MX-5 Driver Training Day

It was all very "last minute" really. The MX5 Club had organised a driver training day at Pukekohe race circuit and were having trouble filling all the places available. To make up numbers, the MX5 Club invited Club Lotus, but they couldn’t generate enough interest at short notice, so 5 places were offered to the MR2 Club just days before the event. A few hasty emails and phone calls and the places disappeared quicker than a NZ opening batsman facing the Aussies. That was how a small group of MR2 owners came to be surrounded by a sizeable mob of MX5s .... and a few other mixed vehicles on 30 November 1997.

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Driver training is all about learning car control - not driving fast. There are many ways to learn car control and some are safer (and more legal) than others. Hooning on public roads may allow you to learn about your car, but it will also attract a lot of attention from the local constabulary and if you get it wrong, the results are likely to be very expensive. There are various advanced driver training courses available, and they all teach you about oversteer, understeer, braking and emergency situations. Most of the courses available, however, are not conducted in your car. The advantage of learning advanced driving skills in your own car is that you learn your car’s warning signs, and how your car behaves in emergency situations.

The training day we attended simulated road hazards like emergency lane changes, threshold braking, swerve and recover, etc. as well as the traditional slalom. The course was designed and run by volunteers from the BMW club and the Ford Advanced Driving School. These guys were all experienced drivers, many of them with many hours of track time in a variety of cars. Their advice and comments were generally very helpful. The idea was that each driver tried the exercises at different speeds to experience how their car felt in each of the simulated emergency situations. Gradually increasing the speed of each exercise demonstrated how small increases in speed can make huge differences in the amount of control the driver has over the car. The exercises were designed so that mistakes could only result in hitting cones or spinning harmlessly on the track.

A steady drizzle in the morning allowed ample demonstration of wet weather handling and tyre characteristics during the exercises. The afternoon’s activities were more focussed on car control while cornering in speed limited sessions lapping the race track. Drivers were optionally accompanied by instructors and were invited to explore the handling characteristics of their cars around Pukekohe’s corners at speeds less than 100 km/h. Despite the speed limit, it was definitely fun and 100 km/h is plenty fast enough in some of those corners. Later on in the afternoon there was an optional "open speed" session for those drivers who wished to further explore the handling of their cars. Once again, instructors were optional, however, helmets were mandatory.

I couldn’t believe how much I learnt about my car and the way it handles. More importantly, I learnt a lot about my own abilities as a driver. In the dry, full throttle became fun to play with .... the resultant oversteer was predictable and controllable ..... and fun. In the wet, it was a very different story though. Even though MR2s handle extremely well, wet roads require a lot of good judgement and a lot of respect.

I would strongly recommend attending a driver training course if you’re at all interested in learning about your car or improving your driving without running the risk of damaging your car or your driving record. Any of the driver training courses available will help you, but those that use your own vehicle will teach you more. These courses tend to be a lot of fun and you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn.

We are currently investigating the possibility of organising a driver training day for the club, though we’ll need a fair amount of support to make it viable. It is more than likely that we’ll have to combine with another car club to get sufficient numbers to keep costs reasonable. Keep an eye out for a driver training day advertised in the newsletter and take the opportunity to have some fun and learn about your car at the same time.