I have returned from my track day in Alford, and I have to say that it was one of my best days ever.
👍
Despite freezing temperatures and ridiculous waiting times, I had enormous fun in the cars that I drove and got a pretty good feel for what they were like.
First, the bad news.
The really disappointing thing was that the Porsche, which came top in the poll, was not at the track. I do not have an answer as to why it wasn't there.
The Elise race car that I was going to drive first had a broken flywheel a few days before, so an Exige was drafted in as a replacement. Unfortunately, the heater in the Exige broke as well after it had been round for most of the morning.
Also with a small track, there wasn't enough space for any power-sliding action.
The bonus from the Exige breaking down was that I could get to drive the Ferrari, Aston and Audi R8 meaning that I didn't have to choose just two.
Below is a report of what I felt from driving the cars:
Aston Martin Vantage- Great looks and a naughty sound let down by a heavy clutch which took a bit of getting used to. However, once I got going it felt easy to drive and felt muscly when I was able to open the taps a bit.
Steering was nice, weighty and responsive but the brakes could do with a bit more initial bite. The cabin was beautifully laid out but some of the bits and pieces did feel a bit weird when compared to what I've seen in other cars (handbrake down on the right hand side of the driver' seat for example), other than that it felt small and nicely compact inside. A great GT car, but needs a bigger track to get the best out of it.
Audi R8- My favourite supercar certainly did not disappoint me. Sitting in the low slung cabin, I felt more at home in the R8 as the layout was very similar to Audis that I've seen before.
The R8 was also a manual like the Aston Martin, but the clutch definitely felt lighter to use despite a rather high biting point. Once I set off, I definitely had more confidence driving the Audi compared to the Aston, partly due to the Quattro system meaning that I could push a bit faster.
The Audi beats the Aston in almost every aspect; the steering felt more responsive, the throttle response was crisper and the brakes much sharper, with an overall more focused feeling. It felt as easy to drive as the Vantage, but the Audi was just that bit more exciting.
Ferrari F430- The F430 was the easiest to drive out of all 3 cars as it felt just like driving a normal automatic car. This was due to the fact the manettino was left in automatic mode, though it would've been awesome to put it in Race mode and use the paddles.
Although the cabin didn't feel as nice as the Audi or the Aston, it definitely has a great sense of occasion, and like the Aston, driving it is an event in itself and it does feel special.
The noise from the V8 was fantastic and I was able to push the F430 a bit harder than both the Vantage and R8. The steering was great, the brakes were sharp and the power delivery was sensational. However I still thought the Audi was just that little bit sharper and a bit more responsive in the feeling of driving than the Ferrari.
After driving each of these cars, they are all winners in my books, I do awfully apologise that the Porsche wasn't there though. Each have their pros and cons, but as an introduction to driving supercars, they were fantastic. I am now one step closer to achieving my ultimate goal of driving a racing car (single seater preferably) around Knockhill.
I know I made a stupid mistake with the poll closing date, so please do not vote any more as I have already completed my track day.
