Palmer Sport days...

T

the cueball

Senior member
 Glasgow
Anyone on here done one of these?????

well, what a day!!!

I did this on Wednesday this week, and I'm still sore, battered and bruised... but wow.... :lol:

the cars are great, the insrutctors just want you to push and go faster....

and of course... I won a prize... ;)

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only managed 6th overall out of 20 people.... not very happy with that...such is life... I got some good marks, always in the top 10 (although the go karts hurt me a bit... :rolleyes:), and was always rated as nice and smooth on the controls, with excellent mechanical sympathy.... so good points to take away....

main man on the day was the one that turned up in full x-bow gear... boots, race suit, gloves, and helmet complete with HANNS on it....

anyway who classes themselves as a driver and car lover needs to beg, steal or borrow to get on this day... I do have some in car footage that I'll upload when I get a minute, and you even get a data log sheet from the last car of the day, the 170mph single seater formula Jaguar...

:thumbsup:
 
Luckily I have been taken for the four times I have been there first time I knew nothing about it before hand and was quite young so it was amazing - like a kid at Disney. Price was around £500 for a full day but I believe it is closer to £1k now. Massively aimed at corporates now.

Briefly the day is as follows:

The last time I went it was drive 5 cars - M3, Caterhams, Clio cup race cars, Palmer Audi. Attack an assault course in a 4x4 plus a doughnut course in another Caterham and a go kart course. All these cars are mixed up across the day. Through out the day you are marked on a card and at the end there is a presentation for 1-3 and best driver of each car. We also had passenger laps in the Palmer audi cars in a simulated race with instructors driving - this is where you realise you can't drive for toffee. I got out of the car and then had to visit the little boy’s room to do some praying. :sick: :oops:

A great day with good food throughout as well. If you are a petrol head its a great day out albeit shattering! I got a USB stick with data and video as well.

One of the highlights of the third time I went was sitting in the transit van being taken from one car/circuit to the other and the driver was a certain DTM driver now he was 17 at the time and the best they had there and he was drifting us all over the West circuit on the way there chasing down another group in the transit in front! 8)
 
Palmer days are unique!

They set out to be the best at what they do and I cannot but believe they have succeeded by a mile!

I have been lucky enough to be taken four times also, each sufficiently separated that the lineup had changed significantly.

The first two were at the original location at Bruntingthorpe and the last two at Bedford.

They keep you busy from breakfast to tea with something going all the time, quite a tiring day but a guarantee you'll leave happy.

I have to assume the instructors are a bit mad as they are getting into fast cars all day with total strangers and encouraging them to go flat out!

My favorite one was the Palmer Le Mans Jag - makes me smile now just remembering it (and I still have the onboard video)

If you ever get the opportunity (or win the lottery)- grab the chance with both hands.
 
I was lucky enough to be invited to a day here back in 2000.

Entire day driving all sorts from go-carts to Evo's to lorries to Elises to Formula 3000's (which I bust the nose cone off!). 80 odd people on my day in groups of about 8. Each event timed and measured.

Came 3rd overall during the day which I was chuffed with - especially as I was driving a 1985 45bhp Fiat Uno at the time!
 
it's seems much is the same, but a lot has changed! :lol:

the whole day is really buidling up to the formula Jag single seater... so you are tested and graded all day and in different cars etc...

start off with a bit of a head to head in slower caterhams around a quick time trial course... and some off roading to test how you are at slow speed...

then we moved on through a "proper" caterham, atom and BMW M3 track car...all different tracks too... :wink:

after a spot of lunch, it's was onto go carts for a bit of fun and the Le Mans style palmer car on the big track... then after some things are worked out, the group is split up more to allow the faster, smoother drivers all go together on the single seaters... you get a separate briefing for them... and off you go....

there were 2 tables of corporate people, and our table... made up of me (nutter on his own), 3 guys from somewhere posh - one was wearing a bow tie to the event, all had "F1 jackets, and then a group of 4 from the Czech Republic, one of which was the x bow guy, and all were pretty good drivers....

our table took all the awards of he day bar 1... :oops:

not the cheapest out there, just for the day, inc insurance was £850 for me.... but the cars are well built and really looked after, you are on purpose built track, and being instructed by either up and coming drivers, or older 'been there, done it' ones....everything worked on the day, the cars, the intercoms, the buses to take you from bit to bit... lunch was a nice steak... and you were encourage to find your limit... the cars could handle it.... :evil:

One of my instructiors was Zoe Wenham - who races in the Ginetta cup.... she told me off for dipping the clutch to provoke the back end to slide out... just use the power and control it with the throttle she calmly told me as we were sliding about...... :oops:

as I said, great day out and a must for any petrolhead...

:thumbsup:
 
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