Well, all done now! What a great day, yesterday at Longcross!
The weather was perfect, dry and sunny but not too hot. I'd been praying all week for no rain at least!
When I first got there I saw the Ferrari 458 and nearly wet myself, I was like a kid again making car noises lol! I went in to register and they scared me into taking out a damage waiver of £25 as any damage you are liable for the first £5000, I thought it was worth it as they told me the 458 was only 6 weeks old and there were no run offs on the track as it is an old proving ground...
Got a lap around the track to familiarise myself with it in a Range Rover Sport. The chap driving it was obviously retired and had a great time doing this job as he surged the Rangey round the chicanes. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to remember the whole track but knew the instructors in the cars would be able to assist when I went round for real.
I started with the Gallardo. I got in and the instructor was emphasising that I must know where the brake pedal was over everything else. We got going and I was let loose on the track. I started off fairly fast and made my way up to 4th gear which I missed and the revs went high as I put my foot on the throttle. I found the gear and the instructor seemed keen to keep me in 4th for the rest of the circuit. I was kind of glad as the car had enough grunt to power round and down the straights and it gave me a chance to learn the circuit!! This instructor was a great guy who loved being driven around the track fairly fast and kept egging me on down the staights!
The next car was the 458. This is my favourite car looks wise I would say ever. Instantly in the car it seemed like a dream come true and on the track was nothing short of heavenly. The track was clear when we left the pit area and I was instantly asked to floor it. The gear changes on the paddles were smooth and fast and it was great to be able to change without having to lift off. The instructor was loving every minute of it and it made me feel more at ease driving such an expensive machine. I was even talking to him while bombing it down the straights at 120mph+ which is something I didn't really do in the Lambo. He was gunning for me to overtake other cars, we came up behind an Aston on a banked corner and he kept shouting "CLOSER! CLOSER!!!!" until we were practically touching the rear bumper as we made it onto the straight and just crushed it with the acceleration this Ferrari had! Later on we caught a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale which we powered down the straight and overtook with a bit of late braking (which felt so composed) He said to me after the corner "You know it's a great car when it can destroy a 360 Challenge like that" All in all it was actually a VERY easy car to drive ridiculously fast and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one should I come into a considerable amount of money.
Next up was the Atom. I was actually a bit nervous about driving this as it's such a different car to the others. I plonked myself in the seat and all I could think of was how rubbish I would look getting into one of these at the shops lol! I had to don a helmet and be strapped into the harness. The instructor this time did not put me at ease at all and told me that if we crashed, we'd end up in a wheelchair or in several body bags. Fair enough he is trying to make sure I don't go crazy but it didn't help with my slight nerves! We set off and I could feel every lump and bump. Once we were on the track we took it easy for the 1st lap but I could already see this was a seriously fast car. By the 2nd lap I was hammering down the straights and letting the revs get up to 8k. This thing picked speed up so quickly and just didn't seem to stop accelerating!! I took a corner a little fast and lifted off slightly which made the car twitch slightly. In this car we were only doing about 50 but I think i'd have to be going a hell of a lot more in the Clio to make it react more than that! I did enjoy this car so much but I felt the intructors initial talk changed the experience for me and also the amazing car I drove before it!
So day over and I payed £35 to get the professional photos of me in the cars and on the track put on a disc and one printed out in hi-res and got a little certificate. I was really worried about my car feeling slow but after the Atom it felt refined and I got caught in traffic on the M25 so after I was released it felt fast again. Also at the track there were about 20 of those new Range Rover Evoque's shown on Top Gear the other week and what seemed to be a film crew so I don't know if it was an advert being filmed or something...?
Definitely recommend this to everyone who loves a bit of speed! Below are some of the professional photos. My girlfriend and Dad took some on their cameras but unfortunately they weren't allowed near the track. Thanks for reading and sorry it's a bit of an essay but i'm still buzzing!!
The weather was perfect, dry and sunny but not too hot. I'd been praying all week for no rain at least!
When I first got there I saw the Ferrari 458 and nearly wet myself, I was like a kid again making car noises lol! I went in to register and they scared me into taking out a damage waiver of £25 as any damage you are liable for the first £5000, I thought it was worth it as they told me the 458 was only 6 weeks old and there were no run offs on the track as it is an old proving ground...
Got a lap around the track to familiarise myself with it in a Range Rover Sport. The chap driving it was obviously retired and had a great time doing this job as he surged the Rangey round the chicanes. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to remember the whole track but knew the instructors in the cars would be able to assist when I went round for real.
I started with the Gallardo. I got in and the instructor was emphasising that I must know where the brake pedal was over everything else. We got going and I was let loose on the track. I started off fairly fast and made my way up to 4th gear which I missed and the revs went high as I put my foot on the throttle. I found the gear and the instructor seemed keen to keep me in 4th for the rest of the circuit. I was kind of glad as the car had enough grunt to power round and down the straights and it gave me a chance to learn the circuit!! This instructor was a great guy who loved being driven around the track fairly fast and kept egging me on down the staights!
The next car was the 458. This is my favourite car looks wise I would say ever. Instantly in the car it seemed like a dream come true and on the track was nothing short of heavenly. The track was clear when we left the pit area and I was instantly asked to floor it. The gear changes on the paddles were smooth and fast and it was great to be able to change without having to lift off. The instructor was loving every minute of it and it made me feel more at ease driving such an expensive machine. I was even talking to him while bombing it down the straights at 120mph+ which is something I didn't really do in the Lambo. He was gunning for me to overtake other cars, we came up behind an Aston on a banked corner and he kept shouting "CLOSER! CLOSER!!!!" until we were practically touching the rear bumper as we made it onto the straight and just crushed it with the acceleration this Ferrari had! Later on we caught a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale which we powered down the straight and overtook with a bit of late braking (which felt so composed) He said to me after the corner "You know it's a great car when it can destroy a 360 Challenge like that" All in all it was actually a VERY easy car to drive ridiculously fast and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one should I come into a considerable amount of money.
Next up was the Atom. I was actually a bit nervous about driving this as it's such a different car to the others. I plonked myself in the seat and all I could think of was how rubbish I would look getting into one of these at the shops lol! I had to don a helmet and be strapped into the harness. The instructor this time did not put me at ease at all and told me that if we crashed, we'd end up in a wheelchair or in several body bags. Fair enough he is trying to make sure I don't go crazy but it didn't help with my slight nerves! We set off and I could feel every lump and bump. Once we were on the track we took it easy for the 1st lap but I could already see this was a seriously fast car. By the 2nd lap I was hammering down the straights and letting the revs get up to 8k. This thing picked speed up so quickly and just didn't seem to stop accelerating!! I took a corner a little fast and lifted off slightly which made the car twitch slightly. In this car we were only doing about 50 but I think i'd have to be going a hell of a lot more in the Clio to make it react more than that! I did enjoy this car so much but I felt the intructors initial talk changed the experience for me and also the amazing car I drove before it!
So day over and I payed £35 to get the professional photos of me in the cars and on the track put on a disc and one printed out in hi-res and got a little certificate. I was really worried about my car feeling slow but after the Atom it felt refined and I got caught in traffic on the M25 so after I was released it felt fast again. Also at the track there were about 20 of those new Range Rover Evoque's shown on Top Gear the other week and what seemed to be a film crew so I don't know if it was an advert being filmed or something...?
Definitely recommend this to everyone who loves a bit of speed! Below are some of the professional photos. My girlfriend and Dad took some on their cameras but unfortunately they weren't allowed near the track. Thanks for reading and sorry it's a bit of an essay but i'm still buzzing!!
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