ARDS test at Teesside Autodrome – excellent day
Discussion
A friend of mine and I have recently taken our ARDS training and test at the Teesside Autodrome. We were looking for a test date outside of the dates offered at other circuits and the instructors at Teesside were flexible enough to arrange the ARDS on short notice and on a day we wanted. This post is just to let people know we had an excellent time at the circuit.
We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
System-G said:
Teeside is a little Kart "circuit" - It was good fun sprinting there, but I'd hate to take an ARDS test there.
Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Proper drivers don't seem to have a problem, only those with no natural talent or ability struggle, but there again, I've seen you struggle at every circuit you drive!!!Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Mark8889 said:
A friend of mine and I have recently taken our ARDS training and test at the Teesside Autodrome. We were looking for a test date outside of the dates offered at other circuits and the instructors at Teesside were flexible enough to arrange the ARDS on short notice and on a day we wanted. This post is just to let people know we had an excellent time at the circuit.
We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
Thanks for the recommendation, Mark, ....... I'm happy you enjoyed it, & good luck with your first race. Ralph successfully crossed the first hurdle, and considering he had never seen Cadwell Park, it proved to be a good effort looking at his times. If either of you do want any help at any of the circuits you race at, feel free to call us & we can arrange to do a trackday, provided it isn't a BookaTrack day, ..... we don't do BookaTrack days, but all the other operators,... Circuit Days, Easytrack, Lotus on Track, Goldtrack, MSV, BHP, MLR, Javelin and many more are all excellent days! We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
Good luck, and best regards, Howard
ginettajoe said:
System-G said:
Teeside is a little Kart "circuit" - It was good fun sprinting there, but I'd hate to take an ARDS test there.
Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Proper drivers don't seem to have a problem, only those with no natural talent or ability struggle, but there again, I've seen you struggle at every circuit you drive!!!Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Nice of you to mention it Howard
I thought I learned from the best? Afterall you're the only instructor that has given me tuition. Perhaps that's where the problem lay?
Seriously chap, why the personal attack? I have only had respect for you and have never said a bad word against you, even when all around you may have been.
Perhaps they were correct??
My comments on Teeside are my opinion based on having driven the circuit and nearly every other circuit in the UK (numerous times).
The rest were genuine questions of which are yet to be answered.
Actually thinking about it, I also had some tuition off Simon Mason who was very complimentary about my driving...
Edited by System-G on Tuesday 20th April 23:00
System-G said:
ginettajoe said:
System-G said:
Teeside is a little Kart "circuit" - It was good fun sprinting there, but I'd hate to take an ARDS test there.
Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Proper drivers don't seem to have a problem, only those with no natural talent or ability struggle, but there again, I've seen you struggle at every circuit you drive!!!Thinking about it, is Teeside even licenced to do the full ARDS Test? I know the instructors can do ARDS training there, but not sure on the test side of things?
Nice of you to mention it Howard
I thought I learned from the best? Afterall you're the only instructor that has given me tuition. Perhaps that's where the problem lay?
Seriously chap, why the personal attack? I have only had respect for you and have never said a bad word against you, even when all around you may have been.
Perhaps they were correct??
My comments on Teeside are my opinion based on having driven the circuit and nearly every other circuit in the UK (numerous times).
The rest were genuine questions of which are yet to be answered.
Actually thinking about it, I also had some tuition off Simon Mason who was very complimentary about my driving...
Edited by System-G on Tuesday 20th April 23:00
In addition to the driver training courses held there, we hold Trackdays, & Track evenings, attracting 30+ cars on most dates, running 15 cars on track at anyone time, & we don't have any "congestion" problems, nor do we have drivers queuing & becoming frustrated. We attract a wide variation of cars including Ferrari 430's, Porsche 996/997 GT3's, Subarus, Evo, Exiges, Elises, together with Clios, Saxos, Minis and many more. We have not had a single complaint from anyone, and we create a fun, relaxed day, where many come back regularly. Just to add weight to my explanation, we regularly see speeds of 125mph from the quicker cars.
The strange thing is, the only people who seem to criticise the venue, are those who have never been, or those that can't drive particularly well. So take your choice, which catergory do you belong to???
So in future, just check with the MSA, or ARDS as to whether or not the circuit holds a licence to carry out the "Novice Driver Training Course" together with the official test, rather than ask the question on a public forum where it is unlikely anyone can answer your question, unless they belong to those "Associations", which is not likely. I think I have made myself clear.
Thanks for the clarification as to the status of TeeSSide Howard 
I wouldn't put myself into either of the clarifications you mention though... As I said in my first post, I had fun sprinting at Teesside (and did well too!) - it's just not a venue I would like to take an ARDS test.
You can't compare Teesside with circuits like Oulton, Anglesey, Cadwell etc... to name just a few and which I would prefer to do my ARDS licence. I guess it's more to do with the location of the circuits. And it's a personal preference.
Oh and incedentally, I also rememebered since last seeing you, I have also had instruction from Christian Dick, Stuart Jones, Rachel Green & Sarah Reader - all of whom have given very positive feedback of my driving. Admitedly, some of it constructively where improvements could be made, but nothing too bad. No one could ever say theyb couldn't do with improvement IMO. And I know my driving has improved immensly since last seeing you, but there's always room for improvement.
Make of that what you would...
I'm not trying to make this personal Howard... and I don't see why you do
But perhaps this could be a warning that anyone considering taking instruction from you could also suffer slagging when they take instruction from someone else later on for no apparent reason...
I wouldn't put myself into either of the clarifications you mention though... As I said in my first post, I had fun sprinting at Teesside (and did well too!) - it's just not a venue I would like to take an ARDS test.
You can't compare Teesside with circuits like Oulton, Anglesey, Cadwell etc... to name just a few and which I would prefer to do my ARDS licence. I guess it's more to do with the location of the circuits. And it's a personal preference.
Oh and incedentally, I also rememebered since last seeing you, I have also had instruction from Christian Dick, Stuart Jones, Rachel Green & Sarah Reader - all of whom have given very positive feedback of my driving. Admitedly, some of it constructively where improvements could be made, but nothing too bad. No one could ever say theyb couldn't do with improvement IMO. And I know my driving has improved immensly since last seeing you, but there's always room for improvement.
Make of that what you would...
I'm not trying to make this personal Howard... and I don't see why you do
But perhaps this could be a warning that anyone considering taking instruction from you could also suffer slagging when they take instruction from someone else later on for no apparent reason...
System-G said:
I'm not trying to make this personal Howard... and I don't see why you do
But perhaps this could be a warning that anyone considering taking instruction from you could also suffer slagging when they take instruction from someone else later on for no apparent reason...
Bear in mind that Howard has worked very hard over a period of 3 years to get Teesside Autodrome accepted into ARDS. We have now done quite a few ARDS Tests (or as Howard pointed out, to use the correct title, Novice Driver Training Courses) at Teesside since the circuit was passed to run the courses. Again as Howard says, Teesside holds an MSA Race Licence and has been authorised by the MSA to run the Novice Driver Training Course - yet you come on here in response to some satisfied clients who chose of their own free will to post an appraisal of their ARDS Test day, and not only slag off the circuit but question whether it is qualified to run the test - which it quite evidently is otherwise we wouldn't have run courses and passed clients who have been issued with licences and then taken the trouble to comment favourably about it. Can you not see how that might rub Howard up the wrong way?But perhaps this could be a warning that anyone considering taking instruction from you could also suffer slagging when they take instruction from someone else later on for no apparent reason...
And no-one is claiming that Teesside Autodrome competes with Oulton Park, Silverstone, Donington, Cadwell Park or any of the major circuits in terms of size, topography and status. It is however perfectly adequate for the purpose of assessing whether a driver has the basic knowledge and aptitude to be granted a race licence. By all means do your ARDS Test wherever you like, that's your prerogative.
Someone asked for a link? thetrackdayclub.com/race-licence-ards-courses
Mark8889 said:
A friend of mine and I have recently taken our ARDS training and test at the Teesside Autodrome. We were looking for a test date outside of the dates offered at other circuits and the instructors at Teesside were flexible enough to arrange the ARDS on short notice and on a day we wanted. This post is just to let people know we had an excellent time at the circuit.
We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
Thanks Mark! How did the first race go?We opted for half a day of training followed by the ARDS test. The Teesside Autodrome circuit is relatively short (little bit over one mile) but has all the curves and bends you can expect to find on a longer circuit, just less straights. Main advantage is that you are able to do a lot more full laps allowing for plenty of practice on learning the ideal racing line and cornering techniques without losing too much time on less challenging straights. We were joined by another applicant and with the three of us and the instructors we had the track all to ourselves for the full day.
Howard and Tim, our instructors, were great guys and they provided us with clear tuition allowing us to master the techniques in a relatively short time. As a bonus the Mini Cooper S Work were great fun to drive. Howard and Tim were kind enough to arrange the medical (a doctor came on site), shoot and print the pass photos for the application form and sent our forms into the MSA. The full service treatment was much appreciated as we had to take care of a lot of other things in preparation for our first race which was coming up a week later.
Anyhow, if you are thinking about taking you ARDS and don’t mind travelling to Teesside, Middlesbrough, we can definitely recommend this circuit.
Mark
Have just searched the 2015 Blue Book to find the current status of the Teesside circuit. Its now listed as a Sprint circuit - see page 44:
https://www.msauk.org/assets/2015msayearbook.pdf
Additionally it is not listed as an ARDS member school:
http://www.ards.co.uk/schools.asp
https://www.msauk.org/assets/2015msayearbook.pdf
Additionally it is not listed as an ARDS member school:
http://www.ards.co.uk/schools.asp
bicycleshorts said:
Well, it's up to Knockhill for me... after having paid £120 for a medical with my GP 
That's not too bad - Motor Racing Medics now charge £75 + VAT.http://www.motorracingmedics.co.uk/Motor_Racing_Me...
Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff