2005 News...

Junior Rally Academy goes bust and I drive a 'smart' Lotus Elise at Silverstone !!!!

Yes, its happened again, the company running the Nicky Grist Junior Rally Academy has gone bust. Fortunately this time we have been able to get our money back without to many problems and this means I will have to look at different options for the future.

When I first found out about the Rally Academy going bust, I was gutted, but since then I have been looking at what can be offered in other areas of motorsport. We contacted the Silverstone Motorsport Academy to see what they could offer and it was suggested that I have a 1 to 1 session with an instructor. Then they could advise on whether I should try for my ARDS (Racing License) and see what level I'm at.

The 1 to 1 sessions was arranged for last Wednesday and initially had to prove to the instructor (Ray Allen - ex F1 driver) that I could drive. I was told in the briefing that I was to drive a Lotus Elise which came as a bit of a surprise to myself and the other people in the briefing. After the briefing, Ray drove me to an area in the middle of Silverstone which is normally used for skid pan testing and said I had to drive around a series of bollards. This I did and I proved to Ray that I could drive safely and he agreed that I could progress onto the main Silverstone Circuit. We used the National circuit at Silverstone, which uses the main straight in front of the pits area. Ray took me for a lap of the circuit and then it was my turn. Driving out of the pit area onto the main circuit was fantastic and the first instruction Ray told me was to 'Slow down'. Their were a number of other cars on the circuit testing and I had to let them pass as I wasn't going fast enough. My confidence grew the more laps we did and as a result the faster we went, until it started to rain. This slowed everyone down and Ray started to show me the wet lines around the circuit. When we came back into the pits, Ray told me why he had slowed me down and gave me some constructive criticism. He suggested that I should have some more 1 to 1 sessions before I attempt to go for my ARDS and we have booked a second session on the 17th August 2005.

Here are some photos of me driving a Lotus at Silverstone and click on the picture to enlarge:

I can't wait until the 17th August 2005, so I can drive the lotus again and with the instructors guidance, in Rays words "Drive the door handles of the car".