[Pemps]

Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:52 am  

I've been given a voucher for a race/track day at a choice of venues around the country. The easiest one for me is Three Sisters in Wigan. I have a couple of choices for the 'experience'.

Ferrari 360
Lamborghini Gallardo
Lotus Elise
Audi R8
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Porsche 911 Turbo
Ariel Atom
Fiat 500 Abarth

The above are all a 6 mile drive, I'd imagine it's 4-6 laps, around a track with an instructor onboard. My other choice is a single seat race car. It's an 1800 zetec engined car but it obviously weighs next to nowt. That's a 20 minute drive following a pace car.

The chance to drive a Ferrari/Lamborghini/Aston/Porsche is obviously something that's on most peoples bucket list but I can't help thinking that driving the single seater would be much more fun.

Has anyone had any experience of the above?

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:01 am  

Pemps wrote:

I've been given a voucher for a race/track day at a choice of venues around the country. The easiest one for me is Three Sisters in Wigan. I have a couple of choices for the 'experience'.

Ferrari 360
Lamborghini Gallardo
Lotus Elise
Audi R8
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Porsche 911 Turbo
Ariel Atom
Fiat 500 Abarth

The above are all a 6 mile drive, I'd imagine it's 4-6 laps, around a track with an instructor onboard. My other choice is a single seat race car. It's an 1800 zetec engined car but it obviously weighs next to nowt. That's a 20 minute drive following a pace car.

The chance to drive a Ferrari/Lamborghini/Aston/Porsche is obviously something that's on most peoples bucket list but I can't help thinking that driving the single seater would be much more fun.

Has anyone had any experience of the above?

Did the Nurburgring a few weeks ago, amazing experience, depends how confident a driver you are, some of those cars will be forgiving (like the R8) and others will spit you out as soon as look at you (like the Atom), Ferrari's are no great shakes to actually drive, nor is the Elise, Astons are great but I'd rathyer drive through the Dales than around a track in one the Porsche is a Porsche, so it owuld be down to the Lambo or the Atom for me,

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:11 am  

I've done a few track days in my time and driven all kind of things:

Ferrari 308GTB & 355, Porsche 911 turbo, Maserati 3200GT, Aston Martin v8 Vantage, Lotus Elise & Exige, Honda S2000, Audi TT Quattro etc.

To be honest most are a bit of an anti climax. Sure, they are nice cars to sit in and drive but not really that exciting driving within the constraints of an experience day.

My favourite in terms of just enjoying the car was the V8 Vantage. Sounds great and it is a great car to sit in but is not all that exciting. Driving it through the alps would be nice but it is not a track car.

For excitement, the Lotus Exige wins by miles and miles. Unbelievably fast and could go round corners like it was on rails.

3 sisters is a smallish track so my advice would be to drive something quick and sharp rather than a GT car. You'd have much more fun. I'd take either the Atom or the single seater.

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:12 am  

Take the single seater and then drive it around the track at 40mph and see how quickly you can p1ss off the pace car driver.

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:14 pm  

I went on a track day experience at Rockingham, organised by one of the divers at work. Now personally I didn't enjoy it when driving myself around. However going out on the track with one of the professionals at the wheel was tremendous fun.

I think what slightly tainted it for me. Was at the end of the day when we were all done and dusted, the diver, Steve. Introduced us to his latest acquisition, a brand spanking new Porsche 911 turbo. Turns out he paid all that money for the track day, just so we could sample the kind of car he'll be driving everyday. I always thought he was a tw*t before then, but that confirmed to me he was.

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:19 pm  

LovesToSpooge wrote:

I went on a track day experience at Rockingham, organised by one of the divers at work. Now personally I didn't enjoy it when driving myself around. However going out on the track with one of the professionals at the wheel was tremendous fun.

I did a rally driving half day with an instructor and that was great fun, had forgotten what it was like to drive without power steering

But at the end of the day when he sat behind the wheel and showed us how it should be done ... well I missed most of it, what with my eyes being closed and hands over face ...

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:23 pm  

I've been in a Vantage and a DB9, I personally think for the Aston experience it would be worth making additional arrangements for a DB9 rather than the Vantage. Both undoubtedly lovely cars, but there's just something extra special about the DB9, it's a significant cut above. If there's one there on the day, you may even be able to buy a few laps in it then as well as what you choose.

Another thing I noticed whilst there was that the 911 barely moved (as in, no customers) compared to all the other cars.

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:31 pm  

JerryChicken wrote:

I did a rally driving half day with an instructor and that was great fun, had forgotten what it was like to drive without power steering

Just buy a Mercedes CLS and have the power steering system fail on you. I did.

Anyone been on one of those Land Rover experiences? I pass one on the A65 @ Coniston, and it does look good from what I can see.

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:00 pm  

550i not on the list?

For my money it depends what you are after. For sheer thrills it would have to be the Atom.

For the super car type experience it would have to be the lambo. The rest of the list you will quite often see knocking around the streets, but spotting a big bad boy Gallardo would be quite rare.

I personally would pick the Ariel. Just make sure your neck muscles are up to it

Re: Race/Track days : Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:07 pm  

LovesToSpooge wrote:

Just buy a Mercedes CLS and have the power steering system fail on you. I did.

Anyone been on one of those Land Rover experiences? I pass one on the A65 @ Coniston, and it does look good from what I can see.

I've had the benefit of a number of corporate driving experience days in the past and the one that stood out for me was the Land Rover Jungle route. That gave me more confidence in adverse conditions than any race-track experience could (thumbs on top). The other one, for sheer exhilaration was when Rolls Royce arranged with the MoD for us to attend the tank training on Salisbury Plain, driving anything from Chieftains to Ferret Scout cars. We only had around 10 minutes driving the tanks on our own and even then it was a very limited speed. But to be strapped in one when an experienced driver was thrashing it around the test route was a bone-jarring, liver-liquidising experience that will live with me forever. Tank personell are nuts, pure & simple