Last year my boss bought me a Ferrari Driving Experience voucher as a thanks for the work I had done that year. Being flat out at work meant I never got round to using it, and it nearly expired.

So as a birthday treat to myself, I decided to cash in the voucher last Wednesday at Croft! So I thought I'd write up my experience and post up a couple of photo's.

I arrived at Croft in glorious sunshine, signed in, signed the disclaimer and then sat through the drivers briefing. This was pretty informative and outlined the basics of cornering / braking etc, along with a briefing about the flags, format of the day etc.

Then three of us went out for 4 familiarisation laps in the Mazda with an instructor driving. First lap he did fairly slowly, then got faster and faster each lap. He did a running commentary of braking point, turn in point, apex, exit point, which gear he was in etc. The Mazda was quite quick, I think it was an MPS version.



Once we'd done those laps, we all got out of the Mazda and walked down the pitlane to where the three almost brand new Porsche Cayman's were sitting. Got straight into the drivers seat, adjusted the seating position and started the engine. The instructor sat in the passenger seat and we went down the pit lane onto the circuit.



Having never driven a Porsche before, it took a bit of getting used to, and being on a new track I don't think I was anywhere near as fast as I could have been! But as the number of laps increased, so did my speed! With the instructor constantly teaching me I became more and more confident in the braking / handling etc.

Then after 5 laps it was time to go back to the pits. Parked up the Porsche and walked towards the Ferrari for the main event.



The first thing that hit me was how low it is, even compared to the Porsche. Once inside it, we adjusted the seat and belts and I started the engine. Bloody hell it was loud! Had a quick look around the dash to see where all the gauges were and then we went out on the track, with me driving and the instructor in the passenger seat.

The Ferrari obviously leads a hard life, being hammered around the track all day, but it's still very rapid! Once I'd got used the the really heavy clutch, the notchy throttle pedal and the gearbox that didn't like to be hurried we started making decent progress. However I couldn't help but feel that the Ferrari wasn't really at home on a track. It felt like the culmination of an arms race! The big V8 was quick but the brakes and the suspension had to work hard to cope with the weight.

All too quickly my 5 laps were finished and we went back into the pits.

Then I walked along the pits to where the Ginetta G20's were parked up. Picked out a helmet and jumped into the drivers seat with the instructor helping me out with the intercom / seat belts. Started the engine (I think a 1.8 Zetec) and pulled out of the Pits onto the track.



I was immediately much more at home in the Ginetta, and started making some pretty rapid progress (even overtaking the Ferrari and a couple of the Cayman's!). Then I got held up behind some of the single seaters that were also running that afternoon. They were slow in the corners, but faster than the G20 down the straights making them hard to pass. But eventually after a couple of laps I got past them and had a couple of laps of clear track to really press on.

But again, all to quickly my allocated laps where up, and we had to pit.

Then I got out of the Ginetta and walked down the pits to the last car of the day. A couple of passenger laps in a Caterham with a 1600 K Series engine in it. Got strapped in, the instructor fired up the engine and we rocketed out of the pit lane!



I'd previously thought I was going quite quickly in the Ginetta, but the instructor quickly showed me exactly how slow I had been going! He didn't bother braking into the first corner, managed to wrestle the car round the second corner, and then managed to change up a gear in the middle of the chicane onto the back straight. A monster last minute effort onto the brakes saw us round the next corner quicker than I would have believed possible! Then we passed the Ferrari, and skipped round Sunny In / Sunny Out. He kept the speed high and the braking late, monstered it out of the chicane onto the start finish straight, and then did a 2nd lap just to show that he could keep that pace up all day if he wanted to!

Then we pulled into the pits and let the K Series cool down a little. (They were running it without a thermostat as it had been running hot in the morning session!)

So, in conclusion, I really enjoyed my afternoon at Croft. However it's made me realise I don't want a Porsche and I don't want a Ferrari! What I want is to spend more time on track in the Indy! (And perhaps a bit more power!)

Overall I had a great time (better than being in the office), however if it had been me paying, I think I would have walked away feeling a little short changed. But then perhaps I am spoiled by the amount of track time you get for your money on a normal trackday!

Cheers

Mike

did you get to run over the refuelling dude and crasah into a wall 4 laps before the end?

looks like you had a cracking day out though!
i did a legends drive thing year back. was great fun!

sounds a lot of fun. I did a gallardo driving day earlier this year, which was awesome!

I was bought an Exige experience day at silverstone last year.

Was great fun and was suprised how much the instructors were letting you abuse them, up to the redline every shift and really hammering the kerbs. He even got me to go round the outside a couple of the slower 355s at Stowe.

Then he took me out for the quick lap and span it trying to scare me!

So, in conclusion, I really enjoyed my afternoon at Croft. However it's made me realise I don't want a Porsche and I don't want a Ferrari! What I want is to spend more time on track in the Indy! (And perhaps a bit more power!)

Overall I had a great time (better than being in the office), however if it had been me paying, I think I would have walked away feeling a little short changed. But then perhaps I am spoiled by the amount of track time you get for your money on a normal trackday!

Cheers

Mike


Once you have had some track time with a quick (BEC) seven then even the most exotic machinery can leave you feeling a little flat.
I get to drive the occasional supercar with my job and out of all the cars i have driven i would still prefer a well sorted seven to give me my adrenaline rush to just about anything else.

with the exception of a porsche 997 twin turbo

ONLY KIDDING