[Nikhilb2008]

Let me clarify at the outset: Michelin paid for this entire trip! They hope I recommend more Michelin tyres to everyone but be rest assured I am not going to be that biased! (Both, my dad and I, are using Continental MC5!)

Michelin took about 200 people accounting for maybe 70 dealers from across India to France for a vacation.

The highlight of the vacation was supposed to be the driving experience around the Paul Ricard Circuit. We were tempted with images of the Ferrari 458 Speciale, Lamborghini Hurracan, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche Cayman R, Nissan GTR and the Audi R8 V10.

This thread is just going to be a report of my experience throughout the trip.

[Nikhilb2008]

This trip begins in November. We had a flight from BLR to Paris to Marseilles. At Marseilles airport, we were to board a large coach and go to a small town called Le Castellet. It is the closest town/vilage to the Paul Ricard Circuit.

At the airport, I saw one of our tour guides unloading huge cartons from the baggage belt. I had a hunch it was Indian food and I wasnt wrong!





Straight away the coach took us to the track, to large hospitality tents that were serving lunch! We were quite hungry and dug in hungrily.

Post lunch, we were taken to our hotel to relax and freshen up. The hotel is called "Grand Prix Hotel" and starting from the lobby we knew we were in a proper motorsports hotel.



As we entered the room there were a few goodies waiting for us. A bag, some caps, keychains, etc...

And for me, the most interesting stuff:








After some freshening up, we were supposed to meet at the lobby to go back to the track for dinner. I wasnt in the mood to go back there. I stayed back in the hotel for a nice, peaceful dinner of medium rare steak and a lovely Caesar's salad.



Nne of the worst things about these tyre company sponsored guided trips is that they ensure you get Indian food for lunch and dinner and there is NO option to try the local cuisine. As much as possible I stay away from the group during meal times to ensure I have the local cuisine.

Thankfully, in this place, there are no Indian restaurants so the food served during our meals at the track were normal European stuff.... Not typically European though. They tried to make them spicier by adding some spices and sauces but it just fell in between.

I didnt really have a reason to complain though!

[Nikhilb2008]

Day 2 November 4th:

The morning is free for us to relax. The problem is we are in the middle of nowhere. Nothing is close to us. Taxis are too expensive and even if you are ready to spend money, there is nowhere to go!

It is also raining. This is a big dampener as we are supposed to go to the track to drive supercars tomorrow. This afternoon we are only driving go-karts at the go-kart track at the Paul Ricard Circuit.

We head to the track and after a quick lunch, everyone is rearing to have a go in the go karts. It's raining quite heavily now and we are afraid the session will be cancelled or cut short.

Little do we know what we are in for!

The French organisers hand out plastic raincoats and tell us that rain or shine, we are going to drive! Anyone too scared can sit back in the audience area with the ladies(most of who are not interested in driving).

The entire group is told to make teams of 4. Each person will drive for about 5 minutes or something and then a flag is waved indicating that the person has to come into the pits to switch drivers. Then the 2nd driver goes off.... and so on. At the end of 40 minutes, the team that has covered the maximum number of laps wins. Wins what? Well, as it turns out, nothing actually! And eventually everyone got mixed up and all the teams got completely mixed up!

The rest of the afternoon goes by in a flash! The go-karts are immense fun! Really fast and very slidey! Add a slippery rain soaked track and you can imagine the fun we've had here!















After an amazing afternoon of go-karting, we are all soaked to the skin thanks to the rain! However, the good news is that the sun is out and tomorrow is predicted to be reasonably dry and sunny! Tomorrow is the day we come back to the track to drive our dream cars!

We head back to our hotel to relax and get out of our dirty, mud and rain soaked clothes.

Today, they are taking us to the nearest big town called Toulon. To get us an Indian dinner. Most people have gone almost 2 days without eating Indian food and some of them, especially the vegetarians are really itching for it!

My dad, my cousin and I go in the bus but with the clear intention of ditching the group the moment we hit the city. We want to get away from the group and have a look around!

We go to the docks where there are a ton of private yachts moored. We take a few pictures, have a great dinner at a small restaurant by the water and then make our way back to the Indian restaurant where the rest of the group is having dinner.






As usual, it gets quite late over there and we are really tired. We reach our hotel quite late and have to get up early and check out of the hotel tomorrow and go to the track. And then of course, we have to DRIVE!

I go to bed eagerly awaiting what the next day has in store for us!

[Nikhilb2008]

Day 3: 5th November

We wake up, get ready to check out of the hotel and head to the track.

The entire group has been divided into two teams. One team will go to the DDC track for the slalom activity and the other team to the Driving Centre to drive the supercars.

We are in the group that is going for the Slalom activity.

The Slalom activity involves two Toyota GT86s. These cars are nowhere close to supercars but have got a lot of compliments for their beautiful handling and slide-ability.

We see the track and we are told that each of us will get two turns in this car. Each of us will be timed and the fastest times will be rewarded.

There is no instructor with us. We are just giving company to each other. Each of us are allowed to take a slow lap around the slalom course to get a bit familiar with the car and the track itself. Trying to understand that the placing of the cones also has a meaning!

The cones lying flat on the track pointing left implies we have to keep to the left. Two sets of cones pointing to each other mean we have to go between them. There is a full 180 degree turn at the end of the course which is constantly being sprayed with water to allow the car to slide a bit.

The biggest letdown in this activity is that we are barred from switching off any of the driver aids. So, Traction control and ESP and everything else will do their best to ensure we dont actually slide or drift.

After the first round of driving, surprise surprise, they announce that I have the fastest time!

A few of the people are noticeably upset as some of them are professional drivers. One has taken part in the VW series and another rallies regularly. And here I am, a fat guy setting the fastest time! Things are about to get a lot more aggressive in the second session!

There is a small building which is stocked with cool drinks, water and some snacks like croissants, muffins, etc... Pretty tasty stuff and a nice place to just chill out!






The second round starts and instantly everyone is more aggressive! Since there are penalties for hitting the cones, many of the really aggressive drivers set a faster time but get penalised heavily for hitting the cones.

I am unable to improve my time as I am one of those "really aggressive" drivers I mentioned above!

Eventually one fellow dealer from Bangalore who also takes part in motorsports as a hobby sets the fastest time.

However, there is a massive controversy as some of the times have got completely mixed up and some times havent even been recorded.

I personally dont care about this as I am here to have fun but some of the other dealers are quite pissed off with this. There is a lot of criticism of the Michelin team's handling of the timings.

Pics are below. Some of the over-exposed pictures are from the professional photographer hired by Michelin for the event. He uploaded the pictures on a website and we were able to access it later.

The remaining pictures are either from my DSLR or my phone.

The group picture shows me(in the Blue T Shirt), my dad and my cousin from Mysore.























After this session, we are taken towards the tents where we have been having our meals. Time for a lunch and we tuck into it greedily eagerly anticipating what is coming next! Driving some hardcore SUPERCARS!

During lunch we interact with the team who had gone to the Driving Centre in the morning. We learn that there are 6 supercars and each person will be allowed to drive 3 laps in 3 different cars.

Ferrari 458 Speciale
Lamborghini Hurracan
Porsche 911 GT3
Nissan GTR
Audi R8 V10
Porsche Cayman R

I've driven the 458 before. Twice actually. And the Lamborghini Gallardo once. My dad on the other hand has missed driving the 458 twice. My heart's deepest desire is that he gets to drive the Ferrari. No other car is as important as the Ferrari.

We are told that the groups have been randomly chosen. We dont have a choice in which supecar we are going to drive. This is obvious and a good choice. Most people would choose the Ferrari and that's not going to be feasible given the large group size and the limited time we have.

I have made up my mind that if I get a chance to drive a Ferrari and my dad doesnt, I will give it up for him. He's far more deserving of that privilege than me!


Coming up!

[ajmat]

Posted to main thread - Thanks for sharing

Look forward to the forthcoming travelogue part of this

[Nikhilb2008]

We then go to the Driving Centre and this is the scene that greets us!

Our dream cars lined up and standing next to them were the professional drivers who are going to be our instructors.

We are then taking in for a briefing.

This track isnt the main Paul Ricard circuit which was once an F1 track. This is just a small track used for testing/driving. This is a big disappointment. I was hoping we would actually drive on the main F1 track!

We are then given our allotments and I realise that I have been given the chance to drive the Nissan GTR, the R8 V10 and the Porsche Cayman R.

I would have loved to drive the 911 GT3 but that will not happen today.

The best part is my dad gets to drive the Ferrari 458 Speciale, the Hurracan and the Porsche 911. I couldnt be happier!

I am super excited to drive the Nissan GTR. Godzilla! The car everyone talks about as a supercar beating car!

MY first drive is in the Nissan GTR. And what a DRIVE! Initially, I get stuck behind some traffic of slow moving cars. It is the first drive for everyone and while I am ready to push from the start, the others are just getting used to this much power. So, they are basically crawling around the track.

My instructor realises that I can handle some speed and makes them give way and then I floor the throttle! And oh my!! Remember the scene in the Top Gear drive of the GTR around the Fuji circuit? He ends up injuring his neck or whatever! Well, I had a similar moment. The instant neck-snapping acceleration of the GTR is something to be experienced. I have never experienced that kind of non-linear rocket like acceleration!

I do 3 laps around the too-small circuit and return to the pits.

I am the only one in this group that thought of bringing a GoPro to the race track. I install the GoPro every time I drive and for my dad and my cousin. My brilliant cousin installs it when he drives the Ferrari but forgets to switch it on!

I think I dont have the GOPro for my Porsche Cayman R drive as my cousin was using it in the Hurracan at that time.

The next car I drive is the Porsche Cayman R and while it seems underwhelming compared to the Nissan GTR, it feels far easier to handle. The car feels like it reads my mind. The GTR is all about mind numbing acceleration but I feel like I am hitting the apexes more with the Cayman R. And mid corner corrections (based on the instructor's inputs) are so much easier.

I know it sounds cliched but the Cayman R feels more like a surgeon's scalpel compared to the Nissan GTR which feels like a hammer!

I expected the Cayman R to feel the slowest and most boring of the bunch but boy am I wrong! Long after the drive, I remember the viciousness of the GTR but I long for the feel the Cayman R gave me. It was just beautiful!

The last car for the day is the Audi R8 V10. It was much faster than I expected! Typically German feel as the torque and the power dont hit me straight away. It's very linear and disguises the speed very well! I had fun obviously but it felt much more dull than the Cayman R.

The Cayman R felt alive! It felt like it was working with me! The Nissan GTR was more like "I'll do what I want. You just hang on for dear life"

[GTO]

Great report! Michelin just has a way with these events and they always turn out superbly organised. I've been to their track day experience at Sepang.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

I have made up my mind that if I get a chance to drive a Ferrari and my dad doesnt, I will give it up for him.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The car feels like it reads my mind. The GTR is all about mind numbing acceleration but I feel like I am hitting the apexes more with the Cayman R. And mid corner corrections (based on the instructor's inputs) are so much easier.

I know it sounds cliched but the Cayman R feels more like a surgeon's scalpel compared to the Nissan GTR which feels like a hammer!

I expected the Cayman R to feel the slowest and most boring of the bunch but boy am I wrong! Long after the drive, I remember the viciousness of the GTR but I long for the feel the Cayman R gave me. It was just beautiful!

If one wants to own a fast car in India, the Cayman is a brilliant choice, much more so than the GT-R etc. More manageable, you'd be able to push it a lot harder.

[deetjohn]

Oh boy! Now I know why Michelin charge so much for their tyres.


Jokes aside, that's one dream of an experience. I am so J!

The Cayman really is a big deal. I cannot imagine where Porsche would have taken it to if there was no 911. They are somehow forced to under spec it due to the big one sitting on top. Maybe that's the essence of the Cayman being so much sharp and so much fun.

Paul Ricard is all about the smoothness of the track. One of the few circuits without many bumps. And that reminds me, you have written about everything except for the tyres. LOL How was the Pilot Sport? Was the GTR eating through it?

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Oh boy! Now I know why Michelin charge so much for their tyres.


Jokes aside, that's one dream of an experience. I am so J!

The Cayman really is a big deal. I cannot imagine where Porsche would have taken it to if there was no 911. They are somehow forced to under spec it due to the big one sitting on top. Maybe that's the essence of the Cayman being so much sharp and so much fun.

Paul Ricard is all about the smoothness of the track. One of the few circuits without many bumps. And that reminds me, you have written about everything except for the tyres. LOL How was the Pilot Sport? Was the GTR eating through it?

I dont really care about the tyres. I dont want to sound like a typical know-it-all auto journo by saying that the Michelin Super Sports were very grippy and made the steering very direct and I could feel every undulation on the track through the steering and all that nonsense.

The fact is, for common folk like us, driving a car like this is an experience. We wouldnt have realised any difference if it were running Pirellis or Yokohama Advans.

But since Michelin expects to get some positive free publicity, many journos go on raving about the tyres as if they really made a difference!

Maybe if they allow me to drive the cars extensively with different sets of tyres, I would be able to venture an opinion.

Hey Michelin India, there's an idea for you! Give me just one supercar for 1 week of driving through Italy and Germany with one trackday involved. I can write a lovely review for you!

[Nikhilb2008]

Last couple of pics from the track.








After the drive, we were loaded into the coach again and taken to the principality of Monaco. This is where the famous F1 race happens on normal streets every year.

Monaco is known as a tax haven and is the playground for the rich and famous of Europe. Many F1 drivers have houses here to save on tax! (but clearly, they spend a lot more just living in one of the most expensive places in the world!)

We were to stay at the Marriott Cap 'd Ail which is technically in France! Not in Monaco. It is about a 100 metres from the border.


The surprising thing was that each of us got individual rooms. In Le Castellet, we were sharing rooms. Here, in Monaco, we had individual rooms. The room was pretty nice and we had a very nice balcony overlooking one of the harbours.

Dinner had been arranged in the restaurant and we went down to have dinner and were in for a shock! In Monaco, the organising team had managed to get a pure Indian dinner in a Marriott hotel.

It was by far the worst food I've had on this trip. After a disappointing dinner, we all went up to the rooms and crashed.

I was going through the videos on my GoPro to see if the videos were usable! They are, so I shall be editing them and posting on this thread later!

[VellVector]

Great post Nikhil. I like the patience with which you have documented the entire trip and track day. I never manage to do that.

[poised2drive]

Whoa !

It must be an amazing experience to get to drive these Man-crafted Wonders !
Great pictures that sum up the total travelogue, particularly that 4 pics of the Boat-yard across the day give an artistry touch !

And after your straight narration, I couldn't control the urge to drive a Super-car immediately. I raced down to my garage to take my Lambo for a brief spin in the dark of the night.... [ in the NeedForSpeed game ] saved on my lappy !