Advanced/Track driving tuition

[lawtoma]

Hi all,

I've had my 968 Coupe for a few months now, and am starting to think about getting some advanced driving tuition to make sure I'm driving it as well as I could be. I've looked into IAM (and have read the book), but was wondering whether anyone has any opinion as to whether it's worthwhile taking the course, either for driver improvement or cheaper insurance.

Also, while I've never done a track day (and don't intend to make this a regular feature as the 968 is my daily driver) I'm thinking about some track tuition (in the 968) as well as on-road tuition, so that I can learn the car's limits better. I've seen websites like www.drivertuition.com and www.driverskills.com but wouldn't want to book anything like that without any real recommendation.

I'd really be after 1 on 1 (or 1 on 2 with a friend) tuition for either a half day or a full day.

Can anybody recommend any advanced (track and/or road) tuition near Cambridge?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[dpoynton]

You might wish to look into this first:

http://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/centre/

David

 

[DCGT3]

Hi Tom,

I fully endorse the Experience Centre at Silverstone which will give you a good feel for the limits of your car in a safe environment. IAM is about roadcraft, not Porsche craft and whilst it is worthwhile for any driver I suspect you will not learn too much more about your car. I have never mentioned IAM membership when insuring my car thinking for a Porsche it wouldn't help - perhaps someone is in a position to correct me on that one. You might lke to consider the 'toe in the water' track day at Castle Combe on September 2nd as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations - there is usally one to one tuition available on the day. Whatever you do I hope you enjoy it - how can you not!

David

 

[dominique]

I did my IAM some years ago and never found it to make any difference on my insurance in any of the cars I've driven, but in my opinion you can never do enough driver training of any kind, you'll learn something from any that you do, its also pretty cheap to do.

I can highly recommend CAT Driver Training, they offer many different options, one great one that is a road/track tuition, in your own car at Millbrook, so not too far from you. Its all 1:1 based. You can find them here.... www.catdrivertraining.co.uk

I've only done a brief taster at the Silverstone Experience Centre and it was very good too, am tempted to go back for the day.

 

[Mike Pink]

ORIGINAL: dominique

I did my IAM some years ago and never found it to make any difference on my insurance in any of the cars I've driven, but in my opinion you can never do enough driver training of any kind, you'll learn something from any that you do, its also pretty cheap to do.

I can highly recommend CAT Driver Training, they offer many different options, one great one that is a road/track tuition, in your own car at Millbrook, so not too far from you. Its all 1:1 based. You can find them here.... www.catdrivertraining.co.uk

I've only done a brief taster at the Silverstone Experience Centre and it was very good too, am tempted to go back for the day.

I'd recommend CAT too. Colin knows his stuff and has many satisfied clients.

 

[Melv]

Bernard Aubry

 

[spyderman]

ORIGINAL: dominique
I can highly recommend CAT Driver Training, they offer many different options, one great one that is a road/track tuition, in your own car at Millbrook, so not too far from you. Its all 1:1 based. You can find them here.... www.catdrivertraining.co.uk

I second this. I've had a half-day with Colin Hoad via Region 10 and he's an excellent instructor. I've now signed up to do their Performance Driving Course at the end of this month. Note that CAT doesn't have to be 1:1 - they cater for groups too which obviously lowers the cost. If you can get interest from a few others in your region, you might be able to arrange group sessions instead.

I've only done a brief taster at the Silverstone Experience Centre and it was very good too, am tempted to go back for the day.

I've looked at the Porsche courses too but they are massively expensive and to be honest I think you can do a lot better for less.

Another option worth considering is tuition on a track day. I understand its possible to get a full day's tuition, in your own car, for just £200.

 

[lawtoma]

Thanks all!

I'd heard about the Porsche days, but had always thought they were geared more towards the new models. They look good though, on the face of it, but as spyderman says, they look like a lot of money for not a huge amount. Has anyone done the YouDrive day or any of the Driver Training days and can comment on value for money? (I can't help but think that a big part of what you're paying for is the Porsche and Silverstone names - and its actual tuition I'm after rather than just an experience.)

The CAT courses look very interesting. Again, not cheap, but they look better value for money. (At least CAT do a better job at selling them that way!).

I'll give both places a ring and will post back my findings for anyone else who might be interested.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[spyderman]

I've done YouDrive twice but it should only be considered as a very basic introduction to car behaviour and control - not driver tuition. In fact its more of a bit of fun than anything else!