Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Xperiences Guide to Track and Driving Experience Days, Part #2

By Jimmy Gaulton

Welcome to part #2 of the Xperiences guide to driving and track day experience gifts for adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers. In this concluding article we aim to finish our brief glimpse of the best that is available on the market today, whether it's Skid Pan & Controlled Driving, karting, tank driving, moto cross or rally driving experiences. If it's on two or four wheels we aim to give you the lowdown on it.

Rally Driving Rally driving occupies a unique place in the motorsport world. It's fast, furious and often seems barely in control. Well, find out for yourself behind the wheel of a specially-prepared rally car. Discover the secrets of power slides, handbrake turns and skid cause and control on loose surface or tarmac rally stages - handy for the next time you're trying to find the ski lodge in a hire car. Your experience normally includes tuition and rally driving around a specially-prepared rally stages. At some venues you'll also be chauffeured around a stage by your instructor at competition speeds, just to show you how it's done.

Moto Cross You will certainly have a day to remember on whichever tour you choose, and will encounter scenery that it definitely isn't possible to see from the roads! Imagine dirt flying in your face as you try to negotiate dips, jumps, high-speed straights and tricky corners - all on two wheels! Well go off-road biking for an experience that will leave you wondering why the 4x4 was ever invented. Whatever your skills, from beginner to seasoned rider, off-road biking can get you riding in ways and on surfaces you wouldn't believe.

Tank Driving Put on your tin hat, settle into the driving seat of an Abbott tracked gun, an Armoured Personnel Carrier or a six-wheeled Stalwart, and get ready to learn tank driving! Very entertaining and surprisingly challenging, tank driving is an experience that everyone should try.

Skid Pan & Controlled Driving These skid car control experiences test your reflexes and co-ordination to the full as you learn the advanced techniques to counteract under steer and over steer in a simulated loss-of-control situation. Controlling a skid is a useful skill, and this experience teaches you all about it both as a fun day out, and as something you might need to use on the road one day. You'll start with a safety briefing and a discussion on the cause and cures of different kinds of skids. Then you'll use techniques that simulate loss of car control, with the vehicle seeming to get away from you.

Junior Driving There's no need to wait to get your licence before you can drive a car. Now kids can discover the thrill of driving as they get behind a steering wheel for the first time in safe, controlled conditions. An Approved Driving Instructor can show them the rudiments of driving and help them gain confidence in open spaces and a relaxed atmosphere. This experience is all about helping young (and not so young!) learners to make the most of that crucial first drive - to learn more, to experience more and to have lots of fun too.

Karting. All the fun of open-wheel dicing! Hurtle up to the chicane with the power full on until the last split second. No time to look back, the next diabolical corner is coming up to test you again! Some locations have banked turns, others fly-overs. Stand by to have the four-wheeled time of your life with karting experiences! Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motor sport with simple, small four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. - 15432

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