Any form of driving experience where you are taught new skills or have the opportunity to drive a car you would never otherwise drive, sometimes in a manner you are not allowed to on the public road, can be an extremely enjoyable and memorable experience.

Currently the most popular form of driving experience is the Supercar Experience where drivers have the opportunity to drive cars like a Ferrari or Lamborghini or Porsche on a racing circuit or airfield. Amongst the other experiences on the market are 4x4 off road and drifting to single seater or saloon racing cars.

This article will focus on how a rally driving experience compares to a Supercar Experience.

Cost

Supercar experiences start from around £29.00 to over £800.00. Our introductory rally driving package starts from £179.00 up to £395.00. That’s a big price range so let’s have a deeper look .

What do you get?

Supercar Experience – The Cars

Supercars are expensive cars, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche manufacture low volume, high performance and therefore very expensive cars. Supercar Experience operators therefore have to run, maintain and protect some very valuable assets. They are not generally modified from production specification and retain the driver comforts and aids fitted as standard.

Rally Driving Experience – The Cars

Our rally cars have been converted to rally specification from road cars. The interior is completely stripped out; most driver comforts and aids are removed and they are fitted with: a full safety roll cage; competition seats; competition safety harnesses; competition suspension; some have no power steering; competition brake pads; professional two way intercom; and a range of detailed rally specific modifications.

They’re built to be driven sideways on a gravel rally stage and they’re raw. The models all have a very successful rally competition pedigree but with a much lower price tag, including the cost of
conversion.

Supercar Experience The Driving

Driving Time

Generally stated as the number of laps of a circuit, this will vary at each circuit, five to six miles / ten minutes is an approximate average for an entry level experience completed in one driving session.

Grip Level
Excellent in dry conditions, lower in wet conditions

Demonstration laps

One is included in some experiences, an optional extra in others

Driver Restrictions

Min & Max Height 5ft – 6ft 6in
Max Weight 18 stone
Min Age 17 – 21
Max Age 70

Driving Licence

Full driving licence required, some require manual gearbox only

Driving Restrictions

Supercar driving experience operators have to run, maintain and protect very valuable assets. Your instructor’s primary function is to protect the car you’re driving and keep you both safe. He’s doing this whilst guiding you to enjoy your experience. Drivers shouldn’t expect to be able to drive a supercar ‘flat out’, negotiate every corner at very high speed, or rev the car to the red line in every gear. Only very experienced drivers .i.e. instructors can do this safely.

Damage Waiver

Included in some experiences, an option in others from £15.00 - £25.00

Cancellation Indemnity

Price range £10.00 - £20.00

Spectators

Free with some operators, refreshments available for purchase

Number of other drivers on the day

Can be 100 plus

Other cars on the circuit

Difficult to put a number on it but with 100 plus drivers on a day the circuit will be busy and you’re likely to have to follow slower cars at times and sometimes not be allowed to pass. More of an issue on smaller circuits or airfields.

Rally Driving Experience The Driving

Driving Time

On our entry level experience drivers have three driving sessions of five laps each. There are twenty corners per lap with two handbrake turns at an average of ten minutes per session, thirty minutes driving in total.

Grip Level

Almost none in dry conditions, almost none in wet conditions

Demonstration laps

Two demonstration laps, the first as a sighting lap the second to demonstrate rally driving techniques.

Driver Restrictions

Min & Max Height 4ft 10in – 6ft 6in
Max Weight 20 stone
Min Age 11yrs – providing the driver can confidentially operate a manual gearbox car
and meets the minimum height requirement.
Max Age 90yrs – providing the driver is in good health

Driving Licence

Our rally driving experiences are delivered on private land, we don’t require a full driving licence. We take the view that customers who choose to pay for a rally driving experience do so with an awareness that they will need to be able to competently drive a manual gearbox car.

Driving Restrictions

We don’t have speed or rev limits. Our Instructors encourage drivers to drive as quickly as they are comfortable, building their speed as their skill level grows.

Damage Waiver

Price - £20.00

Cancellation Indemnity

Price - £15.00

Spectators

Price - £5.00 for Clubman’s Half Day experience guests to cover insurance and refreshments
Price - £10.00 for National One Day experience guests to cover insurance, lunch and refreshments

Number of other drivers on the day

Up to eight.

Other cars on the Rally Special Stage

Maximum two, generally one.

Supercar Experience Highlights

It’s a dream come true you’re driving a Ferrari!, and that beautiful engine sound and you’re on a racing circuit! You feel like Lewis Hamilton, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, all at once!
The circuits wide and you feel the cars power and grip and the stopping power of its brakes.
And you get out with a big smile!

Rally Driving Experience Highlights

There’s wheel spin, the stones are rattling underneath, your Instructor is telling you to use more power, go faster, the car’s sliding, you feel out of control, he says “turn now”, but you think you’ll hit the corner marker. Then you settle into it, do what your instructor tells you, he reassures and encourages you and you feel more in control, but he still says more power and there are so many corners, you’re sliding everywhere but there are no real straights, you feel like you’re driving at 100mph but there’s no grip and you can’t rest for a second.

Brilliant, your first perfect handbrake turn and a “lovely power side” he says, you never thought you’d be able to do it!

And you get out with a big smile! And then you get back in for your second driving session and you get out with a big smile! And you get back in again for your third driving session and get out with an even bigger smile!

This is driving in its rawest form, exactly as the god of driving dreams intended and it’s the most involving form of driving experience. If you want the car to do something you have to tell it, with positive inputs to throttle, steering and brakes. You can’t just guide a rally car around a rally special stage, you really have to drive it and it’s really, really rewarding when you get it right!

Take a look at what our customers say.

Summary

If you’re a motoring enthusiast you should give yourself the opportunity to have as many different driving experiences as you can. You’ll enjoy them all in different ways and it may be that not all are for you, but don’t let that stop you doing all the others.
For the most involving and challenging drive you should do a Rally Driving experience, this will prepare you well for any other type of driving experience you do. If you want to feel like a million dollar celebrity or F1 hero you should try a Supercar experience.

Whichever you choose, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!