Best Instructors for Technique in 2021

[anirudhkitt]

Hello,

I have been searching for instructors to help with my driving technique. I do about 5-6 trackdays a year and looking to do more, but really wanted to get my basics right.

Gary Marsh - No luck in getting hold of him
Andy Walsh (Car Limits) - Not available anymore
CAT - Only available in November/December

Who else is recommended, the only other place that responded back is https://themotorsportsschool.co.uk/

What am i looking to improve, well, pretty much :
1. Braking technique and transition
2. Heel-toe technique
3. At the limit - Oversteer/ understeer

Regards,

[ScoobyChris]

I did some days with Hairy Don a few years ago and felt my driving improved significantly. Not sure if he’s still doing it:

http://www.donpalmer.co.uk/car-control.html

Chris

[FurtiveFreddy]

https://www.motorsport-events.com/pages/stay-sharp...

[anirudhkitt]

Thanks, have dropped a note to both

Don responded, but he no longer does the airfield style car limits course.

Any other recommendations for a good ARDS instructor, if i am going to go with trackday coaching?

[Steve H]

Pete at The Motorsports School is a top guy and would be able to sort you out.

Regarding your list I’d suggest that no1 is very coachable and no2 is largely down to practice. No3 can be tricky on a normal trackday but there are ways of doing it, particularly at certain tracks.

I’m guessing you already get instruction at some of the trackdays you attend? If not, you should. Partly for the benefits it can bring but also because having different people sit with you will show up different things to improve and if you find a particular instructor that you like you can always ask them about private coaching.

[YoungFireOldFlame]

I'd recommend Nick (Arnold) he was my instructor at PEC based at Silverstone. http://nickarnolddriving.co.uk/testimonials/

If you want to learn oversteer and understeer, a good place is PEC low friction circuit and the drift bowl. That way you learn to do it at slower speeds 30mph then when mastered those speeds you move up to higher speeds...I used my own Boxster and it did not kill the tyres. It's tricky getting the right amount of gas and steering to get the car to rotate enough to make the turn. You can also hire a Boxster S or Cayman S and use their fuel, brakes and tyres. The hire charge was not much more than my track day insurance...

[mattnoss]

He is too polite and humble to suggest himself but Steve H (above) is very good, helped me as a team mate but also before that as a regular trackdayer.

[Welshbeef]

mattnoss said:

He is too polite and humble to suggest himself but Steve H (above) is very good, helped me as a team mate but also before that as a regular trackdayer.

He has a superb profile picture too E36 Evo - race car.

[anirudhkitt]

Steve H said:

Pete at The Motorsports School is a top guy and would be able to sort you out.

Regarding your list I’d suggest that no1 is very coachable and no2 is largely down to practice. No3 can be tricky on a normal trackday but there are ways of doing it, particularly at certain tracks.

I’m guessing you already get instruction at some of the trackdays you attend? If not, you should. Partly for the benefits it can bring but also because having different people sit with you will show up different things to improve and if you find a particular instructor that you like you can always ask them about private coaching.

Hello Steve,

Thanks for your suggestion. I am constantly practicing heel-toe but I feel like combined with braking, i am not doing a great job. Hence hoping to put the long hours in and start improving bit by bit.

I am taking instruction at the tracks I am at, but most of the instructors are focused on the racing lines rather than technique, but as you suggested, i will continue that until i find someone who fits the mould i am looking for. Now that i think about it, i might post some of my videos to get feedback from everyone else here.

[anirudhkitt]

YoungFireOldFlame said:

I'd recommend Nick (Arnold) he was my instructor at PEC based at Silverstone. http://nickarnolddriving.co.uk/testimonials/

If you want to learn oversteer and understeer, a good place is PEC low friction circuit and the drift bowl. That way you learn to do it at slower speeds 30mph then when mastered those speeds you move up to higher speeds...I used my own Boxster and it did not kill the tyres. It's tricky getting the right amount of gas and steering to get the car to rotate enough to make the turn. You can also hire a Boxster S or Cayman S and use their fuel, brakes and tyres. The hire charge was not much more than my track day insurance...

Thank you, another one added to my list.

Regards,
anirudhkitt

[anirudhkitt]

mattnoss said:

He is too polite and humble to suggest himself but Steve H (above) is very good, helped me as a team mate but also before that as a regular trackdayer.

Haha, in that case, i know whom to reach out to

I appreciate the response.

[Steve H]

anirudhkitt said:

Haha, in that case, i know whom to reach out to

I appreciate the response.

Got your PM, thanks, I’ll be in touch.

Welshbeef said:

mattnoss said:

He is too polite and humble to suggest himself but Steve H (above) is very good, helped me as a team mate but also before that as a regular trackdayer.

He has a superb profile picture too E36 Evo - race car.

Actually just a humble 328 but a mega car, owned by Mattnoss and the one we won the 750 Enduro Championship in a couple years ago.

[nfcf]

Andy is starting up a new business for driver training. Website just says coming soon but might be worth dropping him a line? walshydays.com

Alternatively Mark (the other instructor from carlimits) also appears to have started a business to run training days as well. https://www.drivelimits.com

[CloudStuff]

Had my first ever track day on Thursday at Castle Combe. Total noob - but didn't crash, nobody got hurt and had loads of fun.

I have completely got the bug. Can't stop thinking now about how, where, when to go again. Obviously I'm well behind the curve in terms of booking for this year though.

I am definitely keen on instruction too.

[Redline88]

OP, what sort of car are you using and are you wanting to be taught in your car?

I’ve done a few training days (including some with Andy Walsh at Carlimits) however by far the best so far was the Lotus Academy that I did last year. Have a look on the Lotus website for info however it would be less useful if your car was totally different or if you were set on using your car. The instructors there were really really good and it would certainly cover the points you mentioned however point 3 is done on a skid pan which would be different to the higher speed airfield style training that some places offer.

I also have heard good things about Don Palmer however can’t speak from experience.

[anirudhkitt]

Redline88 said:

OP, what sort of car are you using and are you wanting to be taught in your car?

I’ve done a few training days (including some with Andy Walsh at Carlimits) however by far the best so far was the Lotus Academy that I did last year. Have a look on the Lotus website for info however it would be less useful if your car was totally different or if you were set on using your car. The instructors there were really really good and it would certainly cover the points you mentioned however point 3 is done on a skid pan which would be different to the higher speed airfield style training that some places offer.

I also have heard good things about Don Palmer however can’t speak from experience.

Hello Redline,

I am using a E92 M3, so yes, very different car from the Lotus. Currently, my situation doesn't allow me to buy another car, so i will need to stick to the M3 as a double duty car. I may be wrong, but i would assume that concepts and skills learnt on a different car would still translate over.

Thank you for the recommendation, this has been a great thread and hope this helps others in the future if they are in a similar situation. I will give them a ring.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

here is a list of almost every registered instructor in the UK
https://www.ards.co.uk/instructors/

you can have circuit specialists, instructors local to you, names you may have heard of and all other sorts. It all depends on your budget however, you'd be looking at a minimum of £150 per day, and realistically double that and more.

Driver61 is worth looking at YouTube, he has many tutorials and online lessons that you can view that cover the topics you mentioned.

You could also look at Adam Christo also on YouTube, but he uses his own car, which saves wear on yours but is priced at £1600 per day. Driver61 is also a coach for hire at similar money.

If you are in a money no object situation then Rob Wilson could be hired, but he's 3k assuming he can still coach at Bruntingthorpe. Again plenty of you tube videos of Rob coaching.

As an aside, you need to put the miles/hours in if you want to improve. An M3 is an expensive car to run, and will likely limit you to 4 or 5 , 25 min sessions per day. Ideally you want to be covering over 200 miles and 3-4 hours on track. So you should think about that side of it to.

hth

[andy97]

Another recommendation for Pete Edwards at the Motorsports school, and they will do coaching at most circuits in the uk.
Simon Mason is another good coach, largely based in the NW

[tigamilla]

nfcf said:

Andy is starting up a new business for driver training. Website just says coming soon but might be worth dropping him a line? walshydays.com

Alternatively Mark (the other instructor from carlimits) also appears to have started a business to run training days as well. https://www.drivelimits.com

This is interesting - I did a car limits day last year with Mark and he was very good