Hi guys,
Thought I would share the experience I had at Thruxton in the UK on the 25th. I had signed on for the "Ultimate Supercar" and I'd also opted for the "Single Seat Formula Renault" experience. The total cost was 500 pounds including personal insurance (what can I say, I thought I might break my neck if it was wet, which it was half-way through the experience!). All I can say is that was the best 40,000 Rupees I have ever spent on anything!
Well here's how it went:
First a comprehensive briefing where they tell you all about the track and the correct driving line, braking and acceleration techniques, etc.
Next three laps in a Mazda RX-8 with the instructor driving. He takes it nice and easy, explaining the various braking points, turn-in points, apexes and exit points to you. They have cones at each corner to make the task easier for you; a red one at the turn-in point, a yellow at the apex, and a green at the exit point.
Then it's off to the fun stuff. Three laps in the top-of-the-line RX-8 with the instructor by your side. It's amazing the power a 1300cc Rotary Engine can produce. Somewhere in the region of 230 ps. That is one sweet car. Very nice handling, progressive power delivery, seats four with easy access to the back with the back-hinged suicide doors at the rear, decent value, I could go on.
Next it's three laps in the Merc SLK-350. To be honest I didn't enjoy my drive in the Merc much. It's a nice car, no mistake, but I didn't get the lines right in it, and as a result felt a bit short-changed.
Next I got four laps in a gorgeous deep blue 360 Modena Spyder with F1 gear shift. That car was fabulous! Handled like a gem, pulled nicely, made a GREAT sound once the revs piled on, and pulled HARD once it was up to speed. Only sad thing is the instructors keep telling you to shift-up well before you come near red-line, with the result that the 360 didn't go quite as fast as it would have if they'd let me really flog it!
Then it was four laps in the 996 Turbo. That car is the one I'd buy if I had the money. Power, power, power, torque, torque, torque. Any gear, any rpm. The turbo helps it produce peak torque at just 2500 rpm and the torque curve is flat as a table! Handles like an absolute beauty, helped by the 4 wheel drive. It actually started raining before I drove the Porsche, and I was a bit apprehensive, but the car stayed absolutely planted to the track even though I was going around some of the curves in excess of 100 mph. In this car it didn't matter that the instructors told you shift up earlier than you'd like to, there was always enough on tap!
Then I got four laps in the drop-dead-beautiful white 2005 Lamborghini Murcielago. I thought I was going to die when I fired it up. It doesn't purr, it doesn't scream, it ROARS!!! There's no other way to describe the sound it makes. It is super low, super wide, corners like a plank of solid wood, no roll whatsoever, makes the most unbelievably gutteral sound at low revs and growls and roars when you floor it. It pulled like a demon and made me smile till my face hurt. And at 192,000 pounds you'd bloody well expect it to!
Once again the 4 wheel drive helped keep me on the track even though it was quite wet by the time I got to be in the Lambo. And this thing's F1 box is even quicker than the Ferrari's!
Then I had six laps in a single-seat Formula Renault race car. What an experience that was. To be honest the most fun of all. No nannying instructor telling me when to shift and when to brake. My arse was 6 cms from the track so cornering was absolutely unbelievable! The controls were like switches. On and off. Virtually nothing in-between. Tiny range for the clutch to engage, maybe one inch of travel for the brake pedal and likewise with the accelerator. But with 6 laps you get to have a good idea of how progressive you can be with the controls, even though they are so brutal. The gear box was a conventional 4 speed H gate. There must have been less than half an inch of travel between 1-2 and 3-4. I had an absolute blast in that car, the only let-down is that they have it rev-limited to 4500 rpm, when it can go to 7000, with the result that half-way down the back straight, you bounce off the rev-limiter and have to back off the throttle a bit. Oh and one more thing, I got some idea of what coming-up behind another car in an open race car when it's raining is like. Zero visibility. That's all I can say! Those F1 drivers are unbelievably talented to even drive at those speeds in the wet, let alone overtake each other.
Last it was time for one lap in the MG ZS, driven by the instructor, this time flat-out! It was fun, but really nothing like doing the driving yourself.
So anyway, that was that. I'll post some pics and maybe even a little video later once I have a bit more time!
All I can say is, if you're able to, do this. It is the most fun you'll ever have with your clothes on!