Smooth Driving Class
Learning to drive as smoothly as possible is an art that a good chauffeur will always want to practice. Driving a great car like a Bentley Continental Flying Spur does help keep things as slick as Kojak's hair cut, but how can one improve this skill?
Drive like a race car driver
Driving like a F1 driver, may not at first sound like a great idea for any chauffeur, but in actual fact, good racing drivers have one thing in common, they are smooth. To be fast round a race circuit you need to be incredibly smooth. So how do you develop these skills? Certainly not on a public road. You really have to to take a trip to your nearest race track. Many circuits have track days, where you can turn up in a suitable car, with a crash helmet and drive round the track till you're giddy with excitement. There is one problem, unless you have a decent car, like a Porsche, Lotus or a sporty BMW, you will probably do some serious damage to it's engine, transmission and also take a few thousand miles out of the life of your tyres. Also, if you end up in the tyre wall or have a collision, then you will have obviously have to pay for the car to be fixed. If you have had no training or experience on a race circuit, there are certain rules of etiquette that you should observe for your own safety, and for the safety of other people on the track as well as the marshalls. I would strongly recommend finding a good race school to provide a racing car and an experienced racing instructor.
Caterham Motorsports Club Track Days
I chose one of the most respected racing schools - Caterham Cars and one of the best race tracks in the world - Brands Hatch. Caterham manufacture the Caterham Seven sports/racing car. Building on Colin Chapman's original late fifties Lotus design. In 1973 Caterham purchased the rights to manufacture the car from Lotus and has been building and selling the car around the world ever since. This lightweight design still gives the Seven remarkable handling and performance, and is still one of the fastest ways to get round Brands Hatch's Indy circuit.
Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit
Fortunately I booked my track day when Brands Hatch's Grand Prix circuit was open, normally the Indy circuit is used, but today we had full access to the legendary Brands track. To begin the day, we signed in and were given car and circuit information, and some basic rules of track day etiquette. We were then assigned instructors and I was fortunate again to get Lee Cunningham who I shared with two other students.
Lee took us on a introductory few laps of the track, all the while Lee gave instruction on braking points and also on the correct lines and corner apexes. Then it was our turn to take brave Lee round Brands.
A slow start
Getting into the Caterham is certainly not as easy as a nice Bentley or Mercedes, but it is a lot more snug. Strapped in a full race harness, with Lee commentating through the crash helmet intercom system we exited the pit lane. Hugging tight to the near side of Paddock Hill bend as faster cars blasted by is a little nerve racking, but Lee kept reassuring me to relax, drop my arms and forget about the traffic and mirrors, it's his job to look out for them. The day only got better and better. With a car between just 3 students, we all had plenty of time driving the car. I have had quite a bit of experience on track as I used to own a 100cc Kart, which I felt pretty confident driving. My confidence soon disappeared though, as Lee pointed out some key flaws in my driving. It's all about being smooth after-all, I would tend to use the throttle control like an on/off switch, particularly as I backed off when approaching a bend. Lee went to great pains to explain how important this is. Using a 3/4 full bottle of water he demonstrated the effect that braking and acceleration had on the bottle's content, as he tipped the bottle backwards and forwards. The lesson sunk in and even on the road I am now more conscious about what my right foot is doing.
The Chequered Flag
By the end of the day I was a lot more relaxed in the car. I realised that from my karting days that I used to drive on adrenaline, now I was a lot more controlled. My last few laps felt pretty good to me, and I felt much more like a proper racing driver. That soon changed when Lee took to the wheel again, and he showed us how it should be done. Even before we had exited the pit lane it felt like a different car. As we blasted down Paddock Hill bend the difference between Lee and my driving style couldn't be more apparent. I would approach a bend, brake then turn into the apex point and then squeeze on the gas, with Lee this is one movement, with absolute commitment to the bend. Lee doesn't leave any room for errors, he is on the limit, which is a whole different limit from mine. In a blur we brake and where I steered into the corner, Lee launched the car at it in one smooth but fast movement, and before you have time to breath the car is powering out of it onto the straight. These last couple of laps were a real eye opener for me. I soon realised that as far as being a racing driver is concerned I would always be near the back of the grid, but nevertheless it has made me think more about my driving, and I can't wait to have another chance to take to the track in a Caterham.
The Caterham Seven is quite possibly the worst chauffeur driven car ever. It is uncomfortable, lacks the normal luxury fittings that a chauffeur car should have, but on the track the svelte like nature of the car really comes into it's own. It is a fantastic race car, and in the right hands very quick. If you want to drive smoothly, then an instructor led track day is a good way of honing these skills. If you are looking for such a school then be-sure to check out Caterham's Track Day programme and see if you can get Lee as your instructor, you'll be in good hands.
Resources
- Caterham
- Formula SL - Lee Cunningham's site featuring motor racing memorabilia and photos
- Bentley Driver Training
- Brands Hatch Chauffeur
Labels: brands hatch, driving
