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Hi Guys,
One of my sons has a milestone birthday coming up very soon. He loves Ferrari and everything associated, and we're thinking of getting him a track day experience in one, or a few of them. Obviously the more time in the car, or different cars the better. Has anyone done this or similar, any good recommendations or organisations to avoid, any advice or info most appreciated,
cheers
Stuart
My brothers got me a Ferrari experience day at Thruxton a good few years back, and I’ve been back there a few times for some other days too (another Ferrari experience. The first was a 360 and second an F430; formula Renault; and Lotus Elise days). Really great fun) and I had the option to add as many laps as I wanted, and do hot laps as a passenger with some really quick/fun driver too.
I did an experience day Elvington York. Drove a Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.
What to expect: There's a lot of waiting around as there are usually a hundred others wanting to drive the same cars. You turn up , choose the cars you want to drive and wait your turn. You get about 3-5 laps of the circuit accompanied by an instructor, who'll tell you where to accelerate, brake and change gear.
The company's that run these events try to up-sell, from additional insurance, photography, laps with a pro driver and driving additional cars on top of what you've paid for, so beware if it's a gift.
All in all it was a fun session. The track is close to home so I was there before the crowds. The selection of cars was amazing, every super car you could want to drive.
What ever you do (and anyone else reading this) stay away from track days ran by CARCHASEHEROES...............unless you want to queue up for 3 hours, and then spend 3 mins in a car driving around a loop on a coned off airfield!
THE worst paid for day out I have ever had.
Poorly run and very poorly organised by arrogant people.
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No Ferrari (which might be a deal breaker, of course) but I've done a track event at Bedford Autodrome, organised by Palmersport. It was a bespoke event for Honda, driving the new (at the time) FK8 Civic Type R and NSX. It was very well run and I really enjoyed it - I've never done anything like it before or since.
They run full days driving a range of four, two and single seaters and finish the day with a carting competition. Bedford Autodrome has no walls and loads of run off space so is a reassuring place to do something like this - certainly for a novice like me.
This is a link to the Autodrome site https://www.bedfordautodrome.co.uk/ and this is one to the Palmersport brochure https://www.palmersport.com/event-options/full-day/
Reviews on Tripadvisor are very positive too https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...e_England.html
So pretty good for a petrolhead day out - not so good for Ferrari!
I have a as yet unused 5 car track day experience voucher that I got for my birthday in July, I haven’t looked into booking anything as yet, I’m looking forward to it though.
I’m sure he will enjoy the experience. Have a great day and don’t forget to take your camera.
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Just be careful if buying vouchers as some firms are on the brink of going under on these sites
I did one up at Stafford somewhere back in the day it was v good, but pressure on upselling was clear
He will enjoy it though I’m sure
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I’ve done a few of these days; not Ferrari specific. But Bedford Aerodrome is good, it was called a 1000bhp day. I got to drive a Ferrari, Porsche, Subaru rally car and a Lotus Elise S1. Funnily enough the 118bhp Elise was my favourite car; although I wasn’t entirely surprised.
These are great gifts for a car lover.
I’ve done a few and the one thing I would strongly recommend is doing it on a proper track.
The coned off airfield ‘tracks’ are nowhere near as enjoyable.
I would also highly recommend this.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonRA
Thanks for the info guys. Plenty to chew on there.
Well, today I called Oulton Park, as thats the nearest ‘big track’ to us. To say the guy who answered was the least most unhelpful tw@t in the world is an understatement. They dont actually do in house days as such, and hire the circuit out to companies that provide the service. I asked for a list of who does stuff there, and he told me to search Google myself, literally. I asked who he would recommend and again told me to look for info myself. Totally gobsmacked as I come from a very Customer focused environment. Next call was to Three Sisters, another local, but much smaller venue. WOW, what a difference. The young lady listened to what I wanted, took my details, then mailed me a list of companies that provide that service on their circuit. She answered all my questions politely and professionally, and even asked me to hang on the phone to confirm the mail she sent had been received. A friendly and helpful nature costs nothing.
I am looking at the Virgin driving experience atm, which includes driving 4 Ferarris, sounds good, and guess what, they list Three Sisters as a track they use !!
Cheers for all the info guys, if anyone has any further info or advice fire it in, as final decision still to be made,
Stuart
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Three sisters is great if you don’t want to get out of second gear. It really is just a kart track.
Whilst the staff at Oulton Park may not have been as helpful, you’ll have a much better experience if you chose that circuit.
I’ve done both circuits on bikes.
Totally agree with this. Did a day with them years ago and out of this world.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonRA
I've driven a few supercar days bought via Groupon.
Some have Ferraris and you can usually pay for extra laps ( you get a handful as standard).
The circuit does make a difference, but I suspect most inexperienced with supercars will be happy enough on a small circuit.
In fact, I found a track day at Goodwood was less enjoyable than one on a perimeter track of a local army base, as you're not really encouraged to push the cars to their limits on the fast tracks.
M
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Last month I was treated to a head to head driving experience at Silverstone https://www.silverstone.co.uk/experi...g-experiences/
The cars were an Aston Martin Vantage and a Ferrari 430 Coupe.
https://i.imgur.com/QeGu6py.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EoOMwvm.jpg
The day was well organised and driving around a Grand Prix circuit great.
The only thing I would flag up is that the Aston Marting was a fairly new model, wheras the Ferrari was about 15 years old. Not a fair comparison but interesting nevertheless.
A memorable birthday treat for me. Better than socks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by snowman
One thing that Palmersport pride themselves on - and set themselves out as different to most tracks - is that the pro drivers really encourage you to go as fast as you can. This is because of the huge run off areas should you overcook it - though hopefully you don't. Tripadvisor feedback frequently attests to this aspect of their approach.
Quick update guys. Just spoken to my son, and whilst he says he’d love the idea of a Ferrari experience, he has just been told his Abarth 595 needs some turbo work and a major service. It looks like I will be contributing towards this at the mo. He’s been quoted just over £800 for the work which seems excessive to me, but it is what it is I suppose. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice, and if the need for a track day ever arises again I can always come back here and research.
Stuart
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The only track experience I have had where the instructors tell you to “drive it like you stole it”, “if you don’t spin it your are not trying hard enough” and “don’t break, take that corner flat”. Unfortunately the run offs aren’t that big, as I have seen someone manage to hit the barrier once in a single seater.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonRA
The breakfast and lunch was also excellent.
Yes, to be fair Driftlimits near St Albans were very keen for me to press on in the Dodge Viper they have (I get the impression it doesn't get a lot of use, surprisingly), although it's a tight little track, so all out speeds aren't high.
The same was true of the Rally Experience I did at Brands recently, which was probably the most intense driving day I've done. I'd recommend it to any one.
I hear consistently positive things about Palmersport days, but they are massively expensive compared to many other driving experiences, so you'd expect them to be good.
M