I very much enjoyed my two days with Ivan recently on the Total Control Masterclass: the day at Millbrook was particularly memorable and the subsequent road day taught me a lot about my own driving. I’ve long considered myself a reasonable driver with a good awareness of what is happening around me and the ability to drive whatever car I happened to be in smoothly and briskly.

The purchase of an Aston Martin Vantage prompted a bit of a re-think of this position when I realised the car was taking charge and not me. Ivan’s tutoring was something of a revelation both in terms of handling the car and awareness of external factors. I’d read about left foot braking and even half-heartedly tried it on a few occasions but under Ivan’s expert guidance I quickly came to realise the benefits in terms of vehicle balance going into corners, particularly when combined with trail braking; very confidence-building. Sliding about on the low friction area was good fun although I struggled to catch the car once it did let go. I really enjoyed the Alpine Circuit with its combination of hills and bends and of course the big advantage of any circuit driving – nothing coming the other way. The high speed bowl is entertaining, particularly being passed by a couple of McLarens while doing 130 mph.

I’d thought my road day might be a bit of an anti-climax after the excitement of Millbrook but, as always, new skills to learn and techniques to master. A significant emphasis of the road day is awareness of what’s going on outside the car and what you can do to influence it and how it should influence you. I now look even further ahead (and behind) than I ever used to and take far more interest in what’s going on outside the car.

So for anyone considering taking any of these courses – just do it. Keen to do another day sometime next year; I’ll be in touch.

D. Lanceley