A fabulous and fun experience all round. Anybody interested in improving their driving, and who wants to understand and exploit the capabilities of their car will benefit hugely from the time they spend with Ivan. I learnt an incredible amount over the course of our two days together, with techniques focused not just on speed, but also on safety and control.

Ivan has tremendous knowledge of a huge range of vehicles and is a patient, enthusiastic and committed teacher. The course was tailored to my interests and needs, and was focused specifically on getting the most out of my own car, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, both on the track and on the road.

I will certainly be back to keep improving my driving. Highly recommended!

R. Wilcox

Ivan, you delivered much more than you promised, in a modest and non-condescending manner. You are a master driver and an amazing instructor. We all had school teachers who knew their stuff but were poor teachers; not so with you.

As to the driving, I can only describe it as all aspects of the car merging with the driver to create harmony. I can honestly say that since the course I have never driven faster with such control, but most importantly feeling totally relaxed – this may seem alien (blistering speed and relaxed), and this is only something I experienced on the course and which has been reinforced in my daily driving.

As you know I am an IAM member having gained a F1RST, some aspects of which I have had to unlearn, but the TCC course has taken to me to another level and upon which I continue to build each time I drive. Although I am fortunate to have a relatively powerful car, the concepts you taught apply, in large, to all vehicles and wish I had not waited until I had my 911.

The inner smile I get every time I’m behind the wheel is unbelievable (and even the Range Rover doesn’t feel such a boat now!!). Thank you Ivan.

R.B.

I’d spent many years on cruise control – both literally and figuratively – allowing my car to follow the one in front. But when the approach of retirement prompted the purchase of a dream performance car, I thought I should have some training to get the best out of it.

I really didn’t know what to expect from the 2-day Total Control Masterclass, but whatever I had imagined, Ivan delivered far more. He introduced me to entirely new concepts that made no sense initially (trail braking, anyone?), but that were a revelation to experience in the safety of a one-to-one session on the Millbrook test track.

My worries about losing control of the car were rapidly put to bed when Ivan demonstrated what the vehicle was truly capable of, proving that I was the limiting factor and that the most effective upgrade was improvement to my driving skills.

Over the course of the first day on the track, I became more proficient and more confident in my ability to handle the car. At the end of the day, I was both excited and exhausted; my mind was humming with the new things I’d learned.

Day 2 was a great application of the technical skills learned on the track to the setting of public roads – it was such buzz! Learning to read the road, using full road width positioning when appropriate, and using the capabilities of the car allowed me to make progress faster and safer than I had ever driven before. With Ivan’s reassuring presence in the car reminding me of what good driving was like (and, occasionally, what bad driving was like!), I had continual feedback.

Driving home after the course felt completely different to my many prior years of driving – and it’s remained that way since. Now, I seldom use cruise control and I hardly listen to the radio because I am so engaged in the sheer pleasure of driving.

To complete the experience, my wife completed the course at the same time in her car with one of Ivan’s fantastic team.

P. Williams

First of all, let me say a huge thank you for your efforts during my day with you at Millbrook. This was one of the best days I have had driving my Maserati and left me with a myriad of lessons to work on that will gel to make me a better, smoother and more accomplished driver. I recognised before seeing you that I had a lot to learn before I could confidently say that I could ‘drive’ my car, and I was not surprised to see that I was correct in that judgement. What did surprise me though was, even after reading your excellent e-book, how far away from polished I actually was.

One area that I felt I might be ok was my observation. I like to think that I do look well ahead to plan my route through bends and tighter turns, but this of course gets all the more frantic when the speed builds, and it was a great lesson to me that even reasonably good observation needs to be much better to safely negotiate challenging roads. This was a lesson I didn’t expect to learn but one which has had a big effect on me since the course.

On the handling circuit in the morning, you more or less let me go at it with a view to measuring the level I was at. This was where I think I learnt a very substantial lesson about the car. I was undoubtedly relatively slow at first and was definitely taking the wrong lines into and out of the bends. After you did a short demonstration for me, just a couple of laps if I recall, I realised just how much more the car was capable of than I had given it credit for. Once overcoming this vital bit of learning, I felt my confidence increase significantly, knowing that if/when I made a mistake that the car was well within its capabilities, so a correction from me would be easily ‘accepted’. This allowed me to push on a little more than I had been before, confident that I could remain safe even when entering previously unchartered territory. Your short demonstration really set me up for the rest of the day and I’m delighted that you suggested it; I learnt a great deal from that.

The most impressive and surprising aspect of the day came on the Mile Straight. I wasn’t really too bothered about getting the car up to maximum speed on the High Speed Circuit: we know it can go fast and its not something that can be done anywhere else, so I was much more interested in the Mile Straight. Here you took me through emergency braking and manoeuvring under maximum brake pressure. Firstly, at 50mph we stopped the car within about 5 car lengths! This was a real eye opener too, as I had not applied maximum brake pressure in the car in the previous two years of owning it. In future this is something I will always do when I get a new car; it was another valuable lesson. Moving on we did the 100mph maximum brake and stopped in a similarly surprisingly short distance (albeit double the speed = quadruple the stopping distance). Again, really great lessons to pick up.

The Hill Route is a highly technical route with a great deal to think about, much of which at the beginning of the day would have been impossible, but after lunch when we worked with it I felt that I could definitely feel improvements based on what we had already covered. This was the most challenging part of the day for me, mainly because it was most like real driving and was the area in which I wanted to see genuine progress.

Before the day I hadn’t realised at all just how technical driving could be, but to be efficient on the road, smooth, fast and safe, takes a considerable amount of knowledge and solid concentration. Putting into practice therefore, all that I had learnt throughout the day was the most satisfying aspect of the course. I was far from perfect, but I was much more proficient than I had been just a few hours earlier.

Your teaching technique clearly works really well, for I learnt a great deal during the day about both my car and my own competence to drive it. I always enjoyed driving quickly but now see much more of a challenge in it. It’s no longer about just getting from A to B quickly, it’s now all about driving with sound technique to utilise the car’s capability, the road available and my learnt skills in handling the car through weight transfer, braking and effective steering. To arrive at B having achieved a technically correct drive is hugely rewarding, plus safer and with the option of arriving at B faster than before.
Thank you for a great day’s learning and experiencing the more technical aspects of driving, which have enhanced my enjoyment of my car and of my driving generally. Even my wife thinks I’m a better driver as a result!

M. Pilgrim

Thank you for a fabulous rollercoaster two days at Millbrook and on the road. The Total Control Masterclass has made me look at driving in a whole new way – I’m even running with driving lines in mind! We covered off everything from seating position to how to hold a drift. I was made to feel totally at ease, not at all judged as many ‘women drivers’ might fear, and that no question asked was a stupid one.

The course content was interesting, well structured, and hugely fun. I had the biggest smile on my face for two days and it was a real treat and luxury spending two days getting stuck in. I would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone who enjoys learning and driving – men, women, those who have been driving for years or only just starting out. Ivan, you are an excellent instructor – very patient, knowledgeable and good humoured.

M. Cleyndert

The time I spent in the car with you was definitely time (and money) well spent. I didn’t feel comfortable in the car before I met you, but following a day at Millbrook and another on the road with you, I really feel like I am at one and completely at ease in the Aston, and genuinely enjoy driving it now. I feel more comfortable in the Aston now than I do in the X6.

Day one at Millbrook was fantastic. I got to learn a great deal. I got to drive the car fast, experience where the limits were (of the car and myself) and do lots of exciting things in an environment of relative safety. It was a great day, and I was absolutely knackered at the end of it!

I think in terms of achieving my objectives, I’d say I got around 8/10. I really benefitted from my day at Millbrook when I was let loose for two laps at Le Mans, and would have felt very nervous had I not had the benefit of a full day with you beforehand. Subsequent to that, I do now feel entirely comfortable that I know much more about how the car will behave in many different circumstances and how I should react. The two elusive marks are because I came a way a little disappointed with myself, having not managed to put into practice everything you were teaching me.

I think the mix of theory (pre-reading and discussion), the exhilaration of really testing the theory at Millbrook in your own vehicle and then finally putting it into practice on the road is the perfect combination. Without hesitation, I would recommend Total Car Control to anyone wanting to really explore the capabilities of their performance car and their own ability behind the wheel. Thanks for everything Ivan. I’m sure I’ll be back next year.

H. Smith

Ivan came highly recommended to me by a friend who had been through a similar experience of owning a car they didn’t understand how to exploit in an enjoyable and safe fashion. The feedback was, in a nutshell, ‘you need this guy!’ Up to this point, I had no idea there was such thing as a driving coach, so understanding what Total Car Control had to offer was important to me. The blend of track work at Millbrook followed by an application of the principles on the road the following day made a lot of sense to me and I committed to the course.

I am of the opinion that what Ivan taught me during the 2 day Total Control Masterclass cannot be self-taught by reading books or watching videos. There is no substitute for having a professional instructor with you in the car, giving you real-time coaching and feedback related to all aspects of your driving.

I’m convinced that this is the only way you can truly learn, in the same way that you cannot perfect a golf swing without an instructor observing. Yes, it’s possible to spend a lot of time hitting balls at the driving range, and over time you will improve your ability to hit the ball more consistently; however, you will never reach your full potential without a skilled coach. So why should learning to drive a car quickly and safely be something that we must learn on our own?

Driving competently is a life skill, so it was a no brainer for me and the cost of the course was an investment in my future in my eyes. The course itself was educational, extremely enjoyable and above all rewarding. Ivan communicates the science behind how to drive quickly and safely very cleverly and he ensured I understood the concepts before moving on.

I improved massively over the 2 days and my confidence and understanding of efficient, direct driving has greatly transformed me as a driver. I now think consciously about every corner I take in the car, positioning correctly on approach, trail braking when appropriate into the corner whilst looking for the exit as early as possible and clipping the apex correctly. It has even made my daily commute enjoyable, as I reinforce the learning of the course.

For those who may not yet be convinced as to whether you need to book with TCC, ask yourself this: if you are serious about improving in anything, wouldn’t you get some professional coaching? It really is essential, and you won’t regret it for an instant.

H. Al-Seaidy

I tried it. I loved it. I learnt a lot.

Now I find that… I’m getting more from myself. I’m getting more from the road. And, I’m getting more from my car. I’m going back again, because there is yet more to get…

Total Car Control is the driving ‘Secret Stuff’… The stuff that I did not know was out there. The ‘secret stuff’ gives me the awareness to see further; enabling safer, faster progress. It provides a more intense, focused and rewarding experience each and every time I drive.

A Total Control Masterclass is THE upgrade for pretty much any driver. Once upgraded, you’re always upgraded! Upgrading your driving with Total Car Control falls under the heading of ‘personal development’, and you can’t spend enough money on that!

This was simply the best value upgrade ever for my Porsche GT4.

George Pilkington

I would like to thank you for the special day I took with yourself on the Dynamic Handling Masterclass, which my sons had treated me to as a Christmas present.

I learnt a lot throughout the day, from driving position to how best to handle my high performance car around some challenging tracks. You helped me to push myself and find out the capability of my car, which was very invigorating and a brilliant thrill.

D. James

Very much enjoyed the Dynamic Handling Masterclass; and taking the day in the wet was also a great idea.

The dullest part of the day was also the best – braking and avoiding at speed. Gave me a lot of confidence in what the car does under distress.

Love to do another day and build on what I learned.

D. Quinney

I still rave about the Dynamic Handling Masterclass to all of my friends. It helped me understand that the car’s limit is greater than my own. It’s definitely not an understatement to say that the course has transformed my driving – the way I read the road, my positioning, and vision especially. I’m now looking further than my nose!! I’m now a better and safer driver as a result.

Many thanks again for a fabulously informative day. One I’ll not forget in a hurry.

C. Ware

I found the Masterclass with Ivan from TCC both very informative and very rewarding indeed. Having completed a number of track days, some with tuition, I expected my already existing skills to be polished up a little… How wrong can one be! The Masterclass course was indeed fantastic and far exceeded my expectations, and I came away with a renewed thrill for driving (I didn’t think this would be possible) particularly on public roads.

It is invaluable to learn why a car behaves the way it does under numerous different scenarios and this understanding cannot fail to make one an improved driver! The Millbrook facility is fantastic and a must for any enthusiastic driver. Exotic cars and supercars cannot really be used to their full potential on public roads but they can at Millbrook under the instruction of Ivan!

Acceleration, braking, cornering, different road surfaces; it’s all there to be enjoyed. My skills really improved throughout the day at Millbrook! Thank you Ivan!

Car designers and manufacturers invest vast amounts of money and time into their products to provide thrilling performance and technologically advanced safety features. If anyone really wants to experience them to the fullest extent in a safe controlled environment with expert tuition, then a Total Control Masterclass is an absolute must.

Chris Mitchell

Having completed a number of track days, some with tuition, I expected my already existing skills to be polished up a little… How wrong can one be! The Masterclass course was indeed fantastic and far exceeded my expectations, and I came away with a renewed thrill for driving (I didn’t think this would be possible) particularly on public roads