Hi All
After some recommendations for high speed driver tuition - ideally track or airfield
I had previously read on forums that Andy Walsh of Car Limits was very good, however he doesn’t seem to be involved with them anymore. Car Limits instructor is now a chap named Mark Robins. Has anyone had any experience of Mark at North Weald Airfield or Blyton Park.
I’m based near Birmingham so would prefer may be Oulton Park or Donington if it were track tuition.
Thanks in advance
Many of us have spent time at Notth Weald and I’d heartily recommend it. Don’t be put off that it’s not Walshy anymore.
Donington would be my choice for tuition over Oulton. I mainly do BaT days and their instructors are good…and I LOvE Donny.
I think Lotus is again doing the Driving Academy at Hethel. May not be the cheapest option but probably one of the best?
I would recommend Don Palmer who uses the Bruntisthorpe proving ground. You tend to have the entire proving ground to yourself and you can pretend you are the Stig, it’s the old Top Gear track. Don is a bit eccentric in a nice way and has a great pub for lunch. He can teach whatever you want, he even got my 15 year old out in my Exige.
The other offbeat one is CAT (car driver training) at Millbrook. You get to play on the proving ground including the low grip, high speed bowl, alpine track and race track.
Both different and fun.
I think it depends what level you are at and what you are looking to improve… if you are looking to improve/learn fundamental car control, I would not recommend going on a trackday with a race instructor…
My recommendation would be Don Palmer at Bruntingthorpe… its a perfect environment to start learning and as mentioned, Don is an interesting character and you’ll have a great day… some people apparently don’t take to him, but I found him great and learnt a lot (stuff that I still remember and use to this day)
I’d recommend getting a National B kart license, pay someone that can provide a kart, run you and do some club racing. You’ll soon work out how to get quick.
It normally involves disconnecting brain from feet, steering and holding your breath.
Both CAT and Don Palmer are relatively expensive and they’re generally covering driver training not on track. I know both Bruntingthorpe and Millbrook have merit but on a circuit there is an actual racing line with kerbs, you are being trained to drive track on track. You could drop c.£250 and hire an instructor for a full track day. Though if you’re new to it i would recommend you just go and do say a BAT day at donny and book as many 20 minute slots with the same instructor as you want, leave the last few hours free so you can drive solo.
Also Don Palmer is into NLP and you see him saying shit like ‘you will want to come back’ while rubbing his chin lmao
I wouldn’t pay a so called instructor to teach you the basics. If you’re a novice just see if you can sit in with some of the experienced guys on here, they’ll put you on the right track.
Lots of opinions, I have done all of the suggestions and they all have different merits, it really depends on the individual. I have never found a bad instructor (well, maybe MSV at Bedford, but just once).
If you are worried about hitting something I would avoid Millbrook (Alpine and the track which had big drop offs) and Oulton Park. Alll the rest (DP, Brunters, Walsh) are about as safe as you can get for tracks.
Anyone know what has happened to Walshy, I noticed he was no longer teaching. He is also a bit mad but is a great driver, not many people have ever held an FIA super license. When I had a session with him he had a broken arm and foot and was still the fastest, by a margin.
Keith
As you’re near Birmingham, you could try Curborough nr. Lichfield. They run a sprint school twice a year (May/Sept or thereabouts) for £145 all in.
Having sprinted there I can confirm it may be short, but is a challenge to get right, especially on the limit!
Details here: http://www.curborough.co.uk/curborough-sprint-school/
If anyone doubts Ayrton Fluffy then go on a circuit with him …
Top bloke , if a tad slow !
I’ve done Blyton with both Walshy & Mark - I had a better experience with Walshy than Mark - but it was still fantastic tuition.
I don’t think it helped by the other blokes on the Blyton day where all extremely wealthy types (458 speciale, Aston Martin GT8 & a brand new 911). Who didn’t really do much track driving - so he was trying to cater for all of us. All 3 of the blokes had been at the horse racing the day before and had turned up late with stinking hangovers too - it was more like a lads day out for them rather than trying to learn new skills. I think if you get a day with like minded people its much better. Mark is great - but he knows he’s got a tough job trying to live up to Walshy!
VFM is two cars to share a top instructor IMO. I could never gather all the information from one stint to another. Better they jumped out so I could put it into practise in between times.
I’m not sure if he’s doing tuition but John Lyon is fantastic for learning roadcraft and fast road driving with skill. His approach is pretty straight talking and perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea but I came away from that session with so much insight and knowledge gleaned from the master that he is. You will be amazed at the smoothness of his driving, then you have to show you drive and he will tell you in no uncertain terms what is good and more importantly what isn’t.
I am following this thread with some interest, since I do take my exige on track a couple of times year. I am not competitive in any way, I just want to do the best for the car knowing it has far more capable than I am .
I go to a track day to enjoy myself, and not to be the fastest or to explore the utmost limits, since I would never consider myself even quick and I use my “excuse” that my car is normally aspirated 190 bhp bog std.
I am a terrible passenger, so I have taken some good drivers out to show me the way
What I need is somewhere to get it wrong. My natural reaction is to lift off, which I know is a very wrong thing to do, most recently at Mcleans at Donington.
I hear lots in here about Caterhams but I need the experience in my own car on a circuit that is not too fast with plenty of run off. Getting it wrong on an airfield isn’t the same as a true laid out circuit.
SJW - I love Donny, one of my fave circuits, but for me it’s not the best place to start out, fairly intimidating for a novice. If I’m taking a mate out on their first trackday I almost always go to Bedford. It’s flat, loads of runoff, more than double the length of Donny so tonnes of corners to practice on.
Blyton is a shorter, slower and cheaper alternative. Croft is perhaps your local though again not the best starting point imo. Elvington is in York, I’ve only done it once, not a big fan (its a big airfield with a circuit marked out with cones) but Javelin do some days there and it’s cheap and has runoff for days.
Curborough’s been mentioned in this thread, i hired it once with some mates (it’s £250 to hire it for an afternoon). Great fun, £ per minute the best way to try out sprinting i would think. Probs not the best trackday training tho since it’s narrow and all 2nd 3rd gear so know what you’re getting into
Scosh, you have confirmed all my thoughts on those circuits.
I would not consider myself a novice having started at Croft many years ago, and like that circuit but imo there isn’t much smooth run off and can be scarily quick in places
Donington is fast, somewhat intimidating and not having huge power I find myself looking in the mirror too much.
Elvington as you say is just marked out with cones, so you cannot pick your lines easily
Blyton is ok but I’m never sure what is just over that edge
Favourite for me is Abbeville, and a wet afternoon once was a hoot. That is when you can learn so much
All thoughts gratefully received on how and where I can safely “get it wrong” ?
Anglesey is very good safety wise.
I think all of the suggestions have their merit and the thing that links them is seat-time.
For me its about trying to develop car control on airfields/circuits/handling-courses/around-cones with instruction, without instruction, with passengers, as a passenger*, trying to keep up with faster guys, etc etc at as many venues in as many cars in as many conditions as possible, all to maximise seat time. Every time I get in the car and try to go fast I’m learning and as with many things in life that are worth learning to do, there’s very few people that ever ‘arrive’…the more seat time you get the better you get.
I do however think its important to know where the limit is and what happens beyond it and Walshy days, Caterham Drift days etc are invaluable for that.
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Is John Lyon still going? I had some instruction from him about 15years ago and he was semi-retired then!