Motoring days / experiences - what are your favourites?

Rowley Birkin QC

Morning all. Open question to the petrol heads of boards, what are your most recommended days / afternoons out behind the wheel in Ireland, UK & Europe?

I'm looking for anything that puts you behind the wheel of something fun, exotic or rare and gets the blood pumping. Hoping to get a list together that I can check off over time!

I'll kick things off...

Event: Kylemore Karting
Location: Dublin
Website: https://www.kylemorekarting.ie/
How Much?: I paid €35 with two mates for 35 mins. Was at a longer corporate Grand Prix event that was about €65 for a series of qualification and race sessions.
Why?: Great fun, very safe driving fun at relatively small cost and in a very accessible location. It's very well run and the indoor tracks are very slippy, getting sideways out of a corner and into an overtake in a cart is immense fun!
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5

Event: Supercar Driving Day
Location: Nutts Corner track, Belfast
Website: https://www.supercarexperienceireland.com/experiences/
How Much?: This was a gift and I think came in at about £250 all in for the day of 4x cars with 3x laps per car. I added on a drive in a McLaren 12C on the day at a cost of about £60 I think. Also got a "hot lap" in a two seater Ariel Atom included. Driver telemetry data on a USB also included with that price
Why?: This was a gift and probably not something I would have booked myself but I enjoyed it immensely due to the opportunity to drive cars that are otherwise out of reach. I drove a Porsche 911RS, Lambo Murcielago, McLaren 12C and some breed of a Ferrari that I can't remember. Lambo was deeply dissappointing due to feeling like sitting in a Skoda once I looked at the switchgear! Instructors were great, 1st lap was sighting lap and getting used to the car, 2nd was them evaluating you and depending on their comfort 3rd was a "flying" lap. Highlight was passing out the GTR in the 911RS on back straight and also the lap in the 2 seater Atom, an absolute education. It's a lot of money for a short amount of driving time but great fun none the less and I learned a lot from the instructors.
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 3

Alkers

Good idea for a thread:

Event: Indoor Electric Motocross
Location: Co. Down
Website: https://www.etrax-ni.co.uk/
How Much?: £38 for three ten minute sessions - sounds short but you're destroyed by the end of it!
Why?: Great fun but quite difficult to get fast times. Bring kneepads as it's easy enough to loose grip and hurt a knee on a loose stone, otherwise all gear is provided. Fantastic value as these things go! Bikes are brilliant with three power settings so not a had full for beginners (which we were).
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5

Event: Mondello Boxter Experience
Location: Co. Kildare
Website: https://www.mondellopark.ie/supercar-experience/
How Much?: I got this as a voucher present but it's €150 plus they push added insurance on you which was I think €20 (I didn't go for it and you don't need it)
Why?: Good fun alright but it's just not worth it for the money. Three laps in a saloon car and three laps in a boxster is barely six minutes of actual driving time for the money Both cars were fun and the instructors were good. Found the mid-section of the track very unintuitive so it was difficult to do this section well as a newbie to the track. I asked whether the cars were manual (as I've been driving auto for the last few years) and the guy giving the safety briefing made a point to almost scoff at me and say that of course they were manual. Then when you get in the car you're told to leave it in 3rd gear for the whole lap....:o When I got into the porsche, he did say to drop to second to come out of the last corner alright but this wasn't offered to everyone. Rip off!
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 1

Rowley Birkin QC

Anyone else?

mods, is there a better place for this kind of thread?

CIP4

While I am into cars and all things motoring I have never been that big into motor sport and track days / car racing etc. Then I went to the Nurburgring really an unbelievable experience absolutely loved it was there for four days. I could see myself going back every year and it wasn't cheap so that is how highly I rated it.

Event: Nurburgring
Location: Germany
Website: https://www.nuerburgring.de/en/home.html/
How Much?: Varies in price but to rent an entry level car (Clio 197 etc.) €200 for two laps and prices go up for more powerful cars. I found Apex good for car rental based very near the track. They also do taxi laps.
Why?: The track is really amazing to go around 21km of every type of corner. Driving around it was a really memorable experience for me. Driving aside the town is very nice and scenery is great. Even being around the area you get to see loads of rare and fast sports car around. From 8am to 8pm there is just a constant engine roar around the area which is a great background music. The Nurburgring museum itself is well worth going to see.
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 3 Realistically your not going to be going over there for a cheap weekend away it is pricey enough to get to do a good few laps, lap taxis etc. but to me at least it was worth every penny. It really should be on every motor enthusiasts bucket list.

Andrewf20

I did the single seater experience in Mondello - good fun but expensive and short.

Rally half day up in the Monaghan rally school was good fun. Stick with the low powered RWD cars (E30, Mrk 2 escort etc) for fun in the wet(hopefully). Track is too twisty for mad power to be used.

My favorite for simple thrills is go karting in White river on the international track.

theintern

Andrewf20 wrote: »

I did the single seater experience in Mondello - good fun but expensive and short.

Rally half day up in the Monaghan rally school was good fun. Stick with the low powered RWD cars (E30, Mrk 2 escort etc) for fun in the wet(hopefully). Track is too twisty for mad power to be used.

My favorite for simple thrills is go karting in White river on the international track.

I agree on the half day in Monaghan (Rally School Ireland). The Escort is just so much fun and you spend the entire lap with the arse flying out. The instructors are generally good craic and push you to get it sliding as much as possible. Looks like it's 250+ for the half day which is plenty, but I'm tempted to go back out of my own pocket though which is a pretty good sign.

James Bond Junior

I did the bmw experience in Mondello. €330 but it was a gift. 5 laps in a mini cooper s, 5 in a M2 competition and 5 more laps in an M4. They allow more than 5 in reality. Brilliant.

Rowley Birkin QC

Appreciate the replies guys, list rapidly building! :-)

For ease of digesting it though, would really appreciate if you could use this format.

Event:
Location:
Website:
How Much?:
Why?:
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best):

Interslice

Event: Outdoor Karting
Location: Co. Kilkenny
Website: https://kiltorcan.com/index.php
How Much?: 50 or so a head depending on package.
Why?: Best karting experience i've had
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5

Largest outdoor track in ireland. Karts had good power. Only had top speed limited.

Great day out if you can get a group of lads together. Ideal if your having a stag in kk.

CIP4

Interslice wrote: »

Event: Outdoor Karting
Location: Co. Kilkenny
Website: https://kiltorcan.com/index.php
How Much?: 50 or so a head depending on package.
Why?: Best karting experience i've had
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5

Largest outdoor track in ireland. Karts had good power. Only had top speed limited.

Great day out if you can get a group of lads together. Ideal if your having a stag in kk.

Funny enough was going to put this one up. It’s actually even better this year as they have speeded up the karts a bit. It’s a good track. I go there roughly twice a year. It’s arranged through the sports and social club in work the fact there is a good crew of us that keeps going back says a lot.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Event:Supercar Experience
Location:Nutts Corner
Website:
How Much?:Wife bought it for birthday present for me.
Why?:As above.
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best):Im going to give it 4/5 as I enjoyed it thoroughly. I had 3 laps in a V10 Audi R8, Lambo Murcialago, 911RS and a GTR.

I done an additional 6 laps in the GTR as it was simply the best of the bunch. Power was instant and it was so easy to drive.
I was disappointed by the R8, found it laggy and slow to put the power down and it was the one I was looking forward to the most.
The noise from the Lamborghini was just pure class but I did t enjoy it as much as the GTR even though I absolutely loved it at the same time.
The 911RS was mehhh...could have taken it or left it, didn’t excite me and even though it was a blast to drive it didn’t leave any lasting impression on me.

I also had the hot lap in the Atom which was fücking magic!!

whippet

Event: Palmer Sport
Location: Bedford Autodrome, Thurleigh Road, Thurleigh
Bedford, MK44 2YP, UK
Website: https://www.palmersport.com
How Much?: They don't actually have pricing on their website - but about 10 years ago I paid approx stg£800 for a full day
Why?: it is a great day start to finish with a great range of cars, good food and some great 'coaching' from the instructors
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 4 - I would have given it a 5 but for the fact that is it expensive. I genuinely felt it was worth every penny at the time

You get to use 4 different tracks and in the single seater you will get full telemetry and video of your lap

The current line up for the full day experience is

- Formula 3000 Single Seater
- Renault Clio Cup Racer
- BMW M2 Competition
- Caterham Seven
- Palmer JP-LM
- Land Rover Defender (off road course)
- Karts


When I did it the line up was:

- Jag XKR Super
- Porsche 911 Carrera
- Clio Cup Racer
- Caterham Seven
- Palmer JP-LM
- Formula 3000 single seater
- Land Rover Defender
- Karts

Rowley Birkin QC

whippet wrote: »

Event: Palmer Sport

This is the one I've been waiting for. It's currently £1200 and I'm sorely tempted to go for it.

Very pricey but looks like an absolutely epic day out.

whippet

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

This is the one I've been waiting for. It's currently £1200 and I'm sorely tempted to go for it.

Very pricey but looks like an absolutely epic day out.

I’m looking at doing it again next year .. really can’t wait !

Rowley Birkin QC

whippet wrote: »

I’m looking at doing it again next year .. really can’t wait !

Boards Motor Forum day out with group discount? :pac:

Rowley Birkin QC

Has anyone done the DARE experience at Mondello?

I'm looking back at this thread with a view to organising a lads day out with cars involved.

biko

Event: Pallas Karting
Location: Co Galway
Website: www.pallaskarting.com
How much?: 30 minutes = €50 per person
Why?: They have a 1500 metre track that on occasion will get you up to 80 kmph or more. This is fast when you're a few inches off the ground
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): Great value imo, best on a sunny day as outdoor racing in the rain will have you spinning all the time.

galwaytt

Event: Porsche Experience Silverstone
Location: Silverstone
Website: https://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/
How Much?: They have various experiences, in different cars listed, at different prices. I paid €260 as part of a group. Easy to get to via cheap flights and hire car via BHX airport.

Why?: What I like about this course is it's not a track day. It's a course designed to have the stuff you meet on normal roads: narrow, varying corners, cambers, different types of surfaces, hills, skid & ice pan etd, as well as specific learning tasks: launch control, braking excercises. I've done it.........twice ? ...or 3 times ? (I forget)....although I have a 996, I have always gone for the Boxster.

Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5. I think anyone that throws you the keys of a new car (€100k-€250k in value) and encourages you to drive the wheels off it, and to explore it, without worrying about tyres, petrol, wear & tear and educates you simultaneously - that's a 5 all day long.

One thing I would say is if you can go in a group (the bigger the better), the any driving experience lasts longer so you can make a proper day of it. Actual seat time is about 90 minutes, but the value is in the whole gig.

galwaytt

Event: Audi R8 Experience
Location: I did Germany, but it's available at Silverstone as well.
Website: https://www.audi.de/de/brand/de/audi-driving-experience-en/sport-experience/r8-exclusive-experience.html
How Much?: €1400

Why?: I've actually done this twice really: I did one years ago when they came and did it at Mondello which is where I got the 'experience' bug. Click HERE that to see my write up of that from then (can't believe it was that long ago tbh....)

In Germany there is so much to learn. Spent a half day in an RS4 learning skills (both in the wet & dry) and then a half-day in the R8. I was frittered after it.

Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5. As with the Porsche one above, I think anyone that throws you the keys of a new car (€250k in value) and encourages you to drive the wheels off it, and to explore it, without worrying about tyres, petrol, wear & tear and educates you simultaneously - that's a 5 all day long.

galwaytt

Event: Alfa 75 Experience - passenger lap
Location: Nurburgring
Website: OK, so the 75 is no longer available, but that company has now morphed into this with a whole range of options : https://www.rsrnurburg.com/page/rsr-price-list
How Much?: Varies - see website. Anything from €266 to €5k !

Why?: Went with a car club, and whilst some rented Clio's, some got passenger laps in a GT3, and I think some might have driven the GT3, the fact that it has snowed the day before meant the Porsche was undriveable above 50% throttle.......I played safe and got the resident racer to drive the Alfa 75 full tilt.

Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 3+. I'm a crap passenger. Seriously. I was wobbly after it.
But I have to say I'd have been an even worse driver : the track is vast and so technical I don't think the first trip would have been that enjoyable. By allowing an expert drive it at full tilt in a (modest) 2L car, it showed me that Power isn't Everything. I think to learn it and enjoy it the way other shorter experiences can be done means it might be just too expensive - and that's assuming you don't hit anything...........

Henry Ford III

Event: Outdoor Buggy racing
Location: Maynooth
Website: www.buggyracing.ie
How Much?: €60 for 2 -2.5 hours
Why?: A present but I'd happily do it again. Best when it's wet though, as grip is very low and the fun factor is high, and there's a lot of mud on the track. Speed wise there's plenty and you can get airborne too. Cadence braking etc. Wear old clothes as you'll get dirty.
Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5

honda boi

Thinking of getting this for someone for Xmas
https://www.mondellopark.ie/drift-games-experience-2/
Anyone any experience with it?
Worth the money?

eljono

honda boi wrote: »

Thinking of getting this for someone for Xmas
https://www.mondellopark.ie/drift-games-experience-2/
Anyone any experience with it?
Worth the money?

I received this as a gift a good few years ago, really enjoyed it. At the time the cars used were Nissan 180SX, 200SX and Lexus Soarer twin-turbo.

Henry Ford III

galwaytt wrote: »

Event: Audi R8 Experience
Location: I did Germany, but it's available at Silverstone as well.
Website: https://www.audi.de/de/brand/de/audi-driving-experience-en/sport-experience/r8-exclusive-experience.html
How Much?: €1400

Why?: I've actually done this twice really: I did one years ago when they came and did it at Mondello which is where I got the 'experience' bug. Click HERE that to see my write up of that from then (can't believe it was that long ago tbh....)

In Germany there is so much to learn. Spent a half day in an RS4 learning skills (both in the wet & dry) and then a half-day in the R8. I was frittered after it.

Value for money (Worst 1-5 Best): 5. As with the Porsche one above, I think anyone that throws you the keys of a new car (€250k in value) and encourages you to drive the wheels off it, and to explore it, without worrying about tyres, petrol, wear & tear and educates you simultaneously - that's a 5 all day long.

V8 or V10? I've driven a V10 a few times (family member owns one in the US). It's an experience.