I wanna... Supercar Experience day

Hoof_Hearted

My review for Everyman Racing on Tripadvisor:

I had a voucher as a present. It suggested booking six weeks before you want to go, Big mistake! If you leave it that late there will be little choice of car or venue. I was then passed from pillar to post in order to extend the closing date of the voucher. They then slap a £20 charge as a damage waiver -- yes, it's optional but who is going to risk paying out for a new Ferrari?

Make no mistake, this is a big, pushy, business. My experience lasted less than half an hour. We were shown the track with a ride around in a Skoda. Others talk about a safety video, but we didn't see one.

There were probably a hundred people there -- 400 were going to be there on the day. I jumped in my Aston Martin. The instructor was pleasant and helpful. There are several chicane's on the track to keep your speed down, so don't think you are going to go very fast or, indeed, learn much about driving on a track. There are so many cars at any one time and so many chicanes that you tend to get stuck behind other slower drivers through the chicanes. The four laps includes the out lap and the in lap, so it is more like three and a half. It was enjoyable but I doubt I was in the car for more than ten minutes.

We then queued for a ride round the same crowded track with an expert driver. We sat in the back of an Evo. As the lap included the out and in it was really only fast for a very short section.

Personally, I thought it was not worth the money, especially as it's a long journey to the track. We arrived at 8.00 a.m. as instructed. We hung around doing nothing to 9.00 a.m. and were gone by 10.00 a.m. 40 minutes of that hour was queuing.

Personally, I wouldn't bother again as I left feeling ripped off. The car was nice, though.

Netwizard

Hoof Hearted, that sounds terrible. Personally, I'd have more fun than this on some of the local B roads in my old banger!!

wba31

Netwizard wrote: »

Hoof Hearted, that sounds terrible. Personally, I'd have more fun than this on some of the local B roads in my old banger!!

You know, rather than do an experience day i'd rather jump in my civic and drive to Aberdovey from shrewsbury at 10pm at night...

DKLS

Netwizard wrote: »

I was just about to post this. Most of them are VERY poor value, especially the cheaper ones.

There is a "track" round here that do experience "days". What people dont know is that it is an abandoned, uneven runway, with a course laid out in cones.

They restrict the revs and speed at which you can drive, and you get about 5 mins in the car for £60. A total rip off.

Silverstone and proper track days should be ok. The best one you can get is the Palmersport day. Its VERY expensive but you do get what you pay for, its amazing.

Be VERY wary of the cheap track days, they are very poor.

Totally agree about Palmersport, not cheap but i found it to be worth every penny, I learnt so much from the instructors, and my driving has been much smoother ever since.

jimjames

My kids did the 6th Gear experience at Chertsey.

All went well and very enjoyable day. Lots of chance to spend more money on photos and video but no obligation to do so and no additional insurance etc required..

snowcat53

Did one with Everyman at track in Leicestershire (Prestwold) recently. I concur with most of the comments above.

This is a pushy up-selling business. There is the £30 damage insurance (who can risk paying out for a damaged Lambo?) and even the intstruction talk was 75% taken up with telling us about 'opportunites' for upgrading cars, or extra laps for £25-35 a lap, buying photos, buying the in-car filming, or being driven round by a Stig -alike. The seling was so nonstop and blatant it was nearly funny . I find it hard to resist all this but others were flashing their twenties.

There is also a huge amount of waiting around. Their admin systems for who goes when are truly hopeless - archaic and ineffiicient, consisting of various people with clip boards and lists shouting out names near various flags. Every driver seems to be allocated their own list. They really need to sort this out with a bit of technology and a single list I waited 50 mins for my last ride - repeatedly told was up next, while all but one of the drivers - and all the punters - packed up and went home. Well peed off by this point, having been there for 3 hours. Skipped reviewing phots, collecting certificate and the 4x4 ride

I had 3 different car drives each of 2 laps of 1.8 miles. This bit was in fact fun and the power of these cars is amazing, you could get to about 110 on the straight but there are lots of bends and sections where you have to go slowly. Any spins result in forced termination of your 'experience'.

On the plus side the drivers were pleasant helpful and knowledgable

Would i recommend Everyman? - no. But there may be better ones around.

attila_

I did everyman at that track and it wasn't that great.

The cheap ones really aren't good.

bob_a_builder

Also did an Everyman @ Prodrive Warwickshire- 3 car drive (Lambo/Ferrari/Aston) ...

And Snocats description is very fair portrayal of the day !
Especially the bit about the organisation of who goes when !

Shimrod

have you considered hiring a car for the day? It's going to cost a bit more than an experience day, but you'll have a whole day with the car. Here's some prices at Hertz. You may well find specialist companies that can do it cheaper, this is just the first one that came up on google!
http://uk.hertzsupercars.com/vehicles/type/supercars/

Netwizard

The problem with renting a supercar is that the mileage restrictions are very tight, usually 100 miles, which is nothing! That said, its much better than driving at 50mph for a few mins round a track of cones!

A bit of a leftfield suggestion here, but your mother is the same age as mine, and my mother likes Morgans. We hired one quite a few years ago, just for the day, and it was an amazing experience.

Hire out a +4 for the day (or a long weekend) and take a nice trip around the Malvern Hills - with no mileage restrictions. The people at Morgan Motor company are very helpful and pleasant, and you will even get a look round the factory afterwards if you ask nicely

It really is a wonderful experience, and a total contrast to the "supercar" experiences on offer from these horrible upselling companies.

It might only be a 2 litre, but it packs a punch in a car that weighs less than a crisp packet. They also offer the 3 wheeler out for hire now too.


And before anyone points out that its not a supercar, I know! But in terms of an all round nice birthday weekend for a slightly older person who likes cars, I think it might hit the spot better than a crappy driving "none" experience.