My day started early, as I made my way to Thruxton circuit in Hampshire, ready for the 11am briefing. Upon arrival, I signed on, caught a glimpse of resident racing driver and Fifth-Gear presenter Tiff Needell, and made my way to the briefing room, but not before grabbing a bacon sandwich!
After a short but thorough briefing, a small group of us were taken around the track for a few laps in a Mazda 3 MPS, where we were shown the lines, braking points etc. We were then returned to the pit area, where we were each assigned an instructor and a Porsche Cayman, for our initial ‘instruction’ laps. I started off steadily as I got my bearings in the small German sports car, finding my way around the track amongst the various Exotica. By the end of the stint I felt I was up to speed, even if I had been overtaken by a rather sideways Tiff, who was on hand giving ‘thrill rides’ to passengers in a BMW M3.
After a positive de-brief with my instructor, it was time to take to the wheel in the Ferrari.
Anybody that’s seen Top Gear recently will know what I'm on about when I say that this car simply has a certain something that gives you a certain ‘fizzy’ feeling! It may not be the fastest, most powerful, cheapest or most economical supercar on sale, but it just has that certain something. For arguments sake, let’s call it soul. And by god, it’s a beautiful machine!
I was shown into the car by another instructor, who talked me through the space shuttle controls, before jumping in alongside me. Putting the key in the ignition, you select neutral by pulling back on the carbon fibre wheel-mounted paddles, before pressing the red starter button, which fires up the incredible sounding V8 engine. My instructor then said something that I think may have been the cause of the huge grin;
‘Right, as the car is semi-automatic, you can use your left foot to brake if you like’
Left foot? As in, like a Formula One car? In fairness, the car only has two pedals, yet its’ a slightly alien feeling using your clutch foot to slow the car. Once you calibrate your foot to the pressure needed however, it does feel natural.
What followed were four laps that I will never forget. Don't ask me how fast I went, I couldn't tell you. I know I got up to seventh gear, and I know that the howl from the engine is spine-tingling. There was a lot of speed and noise, some overtaking on my part, and then it was over, far too quickly. By far the most impressive thing is the paddle shift gearbox. Its eye-blink quick, with just a flick of your finger, a change in engine-note and another thump in the back as the car just devours the track. Small lights illuminate on the steering wheel as you reach the higher rev range, and then it all starts again as you shift up. Braking was equally impressive, as was the steering, and anything else you care to mention. It was just over far too quickly! On returning to the pits, my instructor ran through the laps with me, and awarded me with a score of 81%. We’d been told earlier during the initial briefing that anything over 75% was a good result, so it goes to say that I was well pleased, And to top it all off, I stayed ahead of Tiff!!
Afterwards, I thought I’d pay a bit extra to take one of the circuits' Formula Renault single- seaters around the track, which was again amazing but in a completely different way from the Ferrari. Before heading off, I also went over the road to the kart track for a short arrive-and-drive session. Finally, after a good few adrenaline-fuelled hours, I headed back to Bristol.
I would definitely recommend Thruxton motorsport centre if you are looking for a driving experience day beyond our own Castle Combe. They offer fantastic value for money, and a selection of cars people only dream about driving. You won’t be disappointed, I know I wasn’t!
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