- Joined
- Sep 16, 2016
- Messages
- 308
- Reaction score
- 282
Well alas I had to miss the race on Thursday which was a lovely combo - hope you guys had fun but I was away from home and had a drive in an Ariel Atom on Donnington Park - full GP circuit 
As we rolled up to the back of the paddock - the heavens opened up and the track was soaked.... doh... Not what you want with 300 bhp under your right foot in a 500kgs car - with sod all experience...
Thankfully the rain stopped and I was not on track for another 30 mins... track was greasy and drying every lap during my 6 laps.
Alas very few photos of note - this one you can at least see my ugly mug at the wheel.
I was asked not to go lower than 5th gear - which ofcourse meant it was not quite the experience you hope for but in hindsight Im glad it was manageable. You feel very naked in the Atom with the days conditions.
I took the car to almost 7k revs in 6th but was too much of a pussy to go higher - it was very windy which meant the car was dancing going in a straight line before you even brake.
I did not want to go faster as I just had no idea what to do at speed if the car did brake traction on a drying track....
The atom has absolutely no down force - its a very unsettling feeling at speed with the high winds and very twitchy under braking in the day's conditions too.
Outside of the twitchy-ness with very little weight the actual drive and comfort level was quite nice and with a helmet no where near as loud as I thought it might be with the intake next to your eardrum. The gear shifts were smooth and easy.
The track itself is modelled very well in PCars imo considering it is not laser scanned.
I especially noted the blind crests such as before Coppice, mid Starkey's straight just before the big building, half way before the Hairpin and finally before Goddards were spot on from my experience in game.
Thankfully I did not spin the car - which the previous 2 guys did (in 5th gear!) but then maybe I was just being a slow coach
This was followed up with a quick 2 passenger laps in a latest model Civic Type R and the driver really did go for it - obviously nothing like the passenger ride in the JPLM at Oulton Park ride along I did but it was great to see Donnington being driven in real anger from my own eyes pov...
Despite not being able to really hammer the car through the gears I still thoroughly recommend the experience. Its really quite affordable imo....
http://www.drivinggift.co.uk/driving-experience-ariel-atom-thrill-donington-e-55.html
At Oulton Park they had cones for driving lines which dampened the mood somewhat - here the track was exactly as you expect to see it with only a few other cars on the track (I only saw 3 other cars in 6 laps) - great fun!
Next stop in November - Oulton Park again to drive a 360 and a 911 and then a passenger lap in an Ariel Atom where I should get to experience the thing being driven in anger for 2 laps
As we rolled up to the back of the paddock - the heavens opened up and the track was soaked.... doh... Not what you want with 300 bhp under your right foot in a 500kgs car - with sod all experience...
Thankfully the rain stopped and I was not on track for another 30 mins... track was greasy and drying every lap during my 6 laps.
Alas very few photos of note - this one you can at least see my ugly mug at the wheel.
I was asked not to go lower than 5th gear - which ofcourse meant it was not quite the experience you hope for but in hindsight Im glad it was manageable. You feel very naked in the Atom with the days conditions.
I took the car to almost 7k revs in 6th but was too much of a pussy to go higher - it was very windy which meant the car was dancing going in a straight line before you even brake.
I did not want to go faster as I just had no idea what to do at speed if the car did brake traction on a drying track....
The atom has absolutely no down force - its a very unsettling feeling at speed with the high winds and very twitchy under braking in the day's conditions too.
Outside of the twitchy-ness with very little weight the actual drive and comfort level was quite nice and with a helmet no where near as loud as I thought it might be with the intake next to your eardrum. The gear shifts were smooth and easy.
The track itself is modelled very well in PCars imo considering it is not laser scanned.
I especially noted the blind crests such as before Coppice, mid Starkey's straight just before the big building, half way before the Hairpin and finally before Goddards were spot on from my experience in game.
Thankfully I did not spin the car - which the previous 2 guys did (in 5th gear!) but then maybe I was just being a slow coach
This was followed up with a quick 2 passenger laps in a latest model Civic Type R and the driver really did go for it - obviously nothing like the passenger ride in the JPLM at Oulton Park ride along I did but it was great to see Donnington being driven in real anger from my own eyes pov...
Despite not being able to really hammer the car through the gears I still thoroughly recommend the experience. Its really quite affordable imo....
http://www.drivinggift.co.uk/driving-experience-ariel-atom-thrill-donington-e-55.html
At Oulton Park they had cones for driving lines which dampened the mood somewhat - here the track was exactly as you expect to see it with only a few other cars on the track (I only saw 3 other cars in 6 laps) - great fun!
Next stop in November - Oulton Park again to drive a 360 and a 911 and then a passenger lap in an Ariel Atom where I should get to experience the thing being driven in anger for 2 laps
