Earlier this year I was offered an opportunity to spend a morning fanging a few Audis around some closed roads. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to take part in the Audi Driving Experience which came my way courtesy of Audi Centre Canberra.
Audi’s program is designed to give their customers a chance to drive at the limit in controlled conditions, while under the watchful eye of expert instructors. Former Audi Touring Car driver Brad Jones headed the tuition and he was ably assisted by ex-Formula Holden racer Christian Murchison and 2007 National Formula Ford Champion Tim Blanchard.
Sutton Road Driver Training Complex was the venue for the day and before we started there was a brief introduction from Brad Jones with some fairly rudimentary theory on oversteer, understeer and so on. Our group had about 10 people and there were three groups in total using the course during the morning session.
First up were some emergency braking scenarios. The cars used were A5 3.2 V6 FSIs. The task was quite simple, jump in, mash the pedal to the floor and hit the anchors as hard as you can after passing the orange cones, by which time we were doing around 100km/h. The goal was to stop before the next set of cones. We got two runs each. Easy. The next step was a bit harder and involved the same procedure, with a swerve after applying the brakes. In theory we would end up stopping in the same distance, but potentially unsettling the car while doing so was a bit unnerving. On my first run I applied the brakes too early. The second run I went a little too late. Fortunately it was only plastic cones we were playing with. We certainly got an appreciation of how violent you could be with the steering and brakes while the car’s electronics did their best to maintain composure.
The second exercise was a motorkhana course using TT S Coupés fitted with double clutch S tronic transmissions. With 200kW at our disposal and a well regarded chassis this was sure to be quite a bit of fun. And that’s exactly what it was! It was here that competition was introduced, too, with two timed runs to decide the fastest male and female for the morning session. I’ve done a few motorkhana style events in the past and the group here was made up mostly of beginners. So, the pressure was on. I was one of the last to go and the time to beat was around 24 seconds. My first run was 22.9 seconds and I was pretty happy with that. Could I better the time on my next run. Yes! I negotiated the course in 22.1 seconds to post the fastest time in our group. I just had to wait until the end of the session to see if the other groups could improve on my time.
The other groups were a bit late so we had some free time on the motorkhana course and we were able to get in about five or six more runs each. It was great fun. Our instructor Tim was great, he offered plenty of encouragement and kept timing our runs, although they would not count for the final score. Didn’t matter anyway as I was unable to post a faster time. I think I was trying too hard, although I did remain reasonably consistent with all the runs being around 1.5 seconds apart. It was great to see how much time the others in the group were able to take off their previous bests, too.
Oh yeah, the other two groups were made up from the Australian Swimming Team, so here was my one and only chance to beat some Olympic medallists fair and square! Could I hang on and claim the mystery prize?
Our final test was the skid pan. We were in A4 sedans with quattro and the 3.2 V6 FSI engines. If you’ve never taken your car, or someone else’s for that matter, on a skid pan before, I highly recommend it. Not only is it a lot of fun, but it is a great way to learn how a car reacts in extreme situations. With speeds kept well below 60km/h, it is also relatively safe. Did I mention how much fun it was!
We were taken out for four demo laps with the instructors, two laps with ESP on the next two with ESP switched off. And then it was our turn. It really is quite astounding at how well modern stability control systems work in scenarios like this, you can only imagine how effective they can be out there in real world scenarios. With ESP on you could drive the whole course with your foot flat on the accelerator pedal and maintain control right the way round, save for some understeer in parts. With the safety gadgets switched off, you had to modulate steering and throttle inputs manually. Of course, it’s kind of fun if you lose control while doing so, and try as I might I couldn’t recreate the instructors 360 degree spin! I did manage to get a nice drift happening out of one of the corners, though, which was rather enjoyable.
The only shame with this exercise is that the four allocated laps really weren’t enough. This was the best example for those in attendance who were unaware of what the ESP systems in their cars are capable of and so some extra time would be quite valuable I reckon.
The day ended up with a catered lunch that was certainly a step above salad rolls, if not quite silver service. Our table had Christian and Tim on it and they were very open and honest about how tough it is to try and forge a career in motorsport. Pretty good blokes too.
So, did I manage to win the mystery motorkhana prize and show those Olympians what for? Yes, I did. The prize was a nice Audi key ring, but it was the opportunity to take part in the day that was the real bonus. Thanks again to Audi Centre Canberra for the invitation.
The day ran smoothly and the staff and instructors were great, ensuring that the Audi Driving Experience was both valuable and rewarding. If you’re looking for a day that’s all about improving lap times, then this isn’t for you. It’s really about taking the opportunity to explore cars in emergency-like situations without the fear of oncoming traffic. I’ve done a couple similar days like this in the past through car clubs, so I wouldn’t say that I learnt anything that I hadn’t been taught before. However, the chance to hone one’s skills is always an opportunity that should be taken, I believe.
The only shame of the day for me was that I missed my chance at a hot lap with the guys in an RS4 or RS6 as I was too busy having a chinwag to the Audi sales staff in attendance. C’est la vie.
With a new car for myself only a few weeks away I can’t wait to get it out on the skid pan and see how it reacts, so that I can learn about the car while having a bloody good time. If you’ve never done the same, I reckon you should too.
