Supercar instructor

[Mattwarren93]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice from current or past supercar instructors in the UK.

i have been recommended to become a supercar instructor by an instructor at a recent driving experience which is great!

Only info i have been given is i have to pay to do a 1 day course that is either pass/fail and its on a self employed basis

Questions as such are; what are the pros and cons? And what is required to become a self employed instructor? i.e sorting out tax returns, liability insurance etc??

Just want to know how much i need to put into it financially to get started and what would i get out of it financially. i'm not looking to make thousands out of it as long as its a little bit more than breaking even

i currently have a FT Job so this would be something i do on weekends if i were to go ahead

Cant seem to find much about this sort of thing so hopefully there are people on here that i can pick their brains

i was told by the instructor at the time its not all that great when customers dont follow your instruction / other people on the track and wet conditions so i do have some understanding of what the cons may we be

Many thanks
Matt

[Caymanwhite]

Try this

https://www.ards.co.uk

[waremark]

I would have thought most people in a position to do this would know more about it. What is your relevant background? I have copied this from the ARDS site:

For the initial probationary ARDS licence

Grade C Licence (Probationary)

The first grade C licence issued to an instructor will always be probationary.

To qualify a candidate must:

• currently hold, have held or be qualified to hold Race international C licence or above.
• have attended an approved introductory training course for instructors at an ARDS Member School and passed the initial assessment
• be able to demonstrate the ability to instruct
• have attained an ARDS recognised First Aid qualification
• be fully conversant with the MSA Novice Driver Training Scheme and MSA licensing procedures and be able to answer correctly all questions on the current written papers
• be able to instruct on track for novice experiences with day to day supervision
• demonstrate that they have all the skills and training required for a Grade D licence

[7mike]

Op, yes you can get into it this way and the company you're talking about take on instructors with no race or instructional qualifications. I thought I would be under qualified when I went along; way over qualified compared to most. If you live near their base you can get transport and accommodation at other venues but the pay doesn't make travelling any distance worthwhile. I'd also check out what you're libel for in the event of cone strikes / spinning out or worse. Hanging around on a cold windy airfield is not everyone's cup of tea either. Oh, and you will be expected to buy branded clothing. On the plus side, if you fancy hanging around a load of super cars all day and spending a lot of it in the left seat of one of them putting up with vastly varying driving abilities then give it a go. Personally, I'll stick to training on road; it pays better and I don't have to deal with a lot of kids on an ego trip

[Steve H]

As Mike suggests, this doesn't sound like anything to do with ARDS, many supercar experiences run at non-MSA venues and do not require instructors to be qualified.

Supercar instructing is a pretty big market and they need a lot of staff so a basic level of driving ability combined with the ability to communicate well and have reasonable reactions are all that is really needed to make you a prospect. Charging for the assessment is a new one that I haven't heard of before (other than when it does involve issuing an ARDS licence) but I've been out of that end of the game for a while so it may be more common now.

Upsides are that you get to play round supercars all day, downsides are often poor pay and a job that is more about crowd control than any real kind of instructing.

You may be expected to have 30+ people through a car in any one day, of those there may be a few decent drivers who listen well and improve as you explain things to them but they will be outnumbered by the ones who will try to ignore everything you tell them because they think they know better.

Financial responsibility for the cars and fines given to instructors are things I've heard of but not actually seen myself. You should declare all your earnings although I'm sure that many don't

As a hobby job it may be good fun, I know people who have been doing it for over a decade as a top-up income and some full time race instructors who use it to bulk out their timetable. Personally I found it reached a point where it became rather production-line and frustrating so I pretty much just stick to instructing people in their own cars now, they have asked for the help and have a vested interest in not doing anything crazy so it's nicer work .