rec.autos.simulators

I was just wondering if any of you have done any of the "activities" listed
on this page. I know I would love to do the one where you get to drive the
Ferrari, Porsche,Viper and Esprit.

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

If you're after driving experiences, supercars'n'all,  have a look at
Thruxton's courses (www.iantaylor.co.uk) and www.tangerineuk.com
Order the brochure from Tangerine, it's got a lot more stuff in it.

David C

The supercars experience at Brands costs 475+VAT  per person. Didn't know if
you wanted to take that into account.

How much is that in US dollars?

$895 'ish

I went on an earlier version of the Nigel Mansell course in 1989 - it used
formula 1st cars and racing spec XR3i's. As my first time on a track, it was
a great experience. When you go out in an XR3i (now BMW 318is), you'll have
an instructor with you, who assesses whether you are safe to drive in
formula first and shows you racing lines, turn and braking points. The
formula first cars have full power available, but you are supposed to keep
the revs below 4,000 rpm. Not a problem at Brands as the course is quite
twisty and you don't need (or want) to use all the power!

The most unnerving thng was having a female instructor on the second half of
the day, who didn't like the way my left foot hovered over the clutch and
brake. She kept kicking my ankle to stop me!

Is is tame? definitely not. The day I was there, it spotted with rain. Not
much really, but enough to make you appreciate the fact that when it does
rain, you can't see the road well and it gets VERY slippy. They pull you all
off the track if anyone crashes. There were 3 crashes. one person just slid
off into the gravel trap on the downhill section leading into druids (easy
to do - just try TOCA) and two cars collided right in front of me and spun
across the track.

It must be my PC *** background, but faced with two options, braking hard
on a greasy track or hitting the accelerator I took no time to floor the
pedal! Adrenalin took over then, and it was only as my brain went "corner,
Corner, CORNER!!!" that I realised that I had gone down the back straight
under full throttle and only just made the right hander at the top of the
straight.

It took them a while to clear up the mess (broken nose cones mainly).

The fact that I can remember it clearly after more than 10- years should
tell you something..... DO IT!

Steve