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Post by Roadrunner on Mar 28, 2024 11:00:53 GMT
My nephew is a F1 fan and would like to do a single seater experience/session for his 21st birthday. Does anyone have any reccomendations?
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Post by johnc on Mar 28, 2024 11:05:57 GMT
What's the budget?
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Post by Roadrunner on Mar 28, 2024 11:25:51 GMT
I know he has seen a Virgin Silverstone Experience for £299 which was very much on the radar. Let's say up to £500. |
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Post by johnc on Mar 28, 2024 11:52:33 GMT
I have had a few single seater driving experiences over the years. I drove the Formula Fords at both Ingliston and Knockhill in Tom Brown's racing school and was disappointed when I found they had rev limiters which I reached half way down all the straights. I should never have gone back the second time because they were just as bad 2nd time around despite being told they wouldn't be. When it is bouncing off a 4,750/5,000rpm limit in top gear up the main straight at Knockhill and you haven't even reached the top of the hill it just becomes annoying. I also had an experience in a Formula 3 car at Knockhill but it was 3 laps (from memory) following a pace car which was supposed to be showing you the lines but had you lifting off all the time because it was too slow. When he pulled in and let us go, we got two flying laps (not easy when there are 4 or 5 muppets in front of you still going at pace car pace and not looking in their mirrors), a cool down lap and then in to the pits. To be honest it wasn't worth the petrol to get there. I also used a friend's Reynard FF car for a few sprints when my car was being repaired and that was great fun - you only really get to enjoy these cars when you push them a bit and it is as raw a driving experience as possible. PalmerSport is the other place I have driven a single seater. You have to drive the LeMans 2 seater (with instructor) on the same track first before they let you out, completely unrestricted in a 3 litre single seater 250hp single seater. It is always great fun but I have had some events where the car I was given had tyres that needed replacing and it understeered everywhere and other times when the traffic was bad and I couldn't get a clean lap. In my last time there in August last year I only got one clean lap on warm tyres and on the next lap where I was going faster I had to slow for someone who had spun. My first two or three laps were also handicapped by having cold tyres but as an experience it was great if not a bit too short. I have a video which is too big to attach here. You can go on to the website and watch the fastest laps here: www.palmersport.com/f3000-leaderboard/2023I'm afraid I have no experience of the one you have mentioned. |
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Post by johnc on Mar 28, 2024 12:06:45 GMT
It depends what your nephew's expectations are. Silverstone is a very fast circuit and I can't imagine they won't be reined in quite a lot for a £299 experience. If he just wants to sit behind the wheel, it might well be OK but if he is already a bit of a driver, I think he will feel he didn't get to push it a bit to see what it really feels like.
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Post by Roadrunner on Mar 28, 2024 12:27:41 GMT
Thank John. He has never done a track day before and is not specifically trained in racing technique, so it needn't be an advanced day.
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Post by ChrisM on Mar 28, 2024 12:39:31 GMT
How does he fancy driving a former Jordan F1 car? driftlimits.co.uk/jordan-f1-experiences/I drove a Formula Renault single seater there a few years back, Christmas present from my younger daughter. It's also where I paid extra on the day and got to drive a Gallardo for a few laps |
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Post by alf on Apr 5, 2024 9:13:56 GMT
We did a day with these guys from work and I was impressed with the value for money: www.everymanracing.co.uk/driving-experiences/race-cars/We did the "3 supercars" one which is currently cheap at £69 (forum meet?) - www.everymanracing.co.uk/product/triple-supercar-experience-last-minute-offer/It was less faff than the track experiences I did at Castle Combe aeons ago, and Thruxton a few times more recently. The big circuit ones, including single seaters, I have found a dissapointment, they seem to want you to pootle round in their car meanwhile their "professional" drivers doing passenger laps drive like twats and put all sorts of dubious moves on anything they come across. The Everyman day was just a short briefing then get on with it, and I really enjoyed the drive, with less restrictive instructors than usual. |
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Post by Stuntman on Apr 17, 2024 21:03:43 GMT
In my experience (admittedly 15 years or so ago now), most of these experiences are extremely dependent on the quality of the instructors (basically how much they are prepared to trust anyone at all, in some cases regardless of their actual driving skill) and I echo John's points about rev limiters on single seaters which makes it frustrating if your skill level is higher than the lowest common denominator. For your average Joe, though, I think these experiences can be pretty decent. I know my Dad (an average driver at best) really enjoyed the day at Thruxton where we drove a Boxster S, then a 911 Turbo and then a single seater. Whereas my brother and I were a bit frustrated by the single seater (basically I could do the entire lap without having to touch the brakes) and I was also frustrated by the instructor I had in the Boxster, who clearly didn't trust anybody, ever. At least the instructor I had in the 911 Turbo was properly permissive after he had checked me out through the first three corners of the first lap  |
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Post by Alex on Apr 22, 2024 5:41:49 GMT
I did one of those three drive experiences with Everyman for my 30th (10 years ago!) and went out in an Atom, Gallardo and Ferrari 360. On all three drives I was required to get up to top gear as quick as possible and keep it there which was a tad disappointing but I figured that given how cheap they sell the experience the likelihood is that they want to minimise the chances of crashes or mechanical failure. All three cars felt just about mechanically sound but the Lambo was particularly ropey inside and the Ferrari not much better. It was fun enough that most people would have enjoyed their day and good value at that money.
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Post by johnc on Apr 23, 2024 8:44:11 GMT
I had my day at Knockhill yesterday in a Porsche 992 GT3 RS, Audi R8 V10 Performance (RWD) and a Ferrari 458. I was supposed to drive the new Aston Martin Vantage but someone stuffed it the day before so I took the Ferrari instead.
These cars were a mixed bunch but thankfully the weather was kind: a bit cold but dry and the occasional glimpse of sun - that's about as good as Knockhill gets.
I started out in the R8 and having changed down for what used to be called McIntyres, the instructor said "this car will go round the whole track in 3rd". My immediate thought was like hell it will. Anyway, once I had shown him I could drive we got a good flow going and pretty much passed everything else on track. The car makes a glorious noise, feels really well planted and has just a tiny hint of oversteer on the exits of corners - not enough to correct but just enough to make you hold the wheel into the corner. The car felt very comfortable on the billiard board smooth surface and taking the kerbs was a very smooth affair which didn't upset the car. The turn in was great and the brakes were powerful but the pedal travel was a bit soft and long - that might just be a result of the pads they were using but I would have liked a bit more initial bite. But the noise is intoxicating when the revs rise above 6,000. A really nice road car and a very competent track one too.
Next up was the GT3 RS. I had been expecting a lot from this car and it didn't disappoint. My instructor is a regular racer and was quite relaxed after the first corner so we set off for a blast. This is a fantastic car with great turn in, massive exit grip and a great howl as it spins towards 9,000 rpm (he asked me to keep it to just over 8K after I ran it to the red line once). Even though the engine loves to rev it still has plenty of mid range punch and couldn't be considered slow at anything above about 3,000rpm. The front tyres chirp a bit on turn in and then you just feed in the throttle and the back end sits down and launches you to the next braking point. You can feel the power building strongly from about 6,000rpm but this car just gives you confidence to push in every department. The brakes are strong with great feel and the car just feels so well balanced. Not once did I feel the old 911 rear end pendulum taking control and the chassis was so communicative I knew what every wheel was doing. Very impressed.
The Ferrari 458 was a mixed bag largely due to the instructor. I think he was the nervous kind because he wouldn't stop talking and had me braking where I would have still been hard on the accelerator. After a couple of laps he eased off and I got to push harder but the traction control kept cutting in on the exit to corners and completely cut the power making overtaking a bit tricky and gave nil enjoyment factor. I told the instructor the traction control kept cutting in and he said I had too heavy a right foot but after another lap and a half I think he got the message looked across and said someone has turned this to Sport, it needs to be in Race. He changed it and I got nearly 2 laps with full power which was a different experience altogether. The car is very light on its feet and feels alive with Race mode engaged. How Sport can ever be called Sport I have no idea but Race gives you the car it was meant to be. It didn't feel as fast as the other two cars but there is a tactility in the controls and a feeling that this is a car looking for fun. The engine note felt/sounded a bit hollow after the other two but I would have liked to be able to push it properly because it felt lighter even if it isn't. However even in Race mode, Mr Killjoy beside me still had me doing daft things like braking way too early and then going flat through the corner - it just didn't feel right. Maybe he was the instructor who had been in the Aston Martin the day before when it was crashed!
I was also taken round the track in an M3 drift car which was just great fun and had me laughing out loud and a passenger lap in a Supercharged Honda powered Ariel Atom driven by what looked like an 18 year old girl who didn't speak but was really very good and the Atom was ballistic, building up huge acceleration as the revs rose, great braking and much more cornering grip than I remember from the ones they had at Palmer Sport.
All in all a great day although the queues for the cars took too long and there was a lot of waiting around.
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