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Driving courses and handling

Stefan Wilczak

Stefan Wilczak

PCGB Member
Member
OK, I have had the car about 9 months, it has had a bit of fettling and it is running/handling beautifully. The weakest link by a long way is me. I would like a bit of advice and start a thread, on fast driving courses and your experiences. I have no idea what the limit of handing is and how it will behave beyond the limit - something I cannot find out on the public roads. Please share your experiences/advice.

I have been to the Porsche Experience Centre in Silverstone and had a drive of a 991 at their facility - had a great time but no thanks, what they have there is not good enough to find out what I need by taking my own car.
CAT driver training have been highly recommended but although I would pay the money if it is really that good, it is the same price for a day as the week's skiing holiday I have just had. If someone can tell me it is the best thing ever I will forego my second ski holiday this year!
I would rather not wear out tyres in a day so somewhere with a wet handling course would be good - please don't suggest the local supermarket car park on a wet night with the local youth!
I live in Gloucestershire and happy to travel but within 100 miles would be good! Don't let that stop you though, if you know a great place in Scotland - it would be of benefit to people nearby if not for me.

By the way the most amazing difference to the way my car drives and feels was by getting the suspension checked and set up properly, despite the fact it was only slightly out. I am just adding to the weight of recommendations for Chris at Centre Gravity - best performance improvement I have ever spent money on.

Anyway, sorry about the ramble, your advice/experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 
Stefan
You certainly seem to be doing the right things to get the best out of your car- Chris at CG is a great start [:)]

CAT driver training do some club packages where the price is a lot better- I agree that as a 1-2-1 as a single is rather pricey but still worth it in many ways.
I did the Silverstone in my own car with the register on a You drive plus, which was a great experience and a fair price- give it a search for the previous event ( or look in the 997 diary section for links to it)
 
Can recommend CAT - have done three courses with Colin. As suggested its a lot cheaper if you do a shared course. Sadly you can't explore grip limit much on a track day - they'll throw you out if you keep spinning - but some circuits are a lot safer than others once you get to that stage.
 
Perhaps a club group day at CAT then? I was looking at CAT for a 1-2-1 session but if there was a group of us from the club that might be more attractive. Anyone else up for this?
 
911uk.com often have courses arrange for them and R10 were my introduction to CAT soon after I bought my Boxster in 2008. Contact Jo and I'm sure she would be happy to arrange something - doesn't have to be region- or register-basted.
 
Mark - I am certainly interested. I have had a look at the club deals and it sounds good to me as a starting point:

http://catdrivertraining.co.uk/driver-training-courses/groups-a-corporate/car-clubs-forums.html

A bit of sitting around but sounds fun and will give an indication if it is worth taking a one to one. Are you all happy for me to give them a call and see what the deal is?
 
CAT will do a PCGB training day for us at Millbrook.

It will take place in your own car with demos in theirs and includes individual tuition and drives around the 6 tracks including, high speed banked circuit, the mile sprint, the excellent Alpine circuit, the handling track etc.

It can take place either on a weekday or weekend. The day starts at 09.00 and finishes at 17.00 and includes all refreshments. Cost is £390 per person incl. VAT

If there are 6 people interested in doing this, it can be booked as a Register/Club activity.

So just post here if you're up for it and when there are 6 takers, I can sort out some dates. [:)]

Regards,

Clive.
 
clive and all,
yes definitely up for this - just booked my first PCGB track day of 2014 at Castle Coombe last week and have been mulling over CAT day for some time but unsure due to expense.
Please put me down for this[:)]
tony
 
Clive, although a lapsed 997er I would like to attend and note Mark E's earlier interest - he was my driving partner around Leipzig track last year.
 
I don't think it needs to be exclusively 997 Register. Here's a little more info on how the day will pan out:-

PCGB GROUP DRIVER TRAINING EVENT - Performance Driver "˜Track' Day

An action-packed day run by CAT Driver Training Ltd at Millbrook Proving Ground.

The day is a fast moving experience for 6 owners and their cars to introduce the secrets of performance driving. It is designed to be informative, exciting and fun. The group size is purposefully kept small so that the maximum can be obtained from the day in a highly personalised environment.

There is access to the 5 unique circuits at the renowned Millbrook Proving Ground, a venue that is not normally accessible for 'track days' and the general public.

Activities designed for the different circuits are:
ï‚· Learn threshold braking from 100+mph on the Mile Straight
ï‚· High speed driving, potentially to the maximum of your car, on the banked circuit of the High Speed Circuit
ï‚· Drive the demanding Alpine Route circuit with its hills, and variety of corners from hairpins to long and sweeping
ï‚· Take on the tight, twisty and challenging Handling Circuit
ï‚· Put a car through its paces on the open spaces of the Steering Pad/Mile Straight Apron

An instructor will accompany you on all the circuits, and the objective is to teach you how to get the best from your car and develop your performance driving skills in a controlled environment and at a pace you are comfortable with.
Short presentations in vehicle dynamics will help you to understand the relationship between driver input and vehicle balance and control. From this comes the appreciation of how to safely drive your vehicle at grip limit within the controlled confines of a track environment.
At the end of the day, your new found skills can be put to the test in a timed shoot out around a gymkhana-style course laid out on the Steering Pad/Mile Straight Apron. This will be conducted in one of CAT Driver Training's track prepared cars (normally a Caterham 7, but can be a Monaro or Subaru Impreza).
Included in the day are:
ï‚· Professional in car tuition
ï‚· Access to 5 unique circuits at Millbrook Proving Ground
ï‚· Lunch and refreshments during the day
ï‚· Timed end of day shoot out in one of CAT's track prepared cars
ï‚· Full emergency services on hand all day
ï‚· 1 hour 40 minutes driving time with your personal instructor

Performance Driver 'Track' Day Schedule
08:30-09:15 Coffee, Introduction, Licence Check, Scrutineering, Safety Briefing & Objectives of the Day
09:15-09:20 Drive to Circuits
09:20-10:15 Mile Straight
10:15-11:30 High Speed Circuit
11:30-13:00 Handling Circuit
13:00-13:45 Lunch
13:45-15:00 Alpine Route
15:00-15:30 Understeer/Oversteer
15:30-16:15 Gymkhana timed Shoot Out on the Steering Pad/Mile Straight Apron
16:20 Presentation & Debrief
Any Questions
End

Regards,

Clive.
 
Thanks for the responses so far, we seem to have explored CAT pretty thoroughly, good experiences and they seem to be recommended. Just to broaden the net, I have Googled driver training at Millbrook, which seems to be a good place; has anyone tried:

http://www.total-car-control.co.uk/high-performance-driving-course-track.html

They seem to use Millbrook and I suspect the Prodrive proving ground in Warwickshire. I will give them a call tomorrow and see what the deal is.

Also, has anyone had any experience of:

http://driverdp.com/home.html

They seem to use the Prodrive proving ground and their prices are on their website.
 
I've done both circuits and can say that whilst Warwick is great fun, Millbrook is leaps ahead in what you can learn with the facilities available.

I'd certainly be interested in joining a group of 997 register members for the day event.
I'm sure we did Warwick as a register event a long time back...
 
I thoroughly enjoyed Millbrook back in 2008 and would certainly be interested in revisiting the proving ground. I seem to remember that I had Richard Attwood last time which was excellent!

Andy
 
Guys,

I am enquiring about available dates and will post again when I have them to hand. So far we have the following interested participants:-

Waxman
Mark Elder
Ralphmusic
GaryW
Andy Rodgett
Stephan Wilczak (maybe)
Alan Stamper

It may be worth noting CAT are permanently based within Millbrook (in the middle of Alpine Loop 3) with own offices and briefing rooms as well as garages for their cars (currently 11 in the fleet) and toilets. They are the only driver training company physically based there and work very closely with Millbrook, receiving all their referral business due to their professionalism and response. Lunch and all refreshments are provided in their briefing rooms for the comfort of everyone. They've been running car club days since 2006 and are the only Millbrook approved company providing these group training days. Another company attempted to operate similar days a few years ago but with apparent disastrous results - Millbrook had to step in due to the level of complaints and they were subsequently barred from using the facilities again.

I have been assured our members will be in safe and trusted hands.

Regards,

Clive
 
Hi Guys,

Here are the available dates:-

Tuesday 22nd April (day after Easter Monday)
Tuesday 27th May (day after Bank Holiday)
Wednesday 28th May
Friday 6th June
Sunday 20th July
Saturday 26th July

Please choose a couple of dates to suit and I can get them held for you pending finalisation.

The terms are deposit of £200 on booking with balance payable 1 month prior to the chosen date. Payment can be made by bank transfer, cheque or debit card. (Credit Cards are surcharged) Note: this is for a maximum of six people. Refund can be made if you are unable to attend but can resell your place.

I will make initial arrangement for you, but you will need to pay CAT direct. I will pass on contact details in due course.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Regards,

Clive.
 
Guys,

We need at least 3 participants to make this a goer and it's dearer with less than 6. [;)]

Regards,

Clive.
 
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