Palmersport corporate event - my experience
Discussion
Hi all, hope this of some use to anyone fortunate enough to be invited to a Palmer corporate day, or considering buying a spare place on one.
OK, as promised a more detailed report for those who have never been.
Friday morning almost dawned, in that I got up at 5 am to get to St Pancras for the 7 am train to Beford with my colleagues and some of our customers who were joining us for the day. Having stupidly left my car's sidelights on the night before I had to walk to the station, not really helping my foot which I knackered in a motorbike accident a couple of years ago (this became relevant later...).
Arriving at Bedford having exchanged stories of fast and not-so-fast cars all the way up, we registered and went straight to the excellent breakfast buffet, a good choice of cooked food and continental-style fruit, yoghurt and cold meats. Even the coffee was decent. This was definitely a taste of the quality to come (sorry).
After the clear briefing video, with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour, we jumped into our minibus for the day and off to the first event. I should say now that I think we were very lucky with the order in which we did the various activities - I believe one group went straight to the JP1 which must have been somewhat intimidating!
First off was the Clio Cup. Dropped off at the clean and comfortable hospitality suite that's replicated at each circuit, we collected helmets and got ready. This was my first experience with a fully caged car, left-hand-drive )which was OK for me as I've had '50s Yanks for years), paddle shift and LOUD! I was glad I'd taken my bike earplugs... I could hear my instructor clearly over the intercom, and we were off. I found the Clio pretty easy to drive, but boy was I slow compared to some of the others, mainly the younger ones or those who had done it before. Why didn't I do this when I was younger and less aware of my own mortality?? A couple of laps in and I was starting to get the idea, but I felt that I was almost playing a real life video game, following a rapid series of instructions without really getting the connection between the feeling through my hands and bum and what the car was doing. This feeling stayed all day, in all the cars except the single seaters, but chatting with the instructors made it clear that it was an experience day, not driver tuition. Oh well, still fun, mostly.
I thought I was getting in a groove and starting to improve when it was back to the pits and a short wait before the Porsche "JP3". This was going to be good, I'd test driven a GT3 and TT recently, so was looking forward to this. A quick look at the car showed it to be a pre-facelift 996 C2 with a GT3 aerokit and lowered suspension, presumably race spec to cope with the hammering they get. Also left hand drive, it had a tip 'box with a paddle conversion. So, off we went on the same circuit as the Clios. To be honest, I don't remember much else except the ride was good, the steering not as good as the GT3, and that the circuit really wasn't long enough to let the car get into its stride. One of the other attendees went on the grass and threw loads of mud on the circuit, so my instructor (a different one each time) kept hitting the dual-control brakes as I was presumably going too fast. Looking back an "off" would probably have done me good, as the fear I had of crashing (pretty much impossible there) was holding me back.
Next up was the Jag XKR. Most of the others hated these as being too lardy, but in retrospect I enjoyed these a lot. My intercom was intermittent which was a pain, and I didn't realise the stability control was on, so I thought the instuctor was hitting the brakes again while calling for full power, so I was rather confused until I spotted the yellow light flashing on the dash and was able to understand what was going on. In comparison to my other awful lap times I did best in the Jag. I'll have to test drive one now!
Onto the Caterhams. Let me say straight away that I didn't enjoy them one bit, but I don't think that was the car or my instructor. The circuit, dedicated to the Sevens, is very tight and everything happens very quickly for a novice like me. With no idea of where the limit was, and needing a delicate touch on the throttle, I was out of my depth very quickly, not helped by the pain in my shoulders caused by my "death grip" on the wheel! My first "off" followed after a couple of laps, not a spin as such but a definite loss of traction in all directions. Another few laps and I was knackered, so I was quite glad when it was over - but more on the Caterham later in the pursuit event.
After an excellent lunch, which my raised adrenaline levels thought was a bit short, we were off... to the Palmer Jaguar JP1. First I was treated to the SuperRide, a chauffered blast in a more powerful version of the JP1, nose to tail with a second one. The vast chasm between ordinary mortals and proper racers was presented to me on a plate, incredible acceleration and grip vying with the brick wall-like braking, beautifuly controlled yet aggressive. Then it was my turn. Gulp.
First problem was that I didn't fit the car at all well. With the slightly adjutable seat fully forward, I couldn't really get the clutch down enough to get first gear, or to get full brakes and throttle. So a pad was put behind be, sorting out the leg problem but leaving me unable to turn the wheel enough and keep both hands aligned with the wheel-mounted paddles. Oh well, I was just going to have to manage. It turned out to be quite easy to pull away from a standstill, and the sound and feel of the car was great. I thought I got to grips with the car after three laps or so, but from the lap times and excellend on-board video I clearly didn't! I finally spun properly at some speed, which excised the demons in my head and let me et on with it propoerly. I started to use the whole width of the track, and have the guts to lift and turn in without comfort braking, but time was up and it was back to the pits.
Karting followed on a mini-track next to the South Circuit, and I'm sorry to say that I really didn't enjoy it one bit. I've been karting before and had a laugh, but somehow I couldn't get into it, not helped by my foot suffering badly from the walk at the start of the day and the brakes in the JP1. I felt I was holding everyone up as there was little overtaking room, so I pulled off after a few laps. I still didn't come last on the overall lap times which was some little comfort.
Then to the main event, the Formula Jaguar single seaters. Another special safety briefing - no instructor in the car this time - and into a proper race suit. The car fit me beautifully, and just felt right. Pulling away needed a few revs, and the car didn't like being on a small throttle opening in first (or maybe it was me), then we were off behind the course car for a sighting lap. After he pulled into the pits the two cars in front of me legged it, so I was on my own. After having the instructors giving detailed directions it was a relief to have the car to myself. OK, I wasn't that fast, but I was having some real fun now trying to remember which corners to brake on, when to change up and down and revelling in the wonderful combination of slicks and wings. I was clearly enjoying myself a bit too much as I spun, but I knew what I'd done and was unintimidated. Another few laps and the best part of the day was over. The telemetry showed I didn't even crack 100MPH, but it sure felt like it! 120+ in the XKR didn't feel like it at all.
Back into the minibus and over to the off-road and Caterham Pursuit area. I did the Land Rover course first, which would have been easy except for the scoring of this section being based around hitting tennis balls with either the door mirrors or a target painted on the screen! I did pretty well with the driving part, but the balls to the left side seemed to be a weak spot. Hmm, I just reread that... you get the idea though.
Then to the Caterham Pursuit. A simple course, including a doughnut to finish, mirrored to have two of us compete in a head-to-head. Of course, when my colleague and I came to it the rain started pouring down. Wheelspin and fishtailing in first and second was fun if slow, but the doughnut was easier than I expected as a result! I won the head to head but was much slower than those than ran on a dry surface.
And that was it. Back to the hospitality suite for more coffee and nibbles, the more competitive ones were presented with their awards and the rest of us were left to laugh at our telemetry from the Palmer Jaguars. I'm not sure I hit full throttle once, and the memory stick we were each given with the on-board video had some great moments to remember.
Oddly, at the end of the whole day I felt a little let down. I had driven on a track before, but on more of a high-speed safety course than a performance driving event, and I'd imagined that I'd be able to enjoy the driving while I was doing it. In fact I felt that I would have liked to drive fewer cars, but spend a few minutes between sessions reviewing what I'd leared and then going back out in the same car. It was all a bit frantic.
Looking back though, there were so many outstanding moments that I'd do it again in an instant. The Clios were great fun, the 911 was good but needed a longer circuit, the XKR was so much like my 928 it was a very relevant experience that I could make some sense of, and the JP1 and single seaters were amazing. The Caterhams and karts weren't my thing, but I think I need to be able to react more instinctively to enjoy them.
So what next? I think I'd like some proper tuition to see if I can reduce the need to think quite so much about the basics, and to reduce my stress levels through familiarity with the feel of going that quickly on a good surface with no traffic or speed cameras. The Plans Motorosports deal at Dunsfold might be fun, then I'll see what car I get next.
Hope this is of interest to some, and apologies for length etc.
OK, as promised a more detailed report for those who have never been.
Friday morning almost dawned, in that I got up at 5 am to get to St Pancras for the 7 am train to Beford with my colleagues and some of our customers who were joining us for the day. Having stupidly left my car's sidelights on the night before I had to walk to the station, not really helping my foot which I knackered in a motorbike accident a couple of years ago (this became relevant later...).
Arriving at Bedford having exchanged stories of fast and not-so-fast cars all the way up, we registered and went straight to the excellent breakfast buffet, a good choice of cooked food and continental-style fruit, yoghurt and cold meats. Even the coffee was decent. This was definitely a taste of the quality to come (sorry).
After the clear briefing video, with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour, we jumped into our minibus for the day and off to the first event. I should say now that I think we were very lucky with the order in which we did the various activities - I believe one group went straight to the JP1 which must have been somewhat intimidating!
First off was the Clio Cup. Dropped off at the clean and comfortable hospitality suite that's replicated at each circuit, we collected helmets and got ready. This was my first experience with a fully caged car, left-hand-drive )which was OK for me as I've had '50s Yanks for years), paddle shift and LOUD! I was glad I'd taken my bike earplugs... I could hear my instructor clearly over the intercom, and we were off. I found the Clio pretty easy to drive, but boy was I slow compared to some of the others, mainly the younger ones or those who had done it before. Why didn't I do this when I was younger and less aware of my own mortality?? A couple of laps in and I was starting to get the idea, but I felt that I was almost playing a real life video game, following a rapid series of instructions without really getting the connection between the feeling through my hands and bum and what the car was doing. This feeling stayed all day, in all the cars except the single seaters, but chatting with the instructors made it clear that it was an experience day, not driver tuition. Oh well, still fun, mostly.
I thought I was getting in a groove and starting to improve when it was back to the pits and a short wait before the Porsche "JP3". This was going to be good, I'd test driven a GT3 and TT recently, so was looking forward to this. A quick look at the car showed it to be a pre-facelift 996 C2 with a GT3 aerokit and lowered suspension, presumably race spec to cope with the hammering they get. Also left hand drive, it had a tip 'box with a paddle conversion. So, off we went on the same circuit as the Clios. To be honest, I don't remember much else except the ride was good, the steering not as good as the GT3, and that the circuit really wasn't long enough to let the car get into its stride. One of the other attendees went on the grass and threw loads of mud on the circuit, so my instructor (a different one each time) kept hitting the dual-control brakes as I was presumably going too fast. Looking back an "off" would probably have done me good, as the fear I had of crashing (pretty much impossible there) was holding me back.
Next up was the Jag XKR. Most of the others hated these as being too lardy, but in retrospect I enjoyed these a lot. My intercom was intermittent which was a pain, and I didn't realise the stability control was on, so I thought the instuctor was hitting the brakes again while calling for full power, so I was rather confused until I spotted the yellow light flashing on the dash and was able to understand what was going on. In comparison to my other awful lap times I did best in the Jag. I'll have to test drive one now!
Onto the Caterhams. Let me say straight away that I didn't enjoy them one bit, but I don't think that was the car or my instructor. The circuit, dedicated to the Sevens, is very tight and everything happens very quickly for a novice like me. With no idea of where the limit was, and needing a delicate touch on the throttle, I was out of my depth very quickly, not helped by the pain in my shoulders caused by my "death grip" on the wheel! My first "off" followed after a couple of laps, not a spin as such but a definite loss of traction in all directions. Another few laps and I was knackered, so I was quite glad when it was over - but more on the Caterham later in the pursuit event.
After an excellent lunch, which my raised adrenaline levels thought was a bit short, we were off... to the Palmer Jaguar JP1. First I was treated to the SuperRide, a chauffered blast in a more powerful version of the JP1, nose to tail with a second one. The vast chasm between ordinary mortals and proper racers was presented to me on a plate, incredible acceleration and grip vying with the brick wall-like braking, beautifuly controlled yet aggressive. Then it was my turn. Gulp.
First problem was that I didn't fit the car at all well. With the slightly adjutable seat fully forward, I couldn't really get the clutch down enough to get first gear, or to get full brakes and throttle. So a pad was put behind be, sorting out the leg problem but leaving me unable to turn the wheel enough and keep both hands aligned with the wheel-mounted paddles. Oh well, I was just going to have to manage. It turned out to be quite easy to pull away from a standstill, and the sound and feel of the car was great. I thought I got to grips with the car after three laps or so, but from the lap times and excellend on-board video I clearly didn't! I finally spun properly at some speed, which excised the demons in my head and let me et on with it propoerly. I started to use the whole width of the track, and have the guts to lift and turn in without comfort braking, but time was up and it was back to the pits.
Karting followed on a mini-track next to the South Circuit, and I'm sorry to say that I really didn't enjoy it one bit. I've been karting before and had a laugh, but somehow I couldn't get into it, not helped by my foot suffering badly from the walk at the start of the day and the brakes in the JP1. I felt I was holding everyone up as there was little overtaking room, so I pulled off after a few laps. I still didn't come last on the overall lap times which was some little comfort.
Then to the main event, the Formula Jaguar single seaters. Another special safety briefing - no instructor in the car this time - and into a proper race suit. The car fit me beautifully, and just felt right. Pulling away needed a few revs, and the car didn't like being on a small throttle opening in first (or maybe it was me), then we were off behind the course car for a sighting lap. After he pulled into the pits the two cars in front of me legged it, so I was on my own. After having the instructors giving detailed directions it was a relief to have the car to myself. OK, I wasn't that fast, but I was having some real fun now trying to remember which corners to brake on, when to change up and down and revelling in the wonderful combination of slicks and wings. I was clearly enjoying myself a bit too much as I spun, but I knew what I'd done and was unintimidated. Another few laps and the best part of the day was over. The telemetry showed I didn't even crack 100MPH, but it sure felt like it! 120+ in the XKR didn't feel like it at all.
Back into the minibus and over to the off-road and Caterham Pursuit area. I did the Land Rover course first, which would have been easy except for the scoring of this section being based around hitting tennis balls with either the door mirrors or a target painted on the screen! I did pretty well with the driving part, but the balls to the left side seemed to be a weak spot. Hmm, I just reread that... you get the idea though.
Then to the Caterham Pursuit. A simple course, including a doughnut to finish, mirrored to have two of us compete in a head-to-head. Of course, when my colleague and I came to it the rain started pouring down. Wheelspin and fishtailing in first and second was fun if slow, but the doughnut was easier than I expected as a result! I won the head to head but was much slower than those than ran on a dry surface.
And that was it. Back to the hospitality suite for more coffee and nibbles, the more competitive ones were presented with their awards and the rest of us were left to laugh at our telemetry from the Palmer Jaguars. I'm not sure I hit full throttle once, and the memory stick we were each given with the on-board video had some great moments to remember.
Oddly, at the end of the whole day I felt a little let down. I had driven on a track before, but on more of a high-speed safety course than a performance driving event, and I'd imagined that I'd be able to enjoy the driving while I was doing it. In fact I felt that I would have liked to drive fewer cars, but spend a few minutes between sessions reviewing what I'd leared and then going back out in the same car. It was all a bit frantic.
Looking back though, there were so many outstanding moments that I'd do it again in an instant. The Clios were great fun, the 911 was good but needed a longer circuit, the XKR was so much like my 928 it was a very relevant experience that I could make some sense of, and the JP1 and single seaters were amazing. The Caterhams and karts weren't my thing, but I think I need to be able to react more instinctively to enjoy them.
So what next? I think I'd like some proper tuition to see if I can reduce the need to think quite so much about the basics, and to reduce my stress levels through familiarity with the feel of going that quickly on a good surface with no traffic or speed cameras. The Plans Motorosports deal at Dunsfold might be fun, then I'll see what car I get next.
Hope this is of interest to some, and apologies for length etc.
I really enjoyed my day there last summer, but with a different set of likes to the OP.
I did...
caterhams- loved them and got fastest time
clios- fantastic really enjoyed them
911- ok, but the tip box is just horrid
caterham- autotest, got really fed up with the instructor and his kill switch. Would have preferred to have spun than have the drive killed all the time
Landy- super fun.
Jag- hateful
JP1- very enjoyable although the instructor was sure I could go a lot faster than I thought. We (well I) span relentlessly and just got one "together" lap in before timeout. Fastest time again.
FPJ- just the best. After a day of being hounded to go faster by an instructor
the peace was excellent. I went out second in my group. Shot by the leader after the first corner, then came round and lapped all in my group before sadly dumping it in the kitty litter in a fit of red mist! That got me a lot of stick!!
Bert
I did...
caterhams- loved them and got fastest time
clios- fantastic really enjoyed them
911- ok, but the tip box is just horrid
caterham- autotest, got really fed up with the instructor and his kill switch. Would have preferred to have spun than have the drive killed all the time
Landy- super fun.
Jag- hateful
JP1- very enjoyable although the instructor was sure I could go a lot faster than I thought. We (well I) span relentlessly and just got one "together" lap in before timeout. Fastest time again.
FPJ- just the best. After a day of being hounded to go faster by an instructor
the peace was excellent. I went out second in my group. Shot by the leader after the first corner, then came round and lapped all in my group before sadly dumping it in the kitty litter in a fit of red mist! That got me a lot of stick!!Bert
McSwerve II said:
I was invited to an event in July.
Accepted immediately, as you would.
My company then introduced a “Big Brother / You Can’t Be Trusted” version of a corporate entertainment policy. So I had to pull out.
Gutted.
Are you sure that your boss didn't just find a way to use your invite!Accepted immediately, as you would.
My company then introduced a “Big Brother / You Can’t Be Trusted” version of a corporate entertainment policy. So I had to pull out.
Gutted.
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