MY DAY WITH PALMERSPORT

Myself and Julie had driven down to Bedford the day before and had stayed in a Premier Inn some 30 minutes away from Bedford Autodrome so that we could arrive at Palmersport in good time the following day. I had previously arranged with Palmersport, for Julie to accompany me as a non-participating guest.

We woke bright and early after a good nights sleep and although I felt slightly nervous I was very excited and was looking forward to the day. We arrived at Palmersport main reception and was directed to another building were the Palmersport staff were on hand to warmly welcome us.

At registration we were both allocated to Team Rosberg and shown to our table. There was a choice of either a cold breakfast which consisted of cereal, pastries and fruit or a full English breakfast both of which came with fresh orange juice and tea or coffee.

When everyone had finished their breakfast we where introduced to our Team Leader. Our Team Leader was Rowena and She was absolutely brilliant and certainly played a large part in making this day so enjoyable and memorable for everyone in Team Rosberg.

After the Event briefing which is a formal instruction accompanied by a short video telling you what you will be doing throughout the day and how best to do it, we followed Rowena to our respective coaches. There are four coaches each one represents the four teams, Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso and Raikonnen. Each team starts on a different circuit in a different car, our Coach Driver and Instructor Matt headed towards the North Circuit which is were we got to drive the Ariel Atoms..

The track was still quite wet when we arrived and I found the Ariel Atom great fun. It would understeer if you came into the corner to quickly but would quickly swap into over steer if you tried to accelerate to early out of the corner. I found this out at one point and ended doing a complete spin before coming to a stop at the edge of the track. Matt, my instructor was brilliant he quickly but you at ease, and as a result my confidence grew.

We boarded our coach and Matt headed over to the South Circuit were the BMW M3 GTP’s were waiting for us. I was really looking forward to driving the BMW. The 4 litre 420bhp V8 meant it was the fastest car we would drive today with a top speed of 185mph.

The car together with it’s various electronic aids meant it was very easy to drive very quickly even on a slightly damp track. Matt was my instructor again and just as with the Ariel Atom previously he soon had me pushing the car to the limit of my capabilities which made the experience even more enjoyable.

That concluded the morning session and we boarded our coach to be taken back to the main Palmersport building to be served our lunch. The food and the service was fantastic. There were plenty of staff waiting on the tables which ensured that everyone was served quickly and efficiently.

It was not long before we were back on the coach heading over to the East Circuit and the Caterham 7 Super light's. The Caterham was another car that I was really looking forward to driving and even though James my instructor described the track condition as being the worse it could be didn’t dampen my enthusiasm.

The track was neither wet nor dry, but very greasy, which made the Caterham extremely lively to say the least. The slightest amount of steering lock when you were accelerating would cause the car to swap ends instantly as I found out on a couple of occasions.

The car was great fun to drive and James was brilliant, his instructions were clear and precise and he really encouraged you to brake later and to attack the corners which enabled you to fully appreciate what the car can do but also to get the best out of the car.

Our afternoon session started with another safety briefing accompanied by a video because we were about to head off out to the West Circuit and the Formula Jaguar single seater. In addition to the specific safety briefing we now had to wear flame-proof Nomex overalls. This was the car I was most excited about driving but also the most nervous about driving. The only single seater I had driven prior to this was a Formula First at Oulton Park many years ago when I did the Racing School. I was now about to drive a 3 litre 250bhp V6 with big slick tyres, front and rear wings and a top speed of 170mph. The closest I will ever get to driving an F1 car…..bit of a difference!

The Formula Jaguar session starts by doing two laps behind a Pace Car so as you familiarise yourself with both the car and the track layout. During the two laps you gradually build up your speed before the Pace Car pulls into the pits and you are on your own.

The car was absolutely brilliant to drive, the acceleration was unbelievable it seemed like one moment you were accelerating out of a corner and quickly changing thru the gears and then in no time at all the next corner was rapidly approaching. The brakes are not servo assisted and you really need to press the brake pedal very hard but saying that the brakes were phenomenal. The most surprising thing about driving the car was the level of grip generated by the slick tyres and the front and rear wings. The car basically wanted to go straight and you really had to use all your strength in your arms and shoulders to get it to turn (no power steering) but towards the end of our 20 minute session I was taking the faster corners a lot faster than I had previously thought possible. After my 20 minute session I was physically drained, the muscles in my arms, shoulders and my right leg all ached but none of that mattered. Its hard to describe how exactly you feel, but all your senses feel razor sharp and all your nerves appear to be tingling. It’s a great feeling and I had a smile from one ear to the other to prove it.

The next activity took place on the Off Road Circuit, were Mike my instructor was waiting to take me out in the Land Rover Defender. Driving the Defender was totally different to what I had been doing previously, this involved delicate throttle control and precision steering as the object of the exercise was to hit tennis balls hanging from various objects with the target on the windscreen. In addition to this there were several obstacles that I had to tackle which included a giant see-saw, tracks with impossible-looking boulders and cross rivers. Mike was a great instructor and we completed the exercise without any problems.

The next activity took place next to the Off Road Circuit on the Northern Activity Area. The Northern Activity Area contains two identical mirror image courses with straights, hairpins and a mini roundabout. The idea being you race against one of your team mates and the clock in Caterham’s. The object of the pursuit is to balance grip against power with maximum concentration to create the perfect power-slides and finish each of the three runs with a smoking doughnut around the mini roundabout. Oscar was my instructor and although I never quite managed the perfect smoking doughnut I was very pleased with my power-slides.

Matt was waiting to take us back over to the West Circuit by coach so that we could drive the Palmer Jaguar JP-LM but on the way we would be stopping off at the Kart Track and driving one of the Pro-Karts.

Matt was again my instructor for the last session of the day the Palmer Jaguar JP-LM. The JP-LM is powered by the same 3 litre V6 engine as in the Palmer Jaguar but with 265 BHP. Matt asked me how I had done earlier in the Palmer Jaguar and then informed me that my goal was to go 9 seconds a lap faster in this. He reckoned that if I did exactly what he said it would be achievable. Having driven the Palmer Jaguar on this circuit earlier I was a lot more confident and Matt had been my instructor on a number of occasions during the day so I thought I would give it ago.

I listened to Matt’s instructions and I put my total trust in him there was many times I thought I was going far to fast to make the next corner but I kept the accelerator hard to the floor until Matt shouted brake and then I braked as hard as I could, the tyres squealed but the car went round each corner as thou it was on rails. The grip was unbelievable I had thought the grip of the Palmer Jaguar was unbelievable but this was as good if not better. Matt was really encouraging me to push the car as hard as I could and as a result I was probably getting more heat into the slick tyres than I had done previously which was obviously helping. When the session was over and I stepped from the car, the sweat dripping of me and my arms, shoulders and right leg aching worse than before. I followed Matt into the hospitality building and Matt informed me that I had indeed gone 9.5 seconds a lap faster than my previous best lap in the Palmer Jaguar.

It was time to head back to the main reception area were afternoon tea was being served followed by the presentations. Team Rosberg won the best team award and several of my team mates won individual top prizes in different categories.

I would just like to finish by saying that this was an absolutely brilliant day in every way. I have to agree with the brochure in my opinion it is certainly is “The World’s Greatest Driving Event” and if you are reading this and thinking about doing a Track Day, my advice save up and do this one you won’t regret it.

I would like to thank Jonathon Palmer very much for giving me the opportunity to take part in this event. I would like to thank my instructors Matt; James; Oscar and Mike who were absolutely brilliant and certainly helped to make the day a day to remember. Lastly I would like to thank Rowena and the rest of the Palmer Sport staff who looked after all of us so well. Thank you!