Rockingham
Driving Experience Day
4x4 Off Road Driving experience
 We
would be tackling the 4x4 off-road
driving in the BMW X5, which is BMWs 4x4 vehicle. There
was 4 people in each 4x4, 1 instructor and 3 of us who would
be driving the off-road course. The circuit is arranged so
that each of us were able to have a go at tackling each section
of the course with our expert guidance from the instructor.
The instructor talked us through what we would be doing and
all the different things that the BMW X5 could do and how
we should tackle each section.
 It
was amazing fun and all at 5mph, a complete contract to the
100+mph we were doing on track earlier on. Despite the 4x4
doing things that you don't actually think look possible it
(and yourself) will manage them with a great sense of achievement
as you control your driving through water and up and down
muddy banks in a forest section. Some parts seem scary, where
you drive the 4x4 up a steep incline and then click a button
and drive it off the edge, take your hands off the steering
wheel and pedals and be amazed at how the the 4x4 actually
works, you can feel the car actually working beneath you to
get you to the bottom of the steep muddy slope in total control.
You get to drive it down other slopes and into water filled
pools create a right mess (while staying perfectly dry and
clean on the inside).
After
finishing the 4x4 off road driving we headed back to the corporate
box for a bite to eat and something to drink and meet back
up with the other groups. There was a presentation of certificates
for the day (nice to keep as a memento) and then that was
it, the driving experiences was concluded for the day.
It
was absolute superb fun and I was lucky enough to be able
to experience 3 completely different driving experiences in
the same day, despite not getting anyway near as long on track
per driving experience as you would on a standard driving
experience day it was nice to be able to sample each of the
different experiences on offer. As for which one I would choose
it's too tough to call, all of them offer something completely
different but all are absolute superb fun!
 At
the start we had the saloon
cars where we got to drive round the race circuit and
learn our breaking points and racing lines, next up was the
single seater which
was on the oval circuit which was more a case of pedal to
the metal and experience how amazing a single seater will
handle and accelerate and to have the "Formula 1"
sort of experience. Last up was the 4x4 which despite being
over 100mph slower than the single seater was great fun as
you get to tackle terrain that you won't get to drive across
in any ordinary circumstances (unless you own your own streak,
woods and 4x4 that is)!
|
