Driving Experiences

Some youngsters are learning to drive at the age of just 11 but there are pros and cons to this.

There are numerous “Young Driver” or “Early Drive” companies about who will teach youngsters the basics of driving a car before they are at the legal age to drive a car on the road at 17.

Youngsters, as young as 11 are able to get behind the wheel of a dual control car and learn how to drive it at specialist courses set up for those too young to drive legally on the road. The courses cost around £55 per hour and take place not on the public roads (as this would be illegal) but on private land with a qualified instructor also in the car.

The venues that these early driving experiences take place at include some of the various race circuits around the country.

What is more, for some the early drive experience can take a twist and it is possible that on a youngsters first day of being behind the wheel of a car they could find themselves having a Ferrari driving experience or to be doing some rally driving as there is also driving experiences that will allow youngsters to do this.

The issue that some have with standard early drive lessons is that although a child or young person may be able to do the basics to drive a car they are probably not mature enough or ready to understand what it is like to drive on the real roads.
Some argue that some youngsters will not take as many real driving lessons when they are aged 17 or above if they have taken an early drive course and instead rush through to pass their driving test instead of having a full learning process when they are able to legally on the road.

Others argue that the early learn driving experiences are good and that it will give youngsters a basic understanding and be ready to fully learn the more important parts of driving when they come to learn for real.

The 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) race calendar has been revealed showing the 10 race weekends that are to take place in this years championship.

The race days for each round of the British Touring Car Championship for 2010 are listed below:

4th April 2010 – Thruxton

25th April 2010 – Rockingham

2nd May 2010 – Brands Hatch GP

6th June 2010 – Oulton Park (View other Oulton Park events for 2010)

20th June 2010 – Croft

8th August 2010 – Snetterton

22nd August 2010 – Silverstone

5th September 2010 – Knockhill

19th September 2010 – Donnington Park

10th October 2010 – Brands Hatch (View other Brands Hatch events for 2010)

Oulton Park 2010 race events and fixtures have been announced and make for a super year of motor racing at the Cheshire race track.

Below are a list of the main Oulton Park events for 2010.

3/4/5 April: Cooper Tires British F3 and Avon Tyres British GT

24 April: Modified Live

1/2/3 May: MCE British Superbike Championship

22 May: Vintage Sports Car Festival

5/6 June: HiQ Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

29/30 August: The Oulton Park Gold Cup

8/9/10 October: MCE British Superbike Championship

There is 29 events all together for the Oulton Park 2010 race calendar, with the main ones listed above.

Brands Hatch has announced its motor racing fixtures for 2010.

Brands Hatch is one of the premier UK motor racing circuits and hosts many of the leading UK motor sport events, including the British Touring Car Championship and the BSB British Superbikes championship along with various other events.

The 2010 Brands Hatch main events fixtures are:

2/3/4/5 April: MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship

17/18 April: Truck Superprix

1/2 May: Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

29/30/31 May: The Masters Historic Festival

27 June: Modified Live

3/4 July: HSCC Historic Superprix

10/11 July: BikeRadar Live

17/18 July: FIA World Touring Car and Formula Two Championships

31 July/1 August: Superleague Formula by Sonangol

6/7/8 August: MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship

3/4/5 September: DTM

25/26 September: British F3 and GT Championships

9/10 October: Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

16/17 October: Formula Ford Festival

30/31 October: Truck Superprix

Brands Hatch is part of the Motorsport Vision group who own and run some of the leading UK motor racing circuits.

Silverstone race track is to change it’s layout before the British Grand Prix is due to be held there on the 11th July, although Damon Hill is not a fan of the new changes.

2 new straights are to be added to make it more of an “Arena” type circuit with an infield loop that will mean that Bridge and Priory corners will be not raced on and instead  the track will head up towards Becketts after Abbey where there will be an S-bend before a long straight brings the track to join the original back at Brooklands.

The extended track will cost around £5 million and will add half a mile onto the circuit making it 3.666 miles long and mean laps take around 4 seconds longer that the original circuit. The new track is expected to be finished next month.

Last year Silverstone lost the rights to host the British Grand Prix to Donnington Park for the next 17 years, but due to not being able to find the funding in time Donnington Park subsequently lost it and Silverstone was added back to the calendar after investing in making the venue up to scratch.