recommend an on track instructor for my wife

[anonymous-user]

my wife has been driving for a year, and very good she is too. She likes the right hand pedal (though claims she doesn't) and has great observation.

I'd like to get her a track instruction session and hope the fine folk of PH have some recommendations.

requirements:

1) not patronising (obviously)
2) focused on helping her understand the car and driving, rather than nailing a competitive lap time (accepting the two will be linked!)
3) Can't spring to Sabine at the ring, but any female instructors here in UK?
4) encouraging, for someone who is a really good driver, but doesn't have loads of confidence

Thanks for your suggestions- I will let you know how we get on!

[carinaman]

http://www.prestigetrackclub.co.uk/TheInstructionT...

I'm not recommending them more bemused that you couldn't search for yourself and ask for referrals once you'd found some racing schools?

Once this is updated you could go for the obviously female names:

http://www.ards.co.uk/instructors_list.asp

I've only done IAM and RoSPA and not sure how applicable track instruction is to road driving other than for knowing what happens on the limits of adhesion but really a skid pan session would seem better. A friend did ARDS become a racing driver course the other week and I'll ask them how applicable they think it is to road driving.


I do hope this post isn't a plant. I've never considered cross dressing before.

Edited by carinaman on Wednesday 14th November 01:57

[anonymous-user]

:-) not a plant!

Of course I could search, having absolutely no idea who would fit the bill and then present a list which people might respond to, but simply asking for a recommendation seems like a more sensible course to me! Thanks for responding, and yes, it's a serious question hoping to find a suggestion for a fun day for her that also helps develop understanding of the car.

Cheers, polynesian

[BertBert]

I know an instructor - Ryan Hooker who I have used for some years. He is a pro driver (works at Palmer and for a lot of manufacturers) and is fantastically nice, patient and encouraging and above all a really good instructor. Not only does he know his stuff, he can communicate what to do and actually likes sitting alongside people. My Daughter who is 24 has not found anyone she prefers to be instructed by. NCJASC.
http://www.ryanhookerracing.co.uk/

ETA: he got my Daughter from race rookie to class champion last season.

Bert

[alicrozier]

Sounds to me like she'd get more from istruction on car dynamics and on limit handling in a safe environment.
http://www.carlimits.com

Track instruction is usually much more biased towards lines and smoothness. A circuit is often not the ideal place to get a feel for the car at the limits and develop the required skills.

I'd always recommend doing instruction per above then by all means get track instruction afterwards.

[goneape]

Not female but not patronising either. A physics teacher by trade so understands vehicle dynamics and can put the message across in simple terms, even I can get it. He's called Mike Cooper, he does assessments for the ClubGT supercar rental group which is how I got hold of him. A track day isn't really necessary, ask him to take you both out on A and B roads in his Panda. It's not a very flattering car so you can tell when you're doing it right.

[rex]

Another recommendation for Mike Cooper. He is excellent at explaining the dynamics of the car and understanding what is happening. I have not used him for a while but have done many track days since, and every time I am out on track I go back to the principals he taught me.

[carinaman]

Thanks polynesian, I've not heard of this Cooper chap.

[mad4amanda]

There is a very good female instructor at Brands Hatch you might need to ask for her though as she is booked up Mary Whittaker she still races too in historic single seaters!

[MagicalTrevor]

CarLimits are very well regarded as suggested above

[jongilesrallying]

As an instructor myself, I can highly recommend my friend Kat Impey. I worked with her in New Orleans earlier in the year and she´s an extremely competent instructor. She races in the national F3 championship and is also a qualified Road instructor. She is currently Instructing at the Porsche Centre Silverstone. I´m pretty sure they offer a variety of different days ranging from fast road driving to full blown circuit days.

[BertBert]

I was just about to say, female at Brands, that must be Kat. I don't know her, but she raced in F3 with my friend Graham at Lanan Racing.
Bert

[jongilesrallying]

Yes, that´s her, Bert

[waremark]

Polynesian, as a matter of interest, why are you looking for a track driving instructor for her rather than a high performance road driving coach? You might find that one of the HPC coaches or a RideDriving coach would do more for her confidence and enjoyment of a quick car on the road, and more for safety, than either a track driving instructor or a limit handling specialist.

Or is what she wants to be a good track driver?