After over 50 years of motoring experience I had thought that I was a reasonably accomplished driver and as I drove up to Millbrook last Friday morning in my newly acquired Mercedes 250 SLK AMG, my first ever sports car, I was looking forward to learning a few tips on Performance Handling, and having a bit of fun.

On the journey home that evening I was a totally different man – completely exhausted and drained, totally exhilarated, incredibly excited and psychologically stimulated to the ‘n-th’ degree. In short it was a fabulous day, brilliantly planned, bespoke tailored to suit an old man like me with his new toy and enormously worthwhile. I learned so much, not only about my abilities as a driver but particularly about my car, its capabilities, its technology and the excitement of driving it safely at speeds and tolerances which I would never have thought I was capable. Not only did I learn so much about myself and my car but I had more fun and enjoyment than I can remember for a very long time.

Millbrook was a truly remarkable place. Looking at it on Google Earth beforehand gave me an idea that this was going to be an experience. The long straight on which I learned to avoid a child running in front of the car when I was doing 70 mph and retain perfect control, the hour on the enormous skid pan doing figures of eight and learning to control both my front and back ends at speed were all excellent experience and I am sure will have made me a far safer driver.

But the majority of the time was spent on the Outer Handling Circuit and the Alpine Course. I have never driven at such speed (for me) on twisting undulating circuits before. Your coaching was truly expert and even my wife now says that I am driving so much more smoothly although I don’t think she has realised how much faster we are going! For 50 years I have always prided myself at being rather good at knowing where the apex of a corner is – how wrong I have been. What a huge difference it makes when you get it right; I now no longer even look at the same part of the road as I have done for half a century!

Having spent tens of thousands of pounds on buying a high performance car it seems crazy not to spend a few hundred more on learning how to drive and control it properly. I could not recommend this course more strongly and would wish to thank you for your excellent and sympathetic instruction, for tailoring the day specifically to my needs and for giving me so much fun.

J. Rodwell