High Performance Advanced Driving Courses

Advanced driving courses come in many shapes and guises, yet all share an underlying objective of making drivers more aware, more skilful and therefore safer. Key components of a typical advanced driving course are detailed, long range observation; advanced hazard perception, anticipation, communication and space management; plus accurate inputs with all controls. Combined with a risk averse mindset and moderate use of speed, advanced driving skills are a great foundation for any driver, and generally sufficient for drivers in normal cars.

Driving a sports car to anywhere near its capability however needs significantly more knowledge and a much wider set of skills. This is where performance driver coaching comes in, taking enthusiastic drivers to a much higher level of advanced car control, and purposely designed to help such drivers safely and responsibly enjoy rapid sports cars. Performance driving courses therefore involve detailed skill development away from the restrictions of public roads, helping drivers gain a greater understanding of the physics of driving swiftly, together with their car’s capabilities and limitations. In the UK, there is no better facility to achieve this than Millbrook. If you are considering an advanced driving course to better enjoy your sports car, then Total Car Control can certainly help you.

To quote a much-respected forefather of the advanced driving industry, “There are millions of licence holders out there, yet precious few drivers”. Most people consider themselves to be at least fairly good drivers, and indeed get from A to B without serious incident. Yet most drive in a very passive and disengaged manner. The act of making a car move down the road is simple enough, and many people repeatedly drive familiar routes; such as when commuting or doing the school run etc. This makes it all too easy to slip into ‘auto pilot’, especially when considering how comfortable, quiet and cossetting modern cars are. Add to this the distractions associated with passengers, hands-free phone calls or merely thinking of things other than driving and it’s easy to see why the majority of drivers are largely inattentive, and therefore slow (at best) to recognise or react to developing hazards.

An advanced driving course with an expert advanced driver trainer makes driving a cognitive process once more: being much more focused and considered, with heightened awareness plus a far greater connection to the car and how each control input effects handling. As well as making for safer drivers, an advanced driving course makes driving much more enjoyable and rewarding; especially in a sports car.

An advanced driving course with Total Car Control typically includes a combination of ‘dynamic driving’ at a private, purpose-built facility and ‘real world’ application on public roads. We introduce and develop many aspects of advanced car control in the safe and yet highly challenging environment of Millbrook Proving Ground’s numerous test tracks, and then translate and further develop those new skills using superb B-roads across several counties.

Each advanced driving course we deliver is tailored to the individual client, and to their car, for the greatest possible benefit. This means that we work at your pace and coaching intensity to achieve your own specific objectives, in a manner and style best suited to how you like to learn.

If you want to better understand and engage with your car, further raise your skills behind the wheel, increase your pleasure from driving and/or become a safer driver overall, then some sort of advanced driving course is going to fit your requirements.  There are many types and levels of advanced driving course to choose from, so finding the right training provider for your particular objectives and indeed personality is key.  After all, you need to gel with your instructor or driver coach to gain the most from your time with them, so a meaningful conversation on the phone with whomever you’re going to actually sit beside is ever useful.

Because our advanced driving courses are tailored to each driver as an individual, we are delighted to help drivers across a wide spectrum of age and experience. Primarily working with customers in pricey sports cars, it’s not surprising that most have between 10 and 50 years’ driving under their belt before coming to us for an advanced driver course; but that’s not always the case.

Armed with an appreciation and understanding of the physics involved in driving, and how these forces apply to all vehicles, a good many clients choose to send their sons, daughters or spouses along for a course with us; whether in their own car or using the client’s sports car. As such, drivers with as little as 1 year’s post-driving test experience have successfully completed advanced driving courses with us: it’s more about ability and aptitude to develop driving skill than experience. Anyone considering an advanced driving course with us must at least hold a full driving licence and a degree of competence.

Absolutely not. Whilst there several advanced driving tests available (most notably the RoSPA Advanced Driving Test), by blending advanced driving with performance driving we provide something very different. Any ‘test’ necessitates following a prescribed format and content; the very antithesis of Total Car Control core values. Whilst worthy (and indeed very worthwhile), no advanced driving test considers or involves ‘dynamic driving’ or advanced car handling at speed, both of which are key areas within our carefully tailored advanced driving courses.

Our sister company, All Road Training (https://www.advanced-driver-training.co.uk/), also owned and managed by Ivan Thompsett, provides tailored advanced driving courses to businesses nationwide and overseas, with long-standing clients including HR Owen PLC and Fugro Geoservices.