Supercar driving experience?

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Sat 2 Sep 2023 13:47
Supercar driving experience? - movilogo

I fancy going supercar driving experience days. Since they are quite pricey, want to ensure I get most out of my money.

I want to choose cars which I can drive safely while still having fun. I don't want to be in a situation that I floored the throttle, then immediately spun and ended up in a ditch! I read that typical session lasts for 15 minutes only so not a huge amount of time.

So from your experience (if you have driven supercars) do you have any advice like?

X car is most fun, avoid Y and Z is best overall experience, because....

By supercars I meant road legal cars and not formula 1 cars.

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Sat 2 Sep 2023 13:57
Supercar driving experience? - mcb100
I’ve worked on (instructed) at a few of them, and you get what you pay for in terms of quality of venue and level of instruction given.
The person sitting next to you no more wants to have an accident than you - there’ll probably be a dual brake on the passenger side and an ignition kill switch.
I always enjoyed Ferraris because they felt ‘alive’, whilst the Lamborghini (Gallardo, mostly) felt heavy and wooden.
Ask if the provider are an ARDS (Association. Of Racing Drivers Schools) accredited company - an ARDS Grade A instructor will be experienced in keeping you safe as well as pushing on a bit.

www.ards.co.uk/schools/

Edited by mcb100 on 02/09/2023 at 14:00

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Sat 2 Sep 2023 14:45
Supercar driving experience? - mcb100
Going off slightly tangentially, the video below is one of the larger supercar experiences companies’ transporter leaving Brands Hatch last week.
They’ve about 200 cars in total, so had to do a bit of a reshuffle….

youtu.be/AlSjJlBnBpM?si=D8rksm60pxO7QniM
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Sat 2 Sep 2023 15:08
Supercar driving experience? - movilogo

The person sitting next to you

Do they talk or keep quiet? Instructors were continuously talking in few YT videos of such experience I watched. If that is the case, it would probably ruin the experience :-)

What max speed usually achievable in these circuits?

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Sat 2 Sep 2023 15:38
Supercar driving experience? - mcb100
A silent instructor is purely ballast and not doing a job. They are there to coach and advise (and keep you safe). They know their way around the circuit better than you will, and you’ll go more quickly (and safely) as a result of effective tuition.

Speed? How long’s a piece of string? I’ve had customer beaming from ear to ear having not got past second gear from going sideways at Oulton Park rally school, and I’ve sat with customers at 150+mph in a Lotus Esprit V8 Turbo at Snetterton.

It’s probably 12-13 years since I last wore a crash hat, and the cars change but the principles remain.
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Sat 2 Sep 2023 15:46
Supercar driving experience? - _

Many years ago I was up at Lotus and i was taken out in an Esprit. (Driving) and the guy pushed me a bit, I didn't lose it, but it was as much as I wanted to try.

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Sat 2 Sep 2023 20:31
Supercar driving experience? - SLO76
I’ve had a couple of track day super car gifts over the years. I’ve driven a McLaren 570, an Aston Martin Vantage V8 and a Nissan Skyline. The big Nissan is by far the most enjoyable drive I’ve ever had, it flatters you as a driver and all three of the “professional drivers” I spoke to on the days in question would choose it over anything else, including Ferrari’s and 911’s etc. Yet it can be as docile as a Nissan Micra on the road, it doesn’t frighten you but it’s massively quick yet it’s easy to drive quickly unlike many other supercars, the Aston Martin was a disappointment by comparison. But I did thoroughly enjoy the McLaren too, it just felt and looked a bit wild. In my lottery winners garage there will be a space for a Nissan Skyline, despite its looks.
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Sat 2 Sep 2023 22:41
Supercar driving experience? - bathtub tom

I had an 'experience' day at Silverstone. Not supercars, but a Caterham, saloon and Formula Ford (that was fun). I felt I didn't need supercar experience, as I've never driven anything like that. The Caterham and formula ford probably had equivalent performance.

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Sun 3 Sep 2023 08:53
Supercar driving experience? - mcb100
‘ The big Nissan is by far the most enjoyable drive I’ve ever had, it flatters you as a driver’

Agreed. I used to find, in my day, that customers got more out of the Impreza and Evo’s than they did from the uncomfortable stuff. A more familiar view and controls would lead to a car that they’d push more readily. And the limits of those cars on a circuit are far in advance of what we do on the road.
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Sun 3 Sep 2023 09:27
Supercar driving experience? - movilogo

Is taking own car in track a better experience in comparison?

I wonder which one is preferable - driving a fast car slow, or driving a slow car fast :-)

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Sun 3 Sep 2023 09:33
Supercar driving experience? - badbusdriver

Can't say for certain as I've never done a supercar experience, but my thoughts are that if the available performance exceeds what you can use on whatever track, I'd expect that to be frustrating rather than anything else. I've looked into supercar experiences and there are certainly some run on tracks which I would say are not very suitable at all and couldn't possibly allow the driver to use more than 35-40% of the performance.

I was watching BSB highlights yesterday at Cadwell Park and, with this thread in mind, I couldn't help thinking that a supercar would be a huge (literally) handful on that narrow, tight and undulating track!. Whereas something small, light and agile like a Caterham would be in its element.

While I wouldn't turn down the opportunity if offered(!), modern supercars don't really do anything for me, so I'm indifferent to the notion of a supercar experience.

I had an auto gyro experience for my 50th birthday and I would absolutely love to do that again!

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Sun 3 Sep 2023 14:14
Supercar driving experience? - Steveieb

Millbrook testing circuit is my favourite with a choice of a mountain circuit and high speed parabolica .

Usually been limited to professional drivers which takes away most of the fun!

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Mon 4 Sep 2023 10:49
Supercar driving experience? - Stackman II

My track driving experience, as a plus one to my mate's birthday invloved 15 laps of Thruxton.

The car we went in was a Skoda Octavia vRS. Diesel.

While that might sound very much like the short straw it proved an excellent experience. We saw 120mph on the long run in to the hairpin and the instructor was excellent.

The actual performance was secondary, the main part of the experience for me was just being able to go on a track and learn the techniques involved in getting the best performance from the car.

Those who opted for the supercar experience only had a handful of laps so I don't think they would have got that much out of the experience by the time they overcame the lack of familiarity with the track and got accustomed to the response of the car.

After our laps the instructor took us for a couple of laps with him driving the Skoda. My word, he really stood it on its door handles and we came away with a high level of respect for the car.

My advice would be to get some laps in something more mundane to get used to the track then you can get the most out of the supercar experience.

Edited by Stackman II on 04/09/2023 at 10:50

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Mon 4 Sep 2023 18:15
Supercar driving experience? - mcb100
‘ Millbrook testing circuit is my favourite with a choice of a mountain circuit and high speed parabolica .’

Unfortunately not open to the public, generally.
I agree it’s a terrific venue, and good for spotting yet to be launched models - I was overtaken on the bowl by a prototype L-R Defender at 120mph a few years ago….
It’s just a pity, but completely understandable, that all camera lenses have to be stickered over.

Edited by mcb100 on 04/09/2023 at 18:50

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Tue 5 Sep 2023 01:20
Supercar driving experience? - edlithgow

Closest I've got was passing a parked unlocked Ferrari with the engine running and no one in sight, in Morningside, Edinburgh

Felt pretty close, but having passed up/chickened out on free DIY, the expensive chaperoned experience has very limited appeal.

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