I did an Andrew Walsh day in my S2 two weeks ago. At first I really enjoyed it, and learned a bunch. (mostly by spinning over and over again) But then during the circuits I started to get freaked out. No, really my nerves began to go. The anger and angst inside the car, the sounds, the feel of the g’s…I know I should have loved it, but it actually freaked me out. Some of you probably think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I’m really now unsure if this is for me at all. Maybe my nerves just can’t take it. (And this is in an S2, a ride in Ian’s S1 really freaked me out.) So, I’m having thoughts of selling. It’s not really buyers remorse, it’s just that I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable using the car the way it’s intented. If anyone read this far, thanks, I just needed to get this off my mind, and my wife could care less about my car woes.
Having read some of your previous posts u seem to have really loved the car. no matter what anyone says just because u have an exige doesnt mean u have to track it! Expecially if u are not comfortable. With an s2 its perfectly good fun just driving on the road, a far more enjoyable and satisfying experience than in most other cars.
now then matey sounds like you got a case of the eebie jeebies.
In my opinion…
I have never done a track day but had a couple of rides. I have been riding bikes (on and off road) since i was a young lad and my dad always made me get back on (even if in tears wih my arm hanging off) so it didn’t ever get the better of me.
I have drawn on this experience all my life. Being a natural chicken I made myself do Karate and buy a road bike and pass my test etc…and it worked a treat.
I have been flying since the age of 16 when I flew solo for the first time. I have been an instructor now for 12 years and mid way through that time I had a case of the eeebie jeebies several thousand feet up with a storm approaching the airfield and someones kid in the passenger seat!
I wished I could have been teleported back to terra firma but I only had one option ‘to sort it out’ which I did and learned from that!
Same thing on the top of a diving board 5m? I jumped off it 3 or 4 times then I just couldn’t do it again. I made myself jump off one last time but it took me 20 mins.
So I think I know what you mean.
Why not try a less populated track day with only a few cars out at once. Do it at least once to get over it.
I have said it b4 and am saying it again I get nearly as much enjoyment out of looking at my car (weirdo) so dont worry if trackings not for you. I told several people recently after my first track ride with Sean that it’s impossible to exploit the full potential of the car on the road but knowing you have one of the sexiest bits of kit ever created does it for me
Thanks. This is the same thing I tell my son when he refuses to try new things or put himself ‘out there’ a bit. I’ll take your advise on board and stick to it. If anyone can recommend the best event to have as a first track day, I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks again to those who responded, and yes I was being serious.
No shame in being a bit freaked out - get some more one to one training on a quiet track and I am sure it will pass. On a positive note you will probably derive a huge amount of satisfaction from conquering you nerves and getting more confident so it really is worth persevering. Remember it is quite normal to feel a bit hyped up on track - the adrenalin fix is partly why I do it. I used to be scared of heights and then got heavily into rock climbing and paragliding - there is nothing like a bit of fear to make you feel alive!
I once did an Anglesey track day (I think it was my 6th trackday and 2nd at Anglesey).
I don’t know if there was something wrong with the car or something wrong with track, but there was something certainly wrong with me.
I just couldn’t work out what the car was doing. Car kept slipping from underneath me. No feel through the wheel or the seat. I did 10 laps in the morning trying to commit myself to any of the corners and just plain couldn’t.
Took a break from it, wandered round, had lunch.
Got back in the car, did 3 laps, still couldn’t commit. I had a massive case of ‘The Fear’ going round School. Decided then was the time to pack up and go home.
Subsequently I’ve done other trackdays and had great fun.
Moral: Don’t be ashamed of it, don’t be afraid of it. Just do another airfield day and you’ll soon be over it.
there are days and there are days. Not saying thet you’ll be track star next time you go out. You may never really like it like some others.
but it will be better.
And maybe you are one of the Exigers who will enjoy the car at its best on the road, driving sensibly and all.
It’s still one of the best cars there is, the driving experience, feedback, even at lower speeds, is second to none. And you have the S2, the civilized one. So come on the long journeys, drives to Le Mans, Stelvio, Scotland , etc.
It’s a driving machine, not really a race car.
So, do what you enjoy most with the car, even if it’s waxing it and taking pictures of it. It’s still one of the best cars EVER.
BTW, I consider trackdays a way to improve driving skills. It might be worth attending a trackday school (they do those up here at Knockhill, they might do them also at other tracks). Meant for beginners, everyone at the same level, and tuition. Nothing scary.
I still consider the track the safest place, that’s why I like it.
Just imagine those spins you had (which obviously was you trying to understand how to drive the car) on the road. Hmmm, not a place to learn.
So, if I was you, I’d get on a trackday school when you feel like it and enjoy the car on the road, at the pace you like.
You knw there’s not going to be any otehr car that will give you the same driving experience.
You don’t have to drive on the limit to have fun on a trackday so you shouldn’t feel like you have to. To be honest often the quicker guys have less fun because they get pissed off if things don’t go perfectly their way. Some of the best fun days Ive had are when I havn’t once looked at a stop watch and just enjoyed being behind the wheel.
Also, when you are learning, its a really bad idea to push yourself to far, you will just scare yourself. Just take things at your own pace and you WILL build confidence.
What have you owned before? Could this just be a case of too much performance too soon (after all you were bought up on American cars! ).
Also, I completely agree with Randy, go and enjoy yourself. However, enjoy yourself in the knowledge that if you go beyond your limits the car will probably allow you to get away with it. Use the very thing that scares you as a safety feature.
BTW, well done for getting on an Andy Walsh day! He’s proving absolutely USELESS at sort out a problem with a day I had booked!
I think you are an excellent driver, but I was scarred the whole time. (And I knew what I was getting into.)But I also do not like roller coasters which is the closest thing I can think of to being a passenger in an Exige on track.
I think it’s all a matter of personnal tolerance. Sometimes I’ll take someone for a drive on the road where I know I’m within my limits. They however will be white knuckled and keen to get out.
So I need to expand my tolerance level. I need to do more training sessions, and then try a track day at one of the more civil events. I’ll work up to it, and eventually, maybe, I’ll be able to drive the car to its potential.
As for cars owned, you’re right about this being the highest performance car I’ve ever owned, although I would say that’s true of most of us. I have owned only Japanese and European cars though. Never been much of a fan of American cars. I had an Audi S8 in the states which was a big monster, but very, very fast.
I had no problems with getting a day with Andrew. Not sure what your problem is/was, but he seemed a reasonable guy to me. And an amazing driver.
Anything that pushes the envelope of what you have experienced before causes that rush of adrenalin and learning an Exige on track (or pax’ing with Ian ) certainly falls in that camp. I think the most important thing is to find your own way of enjoying what is a superb car.
Lots to learnt on the road too. Consider doing one of the road craft courses with John Lyon (he advertises in EVO). I have done a couple (not in the Exige mind) and just as Walshy is able to guide you on the track, John is able to guide you on the road. John may be an old bloke, but I have never covered B-Road ground so swiftly and efficently as with John at the helm of my old BMW MCoupe (the ugly breadvan one) - you also can go to MIRA with John and practice lurid powerslides on the wet handling track with the meister himself. Expensive and John takes no prisoners with his critique of yer driving but worth it to explore new ways of enjoying your car.
Stick with it,…there is no substitute for the times you ARE in the mood.
You don’t have to drive on the limit to have fun on a trackday so you shouldn’t feel like you have to. To be honest often the quicker guys have less fun because they get pissed off if things don’t go perfectly their way. Some of the best fun days Ive had are when I havn’t once looked at a stop watch and just enjoyed being behind the wheel.
My suggestion, for what its worth, would be that you need far more time in the car than the few weeks that you’ve had, especially if you’ve not had a similar car before. Bum in seat time to get you familiarised with it, so that it is you that is driving the car, not the car driving you. As for track days, forget them for 6 months, then start again, slowly on big airfields with no barriers and not much traffic. Work up to a pace you feel comfortable with, everyone is different, you have the car to enjoy in your own way, at your own pace, its not a test of manhood about how fast you can go.
Shame you live so far away, Elvington ooooop north near York is ideal, miles of tarmac with nowt to hit.
As for PAX rides, there are very few people who I’d feel comfortable as a passenger with.
As for anyone who would actually get in my passenger seat, they must be mad, because I wouldn’t
![http://www.exige.me.uk/images/fiestamc.jpg[/image]](http://www.exige.me.uk/images/fiestamc.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}