David Alstadter with his F430 Spider at Spa Francorchamps, home of the Belgian GP.
Combining art and science in high performance driver training–in a Ferrari 430 Spider
By David Alstadter
David Alstadter has been there and done that. Not long ago he raced and restored cars. Not just any cars, but Porsches, Ferraris and BMWs. No slouch, Alstadter won both the Los Angeles and San Diego regional SCCA class championships. So it was with some surprise that we found Alstadter so impressed with a recent driving training course in Great Britain. The fact that his normal mode of transportation is a Ferrari 430 Spider added to the interest quotient. Alstadter wanted to drive his Ferrari to the great circuits of Europe and participate in track events, hence the need to update his skills. There are no disclaimers here, just sheer enthusiasm. (Ed.)
Think you can drive really well? So do I… or I did… or I do now. With my experience, what could I learn or gain from driver training? A lot!
If you are like me, just starting out or at any level, prepare to be amazed at how much you can learn about driving smoothly and quickly, vehicle dynamics, and more importantly, how much fun it can be. If you love driving cars fast, racing or time trials, or just want to learn how to improve your skill level and/or lap times no matter what level you are at now, CAT (Corporate And Track) Driver Training in the UK may be just what you need.
Granted, I’m a bit older now and no longer race, but I still love to drive cars fast and on racing circuits. I recently moved to Europe, and figured that with some of the world’s best racing circuits in my backyard, I could live my dream of driving these fabled historic tracks and so bought a Ferrari F430 to do it! Participating in track events can be a bit daunting for novice or even experienced drivers that have been out of it for a while. I wanted to find a driver training facility that could get me back up to speed, provide some coaching and feedback on my rusty skills and maybe even teach an old dog like me a few new tricks. I also wanted a facility and training that could provide one-on-one coaching and a controlled environment, to explore and better understand the dynamics of my own Ferrari before I took it on track with a bunch of other Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher wannabee’s.
Millbrook Proving Ground – Every kind of track and surface you can imagine. The ultimate playground!
Operating from the 700-acre Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, UK, CAT Driver Training’s facilities are phenomenal. Millbrook is one of Europe’s leading motor industry testing facilities and has every road surface, angle and radius corner, plus a high speed two mile five lane banked bowl, an alpine circuit that mimics the Nurburgring carousel in Germany, a mile straight for high speed threshold brake testing and wet and dry skid areas. CAT provides training in their own cars, and most importantly, also in mine.
Jo and Colin Hoad – The team behind CAT Driver Training.
Prior to signing up, I spoke with Jo and Colin Hoad, the fantastic husband and wife principals of CAT. We talked about my past experience, what specifically I was looking for, wanted to achieve and some concerns I had about adapting to high performance driving in right hand drive cars. From the moment I contacted them, Colin and Jo were extremely responsive and helpful. They explained Colin’s background, qualifications and one-on-one teaching style. Colin assured me I would adapt quickly to shifting right hand drive cars and suggested I take CAT’s three day grip limit course. The service was terrific. Jo even made hotel reservations for me near Millbrook, personally advised the hotel that I would be arriving with a Ferrari and arranged suitable protected parking. The Hoad’s thoughtfulness and attention to detail even extended to instructions for my trip from Paris to the UK via the Eurotunnel train, including a warning not to take my car on the upper deck because of the damage the ramp could do to the car.
With over 30 years’ experience in the motor industry, motor racing and motorsport engineering which he gained at Rolls Royce, Porsche, Ferrari, Morgan and others, Colin’s knowledge and understanding of vehicle mechanics and performance means he and his team teach things others training companies don’t cover.
David Alstadter in CAT’s Subaru preparing for another run on the slalom course.
Colin began my training with one-on-one demonstration and coaching in CAT’s Ford Mondeo which sounds dull but, it is a very neutral balanced platform, great to demonstrate vehicle dynamics and good driving techniques at more moderate speeds, and quite quick when driven smooth. If you doubt this, just watch Colin pass Porsches and BMW M3s at the Nurrburgring in it!
Colin conducts the training, demonstration and coaching all from the cockpit. My previous driver training in the US consisted of starting with classroom training, being watched out on track by an instructor and then more classroom training. But as I learned at CAT, listening to advice in a classroom about what to do, attempting to implement that guidance by driving a single-seat race car around a track, then downloading and analyzing data after your laps, while useful is not the most optimal way to learn.
Drifting CAT’s Caterham on the Millbrook skidpad as part of the grip limit course and fully understanding what the car and driver do in understeer and oversteer conditions.
At CAT I learned why a car performs as it does, that a car is a platform that needs to be balanced by its inherent design, components used or modified, and my driving inputs. I have rebuilt cars, and know how to check components and ensure everything is in working order. But Colin connected the dots for me in terms of how and why a car performs as it does. He explained how changing certain components or their properties affected certain behaviors and the stability of the car. You don’t have to be a mechanical engineer or rocket science to understand this. That’s the thing about Colin: whatever your level, Colin can adjust his teaching style and your understanding and technique back to a neutral place, so that you learn and understand with a new perspective. This kind of knowledge blends science and art together so you have greater control, rather than just getting lucky on a particular lap. Colin’s skill at communicating his knowledge and experience is unique and you can easily assimilate the knowledge and put it into practice there and then.
He explained that driving well and top performance is not just about knowing what speed to do at any point around a given road or circuit. Instead, it’s about understanding why the car performs in certain ways in different conditions and how specific changes in your own driving inputs combined with adjustments to the car improve your skill and results. The key is that you as the driver must become as consistent as any other part of the car. So consistent, that you can feel or make minor adjustments to the car, and can make adjustments to how you need to drive it to decrease your lap time. The end result is that you recognize how you and the car feel at every stage of the circuit or road.
Part of the training involves looking at tire grip limits, single radius cornering, looking in the proper place while driving, variable adjustment of dampers (shocks) and springs, and progressively “stiffening” the car to see how they respond and react to different irregularities in the road and conditions.
David Alstadter putting his renewed skills to work at Magny Cours – French Grand Prix circuit.
The training is so good that techniques that eluded me before suddenly seem simple afterwards! Because the training is dynamic and adaptable, I felt after my three days with CAT that I could take on any new track with confidence. This was significant and worked out well for me as I followed up my training by driving on the Formula 1 circuits at Magny-Cours in France, Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, Monza in Italy and the Nurburgring. Not only did I feel comfortable on these circuits, but I had a great time and improved my lap times and skills appreciably!
The website for CAT is http://www.catdrivertraining.co.uk/.