IWannaGoFaster.com - Performance Driving Tuition

General

1. Why should I use your services?

   I've learned the hard way - you don't have to! I've been instructing for nearly 8 years now and have learned an enormous amount in that time. I've been lucky enough to have worked with and learned from some of the best names in the business.

   
   

   When I first started instructing, I had a full time drive but I wasn't being particularly successful at the time - I wasn't regularly on the pace and I shunted quite a bit! Having been almost instantly on the pace from when I started Kart Racing and being an analytical type of person, I was desperate to know why this was.

   
   

   My experience of instructing, the resources I have had access to & the information I have gained over the last 13 years has helped me to understand more about what happens in the cockpit, why it happens and how to change & improve things. The bullet points on the front page of this website give you a brief summary of the things I can help you with, but only by working with you can really I make a big difference.

   
   

   Ask yourself these questions:

   
   

   • How much would you spend on repairing your car after a big crash?
   • A lot more than a day's instruction to help avoid it in the first place!
   • How long would a new turbo last? For as long a you keep the car? 

   Improving your driving will last you a lifetime.

   
   

2. What way do you work?

   My style is very 'hands on'. If I can, the first and main thing I do is sit alongside you - that's the best way to find out what the 'nut behind the wheel' is doing!

   
   

   I know some instructors will get in another similar car to yours & get you to follow them around a circuit. This can be partially beneficial, because you can see where they are faster. However, it's not teaching you why you're not as quick - sometimes they let their ego's get in the way of the job they should be trying to achieve - making YOU faster, not themselves look better!

   
   

   Performance driving is not just about what you do, but also what order and the time at which you do them. It's a very practical thing: you are simply guiding an object around a piece of tarmac as fast as possible - it's not rocket science! The problem is that things get in the way such as; lack of vision, poor dexterity with the controls, a bad mind-set. These can all make that object move slower!

3. What sort of things might I be doing wrong?

   Human beings tend to develop habits from what we initially learn. It's the same in driving; once you develop a driving style - particularly if it is all self taught - you will tend to stay in those habits and not recognise that they are perhaps not the correct or most efficient way of doing things.

   
   

   For example; it could be that you are a bit tense on the approach to fast corners making you turn in a bit early & sharp, or that your gear down change is too slow and interrupting your corner preparation. Or maybe you are holding your eyes on one reference point for too long, making your vision shallow in the corner and therefore the resultant entry speed and accuracy is poor. All of these things happen to even the best of drivers to a greater or less extent - it's simply human nature. I can help you to recognise these things and improve them in a way that you'll remember.

4. What tools do you use to help, such as intercom, circuit maps, telemetry and video?

   I take an old fashioned point of view that my best tools are ones I was born with - hands & voice! For example, by pointing & explaining where you should be looking maybe together with slight assistance on the steering wheel. Combined with a short briefing before and after each session, I find that this is the best way to help a client improve their technique. To assist this I may also use a clipboard to draw corners & lines and I have most UK circuit maps to refer to.

   
   

   Regarding other equipment, the most important thing is that clients can hear me in-car, otherwise I am just ballast! For cars with a high background noise (a stripped out saloon car for example) I have state of the art Autotel intercom that can be also be temporarily installed into a clients helmet plus a helmet with a Peltor intercom for those with that system.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   I have access to a GPS based datalogging system & I am very competent with it having been Ferrari UK's 'Club Fiorano' telemetry man for nearly 2 years. It can be useful to see where you are loosing some time over a lap, but it won't show you how to use your hands, feet or eyes in the cockpit!

   
   

   I also offer use of a portable camera system for video footage of your track action.

5. I want to get some tuition as a gift for a partner, but don't know a date and don't want to give the game away by trying to fix a date! Can you offer an open ended Gift Certificate?

   Yes, no problem. If you think your partner might like to do a day but can't set a date, I can offer a voucher for my services. I usually tend to do this as a 'shared' day' for my services, meaning the day will be when I am also working with another client in order to keep things more cost effective, so the cost would be £175+VAT = £205.63. Then I would sort out sort out the date and additional cost of the venue (around £200 depending on the venue) at mutual convenience.

6. Do I get anything to take home?

   Yes, apart from the knowledge you will have gained on the day, I also work with a debrief sheet that we gradually fill in over the day. This details the Observations, Causes & Corrections we make on the day to your driving, so you will see the progress you make, what you learned and what you need to continue to work on in the future. I keep these as a log so we can reference to them at any future date.

   
   

   Also, if you go for the video equipment option, I can provide a DVD of the footage that can played on your home DVD player or computer (or even provide raw data files). And there is the possibility of using a GPS datalogger & I can provide support & information on this as well as the basic files to overlay on your own computer.