Ferrari's, Lamborghini's etc who told me they were not allowed to drive those cars flat out. I suspect those cars were owned by the organisers.
In contrast. I've done several track days (mainly on motorbikes) with my own vehicles and whilst there was some speed control, I didn't feel as restricted.
Better still. I used to race Karts competitively. That's a much better option IMHO.
CharlieAlphaMike said:
There were other people there driving Ferrari's, Lamborghini's etc who told me they were not allowed to drive those cars flat out. I suspect those cars were owned by the organisers.
I did a Ferrari Experience at Thruxton last year and was positively encouraged to give the 458 plenty of right foot!Mincey said:
CharlieAlphaMike said:
There were other people there driving Ferrari's, Lamborghini's etc who told me they were not allowed to drive those cars flat out. I suspect those cars were owned by the organisers.
I did a Ferrari Experience at Thruxton last year and was positively encouraged to give the 458 plenty of right foot!
Roboticarm said:
Surprising to see that you recommend it, most people I've spoken to have mentioned not being able to drive hard, "instructors" telling them to change up at 3k rpm, brakes gently etc.
Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
Years ago, I did an experience day at Thruxton. One of the cars I got to drive was a Ferrari F355, which was wonderful in part because of that engine and its appetite for revs. Good for 8000 rpm perhaps, yet had a red sticker placed over the tacho to suggest the red line was at about 4000 rpm. Rather took the shine off the experience...Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
SweptVolume said:
Roboticarm said:
Surprising to see that you recommend it, most people I've spoken to have mentioned not being able to drive hard, "instructors" telling them to change up at 3k rpm, brakes gently etc.
Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
Years ago, I did an experience day at Thruxton. One of the cars I got to drive was a Ferrari F355, which was wonderful in part because of that engine and its appetite for revs. Good for 8000 rpm perhaps, yet had a red sticker placed over the tacho to suggest the red line was at about 4000 rpm. Rather took the shine off the experience...Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
Did you drive the F355 on your own or with an instructor next to you?
SweptVolume said:
Years ago, I did an experience day at Thruxton. One of the cars I got to drive was a Ferrari F355, which was wonderful in part because of that engine and its appetite for revs. Good for 8000 rpm perhaps, yet had a red sticker placed over the tacho to suggest the red line was at about 4000 rpm. Rather took the shine off the experience...
They have a red light on the single seat formula cars at silverstone, I did that last summer and was encouraged again to drive quickly (didn’t get overtaken but did overtake everyone in our group) the red light would come on but you could tell the engine had a lot more so I did ignore it and just went by the sound of the engine and it just sang tbhCharlieAlphaMike said:
Which probably reflects the views who were driving the supercars on the day I went there. F355's don't get going until after 4000rpm. I'm glad I opted for the Mazda RX7 and single seater. Actually, the drive in the RX7 made me consider buying one. I owned a Jaguar XJR at the time but was so impressed with how that Mazda handled. I didn't get one in the end and sometimes regret that decision.
Did you drive the F355 on your own or with an instructor next to you?
More memories! I did my first Ferrari Experience there on Eclipse Day in 1999. A rather lovely lady called Gillian (an Aston Martin racer if I remember correctly) took me out in the F355 and at one point, as I was being passed by a couple of Formula Fords, had to point out that the speedo was calibrated in km/h and not mph and I really should put my foot down.Did you drive the F355 on your own or with an instructor next to you?
I had a great trip to Brands Hatch last year doing a supercar experience. 5 cars x 5 laps for £250. You got a choice of cars but I chose
Base 991 - Slow but handled well. Good starter car to learn the track. I would've loved another go once I'd learnt the track a bit.
BMW i8 - Struggled with this. Handling felt all wrong to me.
Gallardo - Tatty. Horrible gear shifters but great engine and wonderful noise.
California - Surprisingly good. A bit slidy.
GT-R - Very fast and grippy. Got to push pretty hard.
The instructors were different for each car and I think they gave you enough free rein to have fun if they were confident in your abilities. Highly recommended and I'll do it again.
Base 991 - Slow but handled well. Good starter car to learn the track. I would've loved another go once I'd learnt the track a bit.
BMW i8 - Struggled with this. Handling felt all wrong to me.
Gallardo - Tatty. Horrible gear shifters but great engine and wonderful noise.
California - Surprisingly good. A bit slidy.
GT-R - Very fast and grippy. Got to push pretty hard.
The instructors were different for each car and I think they gave you enough free rein to have fun if they were confident in your abilities. Highly recommended and I'll do it again.
I did a "car chase heroes" one.
Poor overall, long wait to "check in" (read - upsell)
thought the cars might save the day, not really, did a skyline r34 - Quick, but a tired example with blue smoke, gearbox was shocking, couldn't get 3rd half the time, but they have a device if the clutch is down too long it will cut the engine, that plus the poor box which meant the engine cut out a lot.
Then a dodge charger - complete with fake blower. these aren't the most refined cars anyway as we know but again, tired example. I didnt expect too much as these days are never track hoons but this was a shame.
Poor overall, long wait to "check in" (read - upsell)
thought the cars might save the day, not really, did a skyline r34 - Quick, but a tired example with blue smoke, gearbox was shocking, couldn't get 3rd half the time, but they have a device if the clutch is down too long it will cut the engine, that plus the poor box which meant the engine cut out a lot.
Then a dodge charger - complete with fake blower. these aren't the most refined cars anyway as we know but again, tired example. I didnt expect too much as these days are never track hoons but this was a shame.
A while ago I just turned up at 3 Sisters when one was on and paid to drive a Mclaren 12C.
I set off a second after I got in the car and told me to get out as soon as I pulled back off the track.. I barely even looked at the cockpit of the car.
Every corner exit telling me to shift up to 3-4 before I'm even accelerating.
If theres any driving experience I would look into doing would be this.. But its pricey!
https://www.palmersport.com/
I set off a second after I got in the car and told me to get out as soon as I pulled back off the track.. I barely even looked at the cockpit of the car.
Every corner exit telling me to shift up to 3-4 before I'm even accelerating.
If theres any driving experience I would look into doing would be this.. But its pricey!
https://www.palmersport.com/
I did a couple of corporate days at Silverstone a long time ago. I got invited back for a second day after I happened to mention it was a shame the weather had slowed us down. I wasn't complaining, but was not going to say no.
It was amazing!! We drove: Ferrari, Lotus, Porsche, Peugeot Rally Car, Fiesta Rally Car, Quad, 4x4 ,Caterham, Single Seater, fast lap with an instructor in a Focus ST (which was frankly astonishing) and a couple of others I can't remember - it was 11 vehicles in total.
I still have the lanyards and scorecards and the engraved plate I got for winning the rally event on the 2nd day.
Couldn't fault it, we got ferried around in a team minibus with an organiser, had a great lunch and a lasting memory.
I have since done a Car Chase Heroes one some friends got me for my 40th and unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. Tired cars, misleading, short track, long waits, poor organisation. I wouldn't use them again on that basis.
It was amazing!! We drove: Ferrari, Lotus, Porsche, Peugeot Rally Car, Fiesta Rally Car, Quad, 4x4 ,Caterham, Single Seater, fast lap with an instructor in a Focus ST (which was frankly astonishing) and a couple of others I can't remember - it was 11 vehicles in total.
I still have the lanyards and scorecards and the engraved plate I got for winning the rally event on the 2nd day.
Couldn't fault it, we got ferried around in a team minibus with an organiser, had a great lunch and a lasting memory.
I have since done a Car Chase Heroes one some friends got me for my 40th and unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. Tired cars, misleading, short track, long waits, poor organisation. I wouldn't use them again on that basis.
Roboticarm said:
Surprising to see that you recommend it, most people I've spoken to have mentioned not being able to drive hard, "instructors" telling them to change up at 3k rpm, brakes gently etc.
Did you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
Depended very much on the instructor, and of course my ability - I felt I was going pretty fast but having little experience of properly fast cars I was probably dawdling compared to some, although I did pass several cars. I was encouraged to open them up on the (admittedly short) straights. The odd one out was the Atom, trundling around in 4th gear (wasn't allowed to change gear!) and being told to brake *really really* early. FrustratingDid you actually get to give the cars some beans ?
200Plus Club said:
Which experience company hosted it? I've a voucher for one with 5 cars, thinking of oulton or Mallory
I think the company was Everyman racing.CharlieAlphaMike said:
In contrast. I've done several track days (mainly on motorbikes) with my own vehicles and whilst there was some speed control, I didn't feel as restricted.
Yep, I've done a couple of track days on my own bike and very much agree with this.GTiWILL said:
We did a Supercar experience at Oulton Park which was excellent. I was encouraged to drive all of the cars fast which included a 911 Turbo Tiptronic 996 (frustrating on track) Nissan GTR (epic) and Ariel Atom (too difficult to master in 3 laps)
It was a great day!
Sounds very much like the day I did. I didn't find the Porsche frustrating but (1) I hadn't driven a paddle-shift car before and (2) as mentioned above, I'm no driving god. It was a great day!
Overall I think it was good value, it was booked ages ago but I think the cost was around £150. I wouldn't do the same day again, but I might do a day where you get more laps in fewer cars (probably all but the Atom).
Some posters have mentioned "tired" cars, well yes, most of the cars were lookers from 10 yards but had obviously been well used once you were up close.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff