Yesterday I did the Dream Racing "Extreme XP" package driving a Ferrari 430GT. The experience was top notch. The facility is excellent, very friendly staff, great instructors. My package included a brief video classroom session (probably the low point of the whole thing, very fancy video, shot by the "Top Gear" film crew, not very informative, but at least it was short), followed by simulator time. They have a room with about 6-8 "i-Racing" simulators, very realistic. Your instructor for the simulator is the same one you'll have in the car, which is neat. After that you suit up, and off to the cars. My package included 22 laps with telemetry. The first session you drive 6 laps, then you come in, switch seats with the instructor, and he does 2 hot laps. Those are done not "10/10", but just faster than your pace, to show you where you can pick up time/speed. After that he comes in, you switch and you do 7 laps. Then you come off, get your telemetry slip, and your coach analyzes it with you, dissecting your mistakes, strengths, where you can go faster, etc. A brief hydration break in their A/C lounge, and off to the car for 7 more laps.

My instructor, Julian, drives a Lambo Trofeo and races in the Pirelli WEC series. He was excellent, very communicative, not intrusive, pushed me to the limit, he really constantly tried to make me go faster. They have open helmets with a radio comm system, very clear.

I started the day doing about 1:00:80 laps. For reference, my instructor's best lap is 51 secs flat, so I was 9 seconds off his pace. It's a 1.7 mile track with 9 curves. On my 2nd run, my best lap was a 54.8. My instructor was very happy, but told me he was sure I could go even faster, maybe in the 52's. We came in, analyzed the tele, he gave me some pointers, and off we went.
I had some traffic issues the last session, but felt like I was going faster. When I came in, he told me I had done a 52.8. He was ecstatic! I was congratulated by several instructors on my time, and both owners came by to personally introduce themselves and congratulate me on my time.

I was also invited to a special once-a-year event they do, called "Ready to race". They don't even advertise it, it's "by invitation only", you have to be able to do a sub-58 second lap to be invited. They have 12 slots, it's a 2-day event, where you're paired with a co-driver, for 2 days of driving. Overall you do over 100 laps over the two days, including a full blown race, with qualifying on two sets of fresh rubber. Your quali times determine grid position and who drives the first stint. It's a 30-lap race, two 15-laps stints. The whole event is sponsored by Bulgari and Dom Perignon, so it's done to a very high standard, they have money prices and trophies for the podium finishers. I'm thinking about it, it's on December 12th, and they only have 4 slots left. We'll see. As it turns out, my best lap time was exactly equal to their pole setting time at last year's race! And that was done on fresh rubber, a clear advantage.

Overall I give this experience a 9.5/10 rating. It was totally satisfying, very well worth the investment. It's a first-class outfit and facility, run by very friendly and knowledgeable people. I was able to shave a full 8 seconds off my lap times in just 1 day, so I'm very happy. Highly recommended.

 

 

Awesome experience! Looks like the shoes helped improve your lap times

 

LMAO! You guys don't miss much! I was channeling my "inner Senna".

 

LOL. was the first thing I noticed too.

Reminds me of the "Ferari" thread

Looks like a blast!

First question for the race. What do you have to pay if you crash the car?

 

Full coverage insurance is included in the price.
It's a 5-figure price, BTW. Working on some "sponsorship" right now...

 

Video-

 

Car seems to get quite upset with the ripples? What tyres was it on?

 

Pirelli slicks. It didn't like too much curb.

 

is he wearing socks? Now it's time to take up the hobby.

 

If that's the deal and you can get the budget, GO FOR IT!

 

Nope, no socks. LMAO!

Tempted. Only 4 slots left, BTW.

 

Total coincidence. I was there the same day. You must have been finishing as I arrived.

Beautiful weather. Wonderful people. Incredible cars. The whole experience was very well organized and I couldn't believe how many people were working there. I chose 7 laps in the 458GT. As you've alluded too, the experience is not inexpensive, but well worth it. I discovered that computer simulators give me motion sickness...sucks...I've been contemplating building an iRacing rig...not now. I had the same simulator instructor as you did. He was not impressed with my sim racing skills.

My instructor was JT. Great guy. I was impressed with how the instructors communicated with slower cars to avoid slow downs. My biggest complaint was that the car was setup for so much understeer. Understandable for safety, but took me a while to gain confidence in the car. Carbon ceramic brakes on the 458 also took a little getting used to.

The typical package results in about 6min of track time... but my friends and I still walked away impressed. Big smile on all of our faces. Unfortunately, 7 laps was just not enough for me to get comfortable with the car or the track. In the end, the Ferrari 458GT was a nice mistress for the day, but I still prefer my Porsches.

 

Dream Racing is great. Did the 430 GT experience last fall. Unlike a lot of 'driving experiences' you can actually drive the car hard. The instructors are good and let you push YOUR limits.

Of course I liked the iRacing simulators too

 

I sucked at the sim too! Hate them.
What a coincidence! Glad you had a good time.