Driving Days - Brands Hatch etc.

[Barrel of Fun]

Hello NSC,

Has anyone partaken in one of these or given them as a present? I am never sure whether to trust 'online testimonials' and thought I would ask this board for some help.

It is a 30th Birthday present for a dear friend and wanted to get him something thrilling as a he is a thrill seeking army captain.

Any good ones out there?

Chars.

 

[SeagullinKent]

PM Sent

 

[scooter1]

They're ok, but you never get the feeling that you've got your moneys worth.
I did the rallying thing at Brands Hatch a few years ago and it was great fun, but overall you got about 10 mins driving and it was £90ish.
I accept that these people are in the business of making money and they have insurances and upkeep to pay etc but i've always felt a little underwhelmed at the end

 

[WATFORD zero]

Had an excellent day here http://www.palmersport.co.uk/gift-vouchers.aspx a couple of years back and spent all day driving every car they have listed. But it was corporate hospitality and i know they spent c2K per head, so it isn't cheap

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Hello NSC,

Has anyone partaken in one of these or given them as a present? I am never sure whether to trust 'online testimonials' and thought I would ask this board for some help.

It is a 30th Birthday present for a dear friend and wanted to get him something thrilling as a he is a thrill seeking army captain.

Any good ones out there?

Chars.

Hey BoF - can I have a moment of pedanticism. Having said that you don't trust Online testimonials - you have just asked for .... an online testimonial.

I shall bow out of the conversation at this point.

 

[Seaford Seagull]

I drove a Ferrari round Goodwood and wouldn't recommend it. Was expensive for what you get (£125 for 3 laps). You can only go as fast as the instructor lets you, the track is boring as it has no tight turns and it's over before you even get a feel of the car.

My friend did a better one at silverstone, but he did pay more for it (£250).

So I guess you get what you pay for, but for the amount of money that you are paying I would say that it isn't worth it.

 

[ady1973]

I bought one for my wife......'Skid pan' driving at Brands. We turned up only expecting the usual few hours etc. Ended up being a full day coarse, excellant value for money as it something that she learnt and used in the bad weather we had. It also looked great fun too.......never seen her with such a big grin except on our wedding day.

I did the rallying, it was ok, but over too quick to get a feel for the car and track.

 

[Silverhatch]

The PalmerSport ones at Bedford are the ones to do - although very expensive. Big run off areas which means they're much happier to let you go to the limit.

Brands and any other circuit based experience have lots of armco and sand traps and they're paranoid about you getting it wrong and smashing up their equipment - and yourself. If you're army captain mate is gung ho and likes to do everything at 10 tenths - he'll probably find the latter a bit tame.

 

[Foolg]

Mercedes-Benz UK - Driving Experiences - AMG Experience


Driving Experience Days, Driving Experiences - U Drive Cars


Been to both, thought they were worth posting just to help compare prices etc.

 

[nwgull]

I once spoke to a racing driver bird who used to work as an instructor at these 'experience days' for extra cash. She was just an employee of the company who ran the days but always felt that the punters were getting completely ripped off and that the driving experience was very sanitised and tame.

 

[Knotty]

Mercedes-Benz UK - Driving Experiences - AMG Experience


Driving Experience Days, Driving Experiences - U Drive Cars


Been to both, thought they were worth posting just to help compare prices etc.

The Mercedes AMG Experience is at Brooklands in Surrey, next door to Brooklands Museum which has a Concorde and the only Concorde Simulator in the world. It is the one on which all the BA Concorde pilots trained and the public can now book to fly it under instruction by one of those BA pilots.

The website is Concorde Simulator - Brooklands Museum

 

[Box of Frogs]

I used to work for a BMW dealer and we had a staff driving days at Brands. Was very good - in addition to driving beemers accompanied by an instructer, we also had laps being driven by Perry 'The Stig' McCarthy and Barry McGuigan.

Prior to that I also had a corporate day at a Rover track test day - great fun even if we were driving MG Metros and MG Maestros around the track!

 

[Marc]

I wanna do this at Rockingham:
Rockingham UK - Driving Days, Track Pro, Platinum, Ferrari, Single Seater, Rallying, Drifting

"Experience the extremes in grip, from drift school on our wet grip area, through rallying on the improved tarmac rally stage to the brute force of V8 supercars on our National circuit."

 

[SeagullinKent]

I wanna do this at Rockingham:
Rockingham UK - Driving Days, Track Pro, Platinum, Ferrari, Single Seater, Rallying, Drifting

"Experience the extremes in grip, from drift school on our wet grip area, through rallying on the improved tarmac rally stage to the brute force of V8 supercars on our National circuit."

I just offered him a days use of the Rookie Rod.

Sound good to you Marc

 

[Marc]

I just offered him a days use of the Rookie Rod.

Sound good to you Marc

That you Steve? eeerrr yeah I'd love that too

 

[SeagullinKent]

It is me mate!!!

Car wasn't going to well so bit the bullet and brought a FGS race engine and had a 6th, 10th and 11th on Sunday at Aldershot, so fingers crossed!!

 

[Marc]

It is me mate!!!

Car wasn't going to well so bit the bullet and brought a FGS race engine and had a 6th, 10th and 11th on Sunday at Aldershot, so fingers crossed!!

woah nice one! wont get much chance to go racing what with the WC coming up but anytime after that I'm free....although that does sound like a broken record I will be free as I fnish all my college work this wee aswell so theres nothing stopping me from going to Alders or Arlingers!

 

[SeagullinKent]

Come along on 31st July @ Arlington, should be a good meeting!

2.0 Hot Rods, Rookie Rods Seahaven Caravan Series Round 5 & Bangers Track Championship Round 6.

 

[Marc]

cool, noted in the diary to remind me

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Hey BoF - can I have a moment of pedanticism. Having said that you don't trust Online testimonials - you have just asked for .... an online testimonial.

I shall bow out of the conversation at this point.

Ah, good point!

I did mean the online testimonials that might be manufactured by the company in question and not really a proper customer..!