Stuck for an awesome father’s day gift to blow your dad’s socks off? I have just the thing for you!
With Father’s Day fast approaching, Debenhams invited my father in law to Loughborough for a driving experience from their Gift range (with me in tow to help document the day – obv!).
As spectators are allowed we decided to make it a family day out, so N and my mother in law came along too.
I had imagined that this would be a relaxed stroll up to a quiet desk and a private briefing with an instructor, before being escorted to each car. It was quite a bit more impersonal than this though with lots of other people arriving at reception for similar experiences so it was very busy. At first we were a bit put off by this but we soon realised that everything is run like a well oiled machine. It only takes a few minutes to get to the front of the queue and we were then processed quickly and
efficiently by the friendly, enthusiastic staff. Once checked in we were free to go outside and spectate until it was time for the first drive. This helped us all to relax again and after this everything ran like clockwork.
They do other experiences at the same site, so I spent a few minutes watching the segway-ers too!
We were in heaven admiring the Maserati and Ferrari on display…
…although this was as close as I dared get to actually driving one!
How gorgeous is this Lambo??!!
I even took an obligatory selfie with Lauren from the pit crew, who was so lovely and helpful on the day!
The instructor kept telling him not to brake so soon, but he said that it was really hard not to with the speed that he was going at!
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| Photo purchased from Everyman Motor Racing |
Once checked in, you queue by the colour coded flags representing each
car until it’s time for your name to be called and your supercar session
can begin. There can be a bit of waiting around in between drives for
the
spectators but there is a cafe on site and plenty of seating dotted
around. The pit crew are also very friendly if you fancy a chat!
Once he’d been around the track in all 3 supercars, we got to see how the professionals do it by climbing into the passenger seats for a high octane lap.
I’m quite a nervous passenger usually and almost bottled out of this, but they do say that you should do something that scares you every day. I’m really glad that I did as I absolutely LOVED it!
The way the pros drive the car is like nothing that I could have imagined from watching Top Gear on the TV. They drive full out pedal to the metal until entering the bend before doing what feels like an emergency stop. Then you seem to slide around the corner for ages as the tyres screech. As our driver navigated the track he talked us through how he was using every inch of the track for optimum speed.
Note to self:: Do NOT wear suede platform heels for a 4×4 experience or this will happen:
The 4×4 takes you through the squelchiest muddiest track you can imagine. It’s not a speed experience, more of a ‘hold on to the handle and try not to bump your head’ bit of fun!
I have to say a massive thank you to Debenhams for arranging this experience for us and to Everyman Motor Racing for being so friendly and helpful to us on the day.
It was such a unique gift for my father in law (who is now even more in love with the Aston Martin of his dreams!) but also one that you can share with the whole family.
You can see the full list of gift experiences offered by visiting the Debenhams gift page here. My father in law received the ‘Triple Supercar Drive’ experience which is usually £199 but at the time of writing is on offer at £99.
I received this gift experience in return for agreeing to document the day, however I was under no obligation to say nice things and all views are my own! You can read my disclaimer for more on this.
By the way – we purchased the optional £35 insurance protection
against any accidental damage to the vehicles and a £5 demo lap with an
instructor. I’d recommend factoring these into your budget to make sure
that you get the most out of the experience!
What do you think of this gift idea – would you dare drive a Supercar yourself? Or do you know someone who would love it?
