- 12,298
- Ealing-London
Some of you may remember from my birthday thread last year that one of my presents was a track day in which I would get to drive four supercars. Well, earlier this week I finally cashed in on it and boy was it a good day.
The location was a small private track in Oxfordshire. No where near a full size race track but had some challenging corners and a 100mph straight where we could open the cars up a bit. A little screenie from google maps below:
It was the perfect day for it. The sun was shining and I'd taken the rest of the week off work so I was feeling pretty good.
Five of us went up. Two driving, me and my sisters boyfriend Matt. My dad, my sister and Vic (the missus) came along as spectators. After a quick sandwich at a nearby cafe we headed up to the track to check out our toys for the day.
After a short breifing, we head out to have our first run.
Yes, I was walking in slow motion, I am that cool!
First car for me was a Porsche 911 GT3. I tell you, I drove... slow!
It was my first ever go on a track. I wanted to be qucik, but I also didn't want to run out of talent and look like a schmuck so I tippytoed round for the first couple of laps. Partly to get to know the track and partly becasue in the breifing, they made special mention to this car. "Be very careful" they said. This car has no ABS, no stability control and no traction control. "If you get a bit throttle happy out of a corner, you'll be facing the wrong way before you know it"! So I pootled around like an old man and just when I was starting to get comfortable and open it up a bit, my go was over and I had to pull in to the pits
. No matter, I still had three other cars to drive!!
Next up was an Aston V8 Vantage.
Before you ask, yes the James Bond theme was playing in my head the whole way round. It just so happened that the sun was shining very brightly at this point in the day so I kept my shades on. I couldn't have looked cooler!!
The car was a lot easier to drive and a lot more comfortable. The interior was gorgeous and although it was the slowest car there, it was the easiest to open up. Flooring along the main straight you don't get much of a sense of speed. There is a loud grumble and you just seem to waft effortlessly to the first corner! This go seemed to be over even quicker than the Porsche. Partly because I was driving faster and partly because now I was used to it and having fun, time just flew.
Third car, and by far my favourite (before and after the day) was a Lamborghini Gallardo!
The most poweful car on the day and the one I had been looking forward to the most. It didn't dissapoint. It was as easy to drive as the Aston, as fast as the Porsche and made a better noise than the Ferrari. It felt really sure footed and the grip was immense. It really gave me the confidence to push it quite hard. I glanced 95 on the straight a second or two before the braking zone so im sure I pushed it over 100. The turn in was fantastic and THE NOISE oh god the noise was unbelievable. This was definitely the most fun I've had with my clothes on. Another bonus was that most other guys had real trouble pulling away in this car. They were spluttering and stalling quite often. Not me! I pulled away perfectly everytime and got a "nice one" from the instructor as I did so. I AM A DRIVING GOD!!!
Finally the Ferrari 360.
Although Matt said he really didn't like this one I enjoyed it. It felt a lot lighter than the others and more nimble. Sort of more like a go kart. The only thing I didn't like was the gear change. They said to change gear slowly (im not sure if there was a problem with the gearbox but it was very clunky). Couple this with the fact that when you come off the power and on to the clutch, the revs drop incredibly quickly, then it becomes really hard to shift smoothly as you have to try and bring up the revs a little to match the speed before you release the clutch. After a couple of laps however, I had got used to it and was changing up and down fine. Yup, driving god!
Once the day was done for me and Matt, there was just time for a little treat for Ollie (sis) and Vic (missus). They were each given a ride with a proffessional race driver. I say ride, what I actually mean is two full bore flying laps in an Ariel Atom!
Even though it's a pic, if you listen carefully you can still hear her screaming!
All in all, an awesome day and an awesome birthday present. I'll definitely be doing this again! 👍
The location was a small private track in Oxfordshire. No where near a full size race track but had some challenging corners and a 100mph straight where we could open the cars up a bit. A little screenie from google maps below:
It was the perfect day for it. The sun was shining and I'd taken the rest of the week off work so I was feeling pretty good.
Five of us went up. Two driving, me and my sisters boyfriend Matt. My dad, my sister and Vic (the missus) came along as spectators. After a quick sandwich at a nearby cafe we headed up to the track to check out our toys for the day.
After a short breifing, we head out to have our first run.
Yes, I was walking in slow motion, I am that cool!
First car for me was a Porsche 911 GT3. I tell you, I drove... slow!
It was my first ever go on a track. I wanted to be qucik, but I also didn't want to run out of talent and look like a schmuck so I tippytoed round for the first couple of laps. Partly to get to know the track and partly becasue in the breifing, they made special mention to this car. "Be very careful" they said. This car has no ABS, no stability control and no traction control. "If you get a bit throttle happy out of a corner, you'll be facing the wrong way before you know it"! So I pootled around like an old man and just when I was starting to get comfortable and open it up a bit, my go was over and I had to pull in to the pits
. No matter, I still had three other cars to drive!!Next up was an Aston V8 Vantage.
Before you ask, yes the James Bond theme was playing in my head the whole way round. It just so happened that the sun was shining very brightly at this point in the day so I kept my shades on. I couldn't have looked cooler!!
The car was a lot easier to drive and a lot more comfortable. The interior was gorgeous and although it was the slowest car there, it was the easiest to open up. Flooring along the main straight you don't get much of a sense of speed. There is a loud grumble and you just seem to waft effortlessly to the first corner! This go seemed to be over even quicker than the Porsche. Partly because I was driving faster and partly because now I was used to it and having fun, time just flew.
Third car, and by far my favourite (before and after the day) was a Lamborghini Gallardo!
The most poweful car on the day and the one I had been looking forward to the most. It didn't dissapoint. It was as easy to drive as the Aston, as fast as the Porsche and made a better noise than the Ferrari. It felt really sure footed and the grip was immense. It really gave me the confidence to push it quite hard. I glanced 95 on the straight a second or two before the braking zone so im sure I pushed it over 100. The turn in was fantastic and THE NOISE oh god the noise was unbelievable. This was definitely the most fun I've had with my clothes on. Another bonus was that most other guys had real trouble pulling away in this car. They were spluttering and stalling quite often. Not me! I pulled away perfectly everytime and got a "nice one" from the instructor as I did so. I AM A DRIVING GOD!!!
Finally the Ferrari 360.
Although Matt said he really didn't like this one I enjoyed it. It felt a lot lighter than the others and more nimble. Sort of more like a go kart. The only thing I didn't like was the gear change. They said to change gear slowly (im not sure if there was a problem with the gearbox but it was very clunky). Couple this with the fact that when you come off the power and on to the clutch, the revs drop incredibly quickly, then it becomes really hard to shift smoothly as you have to try and bring up the revs a little to match the speed before you release the clutch. After a couple of laps however, I had got used to it and was changing up and down fine. Yup, driving god!
Once the day was done for me and Matt, there was just time for a little treat for Ollie (sis) and Vic (missus). They were each given a ride with a proffessional race driver. I say ride, what I actually mean is two full bore flying laps in an Ariel Atom!
Even though it's a pic, if you listen carefully you can still hear her screaming!
All in all, an awesome day and an awesome birthday present. I'll definitely be doing this again! 👍
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Why do you look guilty in the second to last Ferrari shot 
