AAOC Excusive Coaching at Millbrook. October 6th Introductory price £310

[Bruce Fielding]

On the basis of there being more club events, I would like to suggest a training day.

I have arranged for just seven places to be available for AAOC members only for a very special exclusive day's coaching at the world famous Millbrook Proving Ground near Bedford. If you've never been to Millbrook, you're in for a real treat.

This would be a full day's coaching for drivers and their cars at the weekend and would normally cost £345 each. However, because this is a trial run, I have been able to reduce the price by 10% to £310

Here's more about it:

CAT Driver Training is run by Colin and Jo Hoad.  Colin used to work for a leading motor manufacturer in the UK as a Vehicle Evaluator and Driver Trainer and has gained extensive experience and qualifications in driver instruction.  This includes being certificated to instruct at Millbrook and also the infamous Nurburgring in Germany.  His life has been spent working with his passion: motor cars - from racing minis to the race preparation of performance cars.  He has much experience of vehicles on both road and track and brings a very different approach to driver enjoyment.

The day is a fast moving experience for owners and their cars to introduce the secrets of performance driving.  It is designed to be informative, exciting and fun.  The group size is purposefully kept small so that the maximum can be obtained from the day in a highly personalised environment.

There is access to the five unique circuits at the renowned Millbrook Proving Ground, a venue that is not normally accessible for â??track daysâ?? and the general public.

Activities designed for the different circuits are:

â?¢  Learn â??thresholdâ?? and left-foot braking from 100+mph on the â??Mile Straightâ??
â?¢  High speed driving, potentially to the maximum of your car, on the banked circuit of the â??High Speed Bowlâ??
â?¢  Drive the demanding â??Alpine Routeâ?? circuit with its hills, and variety of corners from hairpins to long and sweeping
â?¢  Take on the tight, twisty and challenging â??Handling Circuitâ??
â?¢  Put a car through its paces on the wide open spaces of the â??Steering Padâ??

An instructor will accompany you on all the circuits, and the objective is to teach you how to get the best from your car and develop your performance driving skills in a controlled environment and at a pace you are comfortable with.

Short presentations in vehicle dynamics will help you to understand the relationship between driver input and vehicle balance and control.  From this comes the appreciation of how to safely drive your vehicle at â??grip limitâ?? within the controlled confines of a track environment.

At the end of the day, your new-found skills can be put to the test in a timed â??shoot outâ?? around a gymkhana-style course laid out on the â??Steering Padâ??.  This will be conducted in one of CAT Driver Trainingâ??s track prepared cars (normally a Subaru Impreza or a Caterham7).

Included in the day are:

â?¢  Professional in car tuition
â?¢  Access to 5 unique circuits at Millbrook Proving Ground
â?¢  Mechanical support from a professional race engineer
â?¢  Lunch and refreshments during the day
â?¢  Timed end of day â??shoot outâ?? in one of CATâ??s track prepared cars
â?¢  Full emergency services on hand all day
â?¢  1½ hours one-to-one driving time with your personal instructor

Normal Price £345 per person (AAOC Member's Introductory price £310)

Performance Driver â??Trackâ?? Day Schedule

Training Course Title:  Performance Driver â??Trackâ?? Day
Duration:  1 day
Date:  TBA
Venue:  Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire
Training Vehicles:  Trainees own cars
Circuits Used:
    Mile Straight
    High Speed Bowl
    Alpine Route
    Handling/Dynamics Circuit
    Steering Pad/Mile Straight Apron

Schedule
09:00 â?? 09:45  Coffee, Introduction, Licence Check, Scrutineering, Safety Briefing & Valley Park Objectives of the Day
09:45 â?? 09:50  Drive to Circuits
09:50 â?? 11:00  Group 1 â?? High Speed Bowl  Group 2 â?? Mile Straight
11:00 â?? 12:10  Group 1 â?? Mile Straight  Group 2 â?? High Speed Bowl
12:15 â?? 13:45  Group 1 â?? Handling Circuit  Group 2 â?? Alpine Route
13:45 â?? 14:15  Lunch
Valley Park
14:15 â?? 15:50  Group 1 â?? Alpine Route  Group 2 â?? Handling Circuit
15:50 â?? 16:30  All â?? Open Practice Handling Circuit
16:40 â?? 17:30  Gymkhana timed â??Shoot Outâ?? Mile Straight Apron
17:40  Presentation & Debrief
Any Questions
End

Timings & Circuit order may be subject to change on the day depending on circuit activity

I think this is an excellent way to enjoy a Saturday's driving somewhere very special. I would point out that there will be opportunities to make mistakes, but not on the Alpine or Handling circuits, which don't have much run-off. However, you probably will be too busy learning to be going fast enough to worry about that. Having done a few days at Millbrook, I can heartily recommend it.

OK. There are seven places... If you want coaching, this will be an amazing opportunity.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

[NathanE]

Bruce, thanks for this.  I am interested, need to check the family diary.  Will let you know asap. 

Nathan

[langhale]

Bruce, this looks really good and i'm very interested........boy do i need some training  , of course it does depend on the date, are you able to give me (us) an indication when it is likely to be held?

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="Benem"]
Bruce, this looks really good and i'm very interested........boy do i need some training  , of course it does depend on the date, are you able to give me (us) an indication when it is likely to be held?
[/quote]

The clue is in the heading... October 6th 2007.

It's on the calendar too.

[Rob Evans]

Really interested in this, but again will need to check work roster.

Rob.

[Bruce Fielding]

OK. We need names confirmed before end of play Friday otherwise this event will not happen.

There are six places left

1. Bruce Fielding
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.



[/quote]

[sc0tt]

Presidential Orange. Location: Central London


      Re: AAOC Excusive Coaching at Millbrook. October 6th Introductory price £310
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2007, 06:05:05 PM » 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK. We need names confirmed before end of play Friday otherwise this event will not happen.

There are six places left

1. Bruce Fielding
2. Scott Wroe
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

[Bruce Fielding]

There are five places left...

1. Bruce Fielding
2. Scott Wroe
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Unless we fill this day, this event will be opened up to another club.

What's missing? What else would you want from a day's coaching? Is it too expensive? Is it too far? Is it on the wrong day? We do need to know the reasons why a day which I thought would go in nanoseconds still has places left after a week... Then we can make the next one fit your expectations better.

Your feedback will help make your club better for you.

[Bruce Fielding]

To whet your appetites a bit more, here's an aerial pic of Millbrook - you can see the speed bowl, the mile straight, the Alpine course and the handling course.

[NathanE]

Bruce, been a bit snowed with work - still hoping for a pink ticket - I will confirm asap.

[DFext37 Fielding]

oh that circuit, that is on my Toca game, i might have to play it later on, or video a lap of some sections in a BMW M3, lol...

[skilly]

Hi Bruce

I am interested, but how much driving will we actually do, rather than waiting for others to drive the course then have a go?

Mark

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="Captain Atom (Mark)"]
Hi Bruce

I am interested, but how much driving will we actually do, rather than waiting for others to drive the course then have a go?

Mark
[/quote]

That's a really good question, Mark

Give me an hour and I'll come back with an answer...

[jon b]

Bruce - looking at your performance at Bedford the other week - you could do with as much training as you can get    - good luck 

You may also want to check whether they are having restricted speed limits in the Alpine and Handling sections - this has usually been the case at events I have been to, even with journalist car launches

[Bruce Fielding]

Hmmm. I seem to remember that I was catching you up before you decided it was time to hit the pits... anyway... I agree with you. I think everyone needs as much coaching as they can get - including me.

Millbrook has those rules... but I can't possibly comment other than to mention that they have been known to have been bent in the past... And on Journo launches, I would INSIST that limits were adhered to - those guys are nutjobs.

In response to Mark's question I do have an answer.

Millbrook only allows the public out on its tracks when accompanied by an instructor equipped with a walkie talkie linked to central control. So we won't be allowed out on our own. We will get one and a half hours training in the course of the day and there'll probably be about a 40 minute gap between outings. Frankly, I wasn't too impressed with that, but when you think that you probably only get out on track for a couple of hours - even on an open pit lane day, it's not too bad, and you do have the kudos of Millbrook in your back pocket. Plus 90 minutes one-to-one is quite intensive. On my North Weald day, I probably got a lot less than that, although admittedly, I was free to drive quite a lot.

It appears that they have set it up as more of a club day out with driving rather than intensive training. If we don't fill it, the social aspect doesn't really apply.

However, having talked this through with Colin, there might be a better solution, given that there aren't that many of us who want to go. They also do an intensive half day one-to-one which is three hours for £310 in your own car (£345 in their car) doing the same stuff on the same circuits, so you get double the time for similar money. We could do two in the morning, and two in the afternoon, meeting up together for lunch.

How does that sound?