Silverstone Experience

[Adie]

I'm off to Silverstone tomorrow morning for a race experience thingy. It was a birthday present for my older brother but he can't use it so I'm going instead. Its a single seater racing car jobby.. Have a briefing first thing, then on to the track in the single seater following the pace car to learn the lines and braking, then away you go.. :D

Should be great fun.. Anybody else been to one of these? What are the cars like?

[tdiplc]

That's great Adie.

Have fun and don't forget to let us have your thoughts please :)

[Dave-Ellen]

did it a while ago.............excellent day out....only prob is you are (were?) limited to a fairly low rpm level. If you go over it thats it........

I enjoyed the saloons the best

[DAZA_W]

should be a laugh mate take the lex next

[Gord]

Fun day mate :winky: did it on bike once :D

[Adie]

Well reading the documentation it says that you can push the car as fast as you want.

Here's the blurb:

Truly a once in a lifetime chance to experience the thrill of motor racing at the UK's most famous circuit. This car is built solely for speed, with aerodynamic flair, lightweight body and no instructor by your side, you will really be able to make the most of this superb circuit. In our experience nothing can really prepare you for the buzz and the sheer freedom of single seater racing so take the opportunity to push the car as fast as you want to go for an unforgettable experience

and a pic.

Looks good. Anybody done this one? I assume it'll only be a few hours anyway?

[chrisis200]

My missus has bought me a similar thing for my bday, gotta pick a day an place.. Think Derby or Leicester are closest to me, I get to take a Ferrari 355 or 360 for a hour or 2 I think should be fun. But I think I'll have someone there to stop me crashin at least lol..

[Rob's Lexx]

My missus has bought me a similar thing for my bday, gotta pick a day an place.. Think Derby or Leicester are closest to me, I get to take a Ferrari 355 or 360 for a hour or 2 I think should be fun. But I think I'll have someone there to stop me crashin at least lol..

are you sure chris?? the one i got for christmas cost £300 odd quid and although lasting a few hours, actual hands on driving is about 30 mins :o i get choice of either i) lambo murcielago day or ii) mixture of lotus elise, porsche carrera, subaru imprezza WRX & ferrari 360 modena :winky:

[The Editor]

Hi,

Yes did this a few years back at Silverstone - You'll be in a little Formula 1st car..... Great Fun.... Bags of grip but if you do push them too hard you'll spin and come off like I did (more than once !!!)

As you say you get a briefing first and then you're straight out on the track. A pace car will take you round first and you are not allowed to break formation. The car takes you round about thre times increasing speed with each lap and after that.... You're on your own. If you do make a mistake or spin off, you will get called into the pits told what you did wrong and then be allowed to rejoin the "race".

Have fun - you'll love it

The Ed

[Adie]

Had the briefing but when it came to going on the track the fog was too thick so I've got to reschedule for another day.

The guy said that if you spin off then that is the end of it for you as you're not in control of the car. They had 12 cars yesterday and only 3 finished. Its on the Stowe circuit which is an easier circuit. If they do it on the main one then they have to restrict the cars and there's alot more stuff you cant do. So on the stowe one you can push it as fast as you want.

The car is forumla first british championship race car, Ford 1600 cc engine and 0 - 60 in 5.1 secs. He said it weighs about a 1/3rd of a mondeo (can't remember the exact weight). So very small and extremley light.

Should be lots of fun providing I actually get on the track next time.

[Adie]

Finally had the single seater driving experience this morning... WOW what a buzz it is driving these cars. :D

First off, you have the briefing. (see above). Telling you a little about the cars and the track. Also how to take corners, when to brake, about the driving line and all the flags, safety aspects etc. If you spin off you get a yellow card and told what you did wrong. If you do it again you're off.

Then off to get your balaclava, helmet and gloves then into the car. The car is VERY tight inside the cockpit. Also you can't see any of the front of the car as you are sat very low down inside it. The wing mirrors are very small and you dont see anything unless somebody is right up your arse. I had to take my right shoe off as I couldn't push the accelerator and brake independently enough. So had to do all the driving in my sock. The gears are 4 speed H type. All corners are taken in 3rd gear. The gear lever is high up near the wheel (which is very small) and has no surround or anything so you have to familiarize yourself with the gears first.

You have 20 mins following the pace car, spread out in small groups, so you can learn the driving line and get used to the car, then you pull into the pits and have another 20mins out on a freelap. So you can overtake and push the car as hard as you want.

The cars are very quick and very responsive. The more laps you do the more your confidence grows and you start pushing it harder and harder. It seems a bit strange at first because there is no ABS, power steering, servos on the brakes or anything. It is literally just you and the car. I managed to fly round the track in the end overtaking cars and never had a spin. I did feel the car start to slide slightly on a couple of the really tight corners, which caused my helmet to bang off the side of the car, but eased of slightly and all was good. Your head does really get thrown from side to side in the corners.

These cars are the same weight as an F1 car but only have just over 100bhp, where as an F1 car has around 740bhp. So you can kind of get an understanding of how fast they really go. Plus they are doing it for 2 hours. After 44 mins I could feel my arms and hands beginning to ache..

I highly recommend trying one of these bad boys out if you get a chance as they are simply awesome. Driving your own car around a track is nothing like this. This is how track driving should be done! :winky:

Some pics:

Action shots: (Pure concentration on my face!)

Some cars sat around ready to be driven:

Inside the Ferrari:

Another race car, slightly different to the one I was driving:

Inside the cockpit, although its taped up to stop people getting in it:

[aido]

Quality, looks like it was ace, wouldn't mind trying it out but I know I wouldn't fit in the car :D

I'd have fancied taking the Ferrari around though!

[Adie]

Was an excellent experience mate :) Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

[aido]

Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

What about the one you were wearing on your head

[Gord]

Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

What about the one you were wearing on your head

PMSL

[Adie]

Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

What about the one you were wearing on your head

PMSL

[peter026]

Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

What about the one you were wearing on your head

Picks myself up from floor

Glad you enjoyed it Adie

[Unregistered_User]

Accelerating down the straights to around 100mph I could feel my helmet lifting slightly. :D

What about the one you were wearing on your head

You're a clown, Aido lol.

Good to hear you enjoyed the day mate, I know you will have enjoyed the sessions :D

Jamie