This cannot be compared with instruction at a track day, or a racing school. Ours is a premium product which requires exclusive use of a track with nothing else running on it. That exclusivity is the major expense in the price of the course, but as you will see, it is a luxury which is absolutely essential.
To put it into perspective, Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, Brands Grand Prix and the Bedford Autodrome all cost £26,000 per day. Anglesey is as challenging and interesting as any of those, and we are pleased to have negotiated a special arrangement which allows you and us complete freedom for a great deal less money. That does mean we occasionally lose a day which has been reserved provisionally. When that happens, we ask you to bear with us while we find an alternative.
The course is intensive and we need your full concentration at all times. This is not possible when you are looking out for faster cars, or moving over to overtake slower ones.
Several people have asked about the ratio of driving to instruction. This is variable, depending on how receptive the students are, but the structure is flexible and takes note of that. We also use four seat cars and we try and have three students with either myself or Mark in the front passenger seat. Watching someone learn is almost as illuminating as doing it yourself.
People have asked about rear wheel drive cars. These are the enthusiast’s option because as everybody knows, the driving and steering wheels are separated. They are the best option for a fast lap.
The lap record however, is absolutely not what we are after. The question of weight transfer is equally well demonstrated in a front wheel drive car. So is the process which enables you to determine the optimum line and monitor both that and the car’s performance thereafter. That just needs a car. It doesn’t matter which end of it is driving.
The cars you will be using are most likely to be a 3 series BMW and a Toyota Corolla. You may think this an unusual choice, but in order to highlight how a car responds to driver input; it is best demonstrated in a low grip car. It is far harder to review and develop driving styles if we are charging round corners at high speed in a car with huge levels of grip.
At the same time we understand your desires and you will be welcome to take your own car on the circuit towards the end of the second day. This is clearly at your own risk.
The first courses are likely to have six students and it is our intention to maintain this ratio.
The cars are by and large irrelevant. They are just a tool. We want to study circuit driving and have no wish to engage in limit handling issues in fast and powerful cars while we are trying to teach the subtleties of circuit driving. There are seven Grand Prix drivers currently honing their skills in a VW Passat rental car.
We investigate these issues together in relatively low performance cars with low grip and gentle reactions. Once your control becomes second nature, then you will be able to transfer your new found knowledge to higher levels of performance.
It will be what it is - we can assure you that there will be very little of doing nothing and that the whole process will engage your faculties to a high level. Experience dictates that most people cannot do more than two hours a day of learning new stuff – we are proposing to teach from 9.30 until 5.30 for two days solid. People are exhausted at the end.
This is an engaging course. The intention, amongst other things, is to teach you a new way of learning a track and monitoring your performance. If we can start at a higher level, then that is just a bonus.
We do not take credit cards, however you are welcome to pay on line or by cheque. We are happy to supply a VAT invoice for “Advanced driver training” which you can facilitate your accounts with – there is no substitute for learning if you are to improve the health and safety of your business.
I have not driven from London or the M25 but my estimate of four hours is borne out by my plumber who drives to Holyhead on his way to Dublin. He regularly does that in three and a half hours. Clearly it is wholly dependant upon traffic and the vagaries of plod if you go much over the speed limit.
