My sister gave me a voucher for Christmas to drive a classic car. A choice between two. But I kept forgetting about it because, well it’s been quite the difficult time since. But I remembered and finally got around to booking it, at what turned out to be the last opportunity this year at my closest venue. So I dutifully turned up to Upottery Airfield, adjacent to Smeatharpe Stadium short oval, to drive a Cobra. I’ve always wanted to drive Cobra.
Arrive
A stressful journey, heavy rain while I was driving, and a past experience of being a bit scared as a passenger in a fast car on a race track (and on the road…), made my nerves a bit shot. Unfortunately my bad start and feeling of trepidation took another little dive when I saw a forlorn-looking Cobra abandoned by itself, up on jacks.
I signed in at the truck and went down to the cars. There was some uncertainty when I arrived about whether they could get the Cobra going, it seemed unlikely, they would let me know.
A while later I was hovering about nearby and overhead someone else at the desk being told it was definitely out of action – but they could drive something else?
So I asked too and they offered either to rebook another day, or choose one from a number of cars that day, such as a Porsche 911, a Jaguar F-Type or a Nissan GT-R. I am sure they would’ve been good too. But to me a newish Aston Martin Vantage was the way to go, especially since it was right in front of me, jet black, looking fantastic. They also had McLarens, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Ariel Atoms, but I imagine these were at a different price tier. You could pay on the day if you fancied a drive or passenger ride in any of the cars.
Disappointed not to get my Cobra, but looking forward to a Vantage, as I’ve wanted one of those as well!
Had to wait some more, they even forgot me in the confusion, my name being crossed off the list in error. But there was a lot going on and I imagine a fair few people to transfer and probably a lot of on-the-day purchases to fit in. It also looked like they were juggling the instructors for the number of cars and customers, it didn’t look easy.
Drive
The driving experience was 5 stars. Josh was my instructor and I’m glad to have booked the extra laps with him driving first, he very calmly and methodically explained the track and the capability of the car.
One of the first things he said was, “this car is a beast“. Meant in the best way which I understood immediately: respect the car. This car is about the engine. Take it easy in the corners and floor it down the straights. Which he did. Wow did it go.
I was expecting a course laid out with cones much like a race school and that’s exactly what it was, on bumpy concrete WW2 runways in the wind at the top of the Blackdown Hills. The bumps were the seams between the concrete slabs. The suspension failure on the old ’60s Cobra was completely understandable. The modern Vantage raised its eyebrows and gave it no more thought. Not saying it was smooth, just that it was more than capable.
The track was cleverly designed to make sure you got a taste of speed but also slow you down with chicanes before the hairpins. No high or medium speed corners. Ideal for a car that suits caution in corners and then all the power you got.
“This car is a beast” – Josh, instructor
When it was my turn to drive I told Josh even though I’d watched motorsport for many years I was nervous as I’d not driven a powerful car before. He put me at ease and really built my confidence. Told me exactly where to brake and where to turn through the chicanes made of cones, and where to feed in the power, where to put the foot down harder.
After a couple of laps he encouraged me to open it up and I even started hooking up the lines, powering out of the chicanes. He was still guiding me to brake very early and I was already thinking I could go later! One thing I knew I was doing was being very cautious through the chicanes. He was saying to brake early and carry the speed, I was braking early and deep and at least a gear too low, until the last lap when I was just getting there.
The positive to this is that I could absolutely floor it when the car was out of the chicane, really enjoy the power of the engine. I even got my foot to the boards. I was so glad I did. Towards the end I wasn’t waiting to get the car lined up, I was feeding in the power through the exit, much more like it.
Oh, to have had more laps!
Despite the caution I went further than if I’d been on my own, I felt safe to pick it up with his guidance. Even then I never truly scratched the surface of what it could do, I wanted to stay in it to keep getting quicker! The car itself was great too, much easier than I expected, I never felt like it was above me and that was something I was worried about. It was why I didn’t take the Porsche GT3 RS.
I was actually really glad to have had a chance to drive this car, I even think I preferred it to the Cobra I would’ve had.
The Vantage felt incredibly easy to drive. It almost encouraged you to go a bit quicker. It never bit me, I assume that’s because I didn’t have time to push it harder. It’s probably incredibly impractical for the road. I had a great seating position but in that position I couldn’t see the rev counter, I’m not even sure I saw the speedo, I was so focused on the track though I wasn’t looking.
I bought the media package which included onboard video with speed indicator and this tells me I never got much above 80 and I was only 20-30 through the chicanes. It felt faster. It got to that 80 very quickly! The straights were short enough that’s all I got before I had to slow again, but I definitely saw a lot of time on the table in the turns. I wished I had hooked up the chicanes for a faster exit and carry the speed.
Josh scored me 36 out of 40 and I was really pleased with that!
Dad’s Drive
My Dad drove the Aston Martin DB5 which I’d booked just the day before, when I knew he was coming to spectate me. I asked if they had any cancellations and this is what they had! He was late arriving yet the Everyman team kindly facilitated him as long as he signed in ASAP so he could drive straight away, which he did. Having thought he’d lost his slot I was so pleased they fit him in.
However he then waited an hour for an instructor as a limited number could drive this car. On asking what’s going on he was offered the choice to switch or wait, he waited and was in the car very quickly after that. Again, hard to complain when we were late in the first place, and they acted immediately on being reminded, but we’d felt a little forgotten in that time.
When he got in, the DB5’s gearbox was a problem and he nor the instructor couldn’t get 4th gear, various buttons were falling off. Again, good instructor, not his fault, it seemed the condition of the car was not good.
Even so, he could tell it was a great car and he was glad to have driven it, a DB5 is so iconic even a slightly broken one is still worth a ago, and he still got it up over 70mph in 3rd.
I almost asked on the day for something extra in return as I didn’t feel he got the £160 of value (that I paid for), but he didn’t want to, he took it on the chin and said he should’ve swapped to something else when offered.
Feedback
My voucher was with Buyagift.com and this led to Everyman Racing. The link between the two wasn’t seamless online, so they called me back and Anil was very helpful. I didn’t know what the voucher got me. It turned out to be the basic drive of 3 miles. Fair enough. I felt a lot of upselling then went on, albeit in a gentle, friendly way, not the hard sell at all. I ended up spending over £100 on what I thought would be a free drive!
Some of this was worth it and I’d recommend to others. Other parts I felt were a bit much and I did come away feeling a bit weird about it.
I really encourage the 6 mile drive to everyone. The 3 mile drive (2 laps at this venue) is not enough to truly enjoy it. It took until my 3rd lap to get really comfortable and into a groove. I think you’d be really disappointed to only get 2 laps, perhaps it suits if you are booking multiple cars. And paying extra again to be driven in the car beforehand was worthwhile, it was only a lap but it meant I knew where to go and knew the capability of the car, something to aim for. Worth £30? Debatable but probably yes.
A bugbear here is I was sold the demo lap in advance for £20, but it turned out to be in a different car. On arrival they asked if I want to pay £10 for it to be the same car I’d be driving, “for only a tenner it’s a bargain”. I felt I’d already bought that and didn’t appreciate being charged again but I paid it.
On the phone call I was taken aback by a £40 damage waiver that was additional, if you don’t pay it and you prang the car you are on the hook for £5000. Why is the waiver not included as standard? And annoyingly the voucher was also said to be for a weekday, by the time I called the Friday was fully booked and I couldn’t have got there anyway – so the Saturday was *another* £20 just for being a Saturday. Hence a feeling of being stung a bit.
Also on arrival I paid for the media package. Onboard video with a forward-facing camera and one aimed at me, along with telemetry, and photos. This was fairly high but I’m never driving a Cobra again so I went with it. Would I have got it if I’d booked the Aston? Not sure. Maybe I’d have just got one or the other. At least I have photos for this piece!
Due to delays we both had to ask a couple of times each to find out what was going on. Given the prices paid, the voucher cost plus the extras, I think a much slicker and professional customer experience would be, for example, to have someone locate the Cobra customers and send them to the desk to arrange a swap, rather than leave them waiting and having to ask. A fairly simple thing to solve I’m sure. Was Dad forgotten or where they getting to him? Could they have updated us?
Summary
Positives:
– The instructors and the Vantage – the most important bits!
– Great car selection available. We didn’t buy extra drives or rides on the day but I like that you can.
– Moving me to another car after the Cobra broke.
– Fitting Dad into another slot after he arrived late.
– The pre-booking with Anil, very friendly and helpful.
– We thought the Under 17s section was a brilliant idea and if we knew anyone eligible we’d send them your way.
– Everyone on the ground was working hard at difficult times – changeable weather, broken car, no mobile signal, seemed like juggling instructors and cars. Despite our few issues it could’ve got well out of control but they seemed to get through everyone, all the customers seemed happy. All the talk was about the cars as it should be.
Negatives:
– On arrival it wasn’t clear you had to go to the truck.
– Those out of the blue extra charges which really pushed the budget.
– Communication on the day could be better with regard to changing plans. I am sure this is fixable.
When problems were pointed out they fixed them as quickly as they could – it just felt like we were left to tell them, rather than them tell us.
Would I book again: Yes! Now I have a better idea of what to expect on the day, the likelihood of delays, and how the pricing structure works, I would look forward to going again.
I Watch Too Much Racing 