As drivers of one of the best-handling sports car brands we are all pretty good drivers… right? We all practice our driving skills more or less every day. Well, let’s take a step back and think about our driving prowess. When was the last time anybody reviewed your driving style and pointed out the bad habits? Do we all know what to do in that split second when an incident occurs? A child steps out into the road, a car heads towards you on your side of the road, you hit a slippery patch of the road halfway around a corner. There is rarely time to think so we rely on our instincts. How attuned are your instincts? 

Andrew Walsh has been offering performance driver training for many years. His cousin died on the road in a sports car. Andrew’s goal is to get as many of us as he can to improve our driving ability, hopefully preventing accidents. He is well known in Lotus circles and today runs an organisation called AW Driver Training. Over the Christmas break, I went to see him at his facility in North Weald, Hertfordshire to have a chat.

How long have you been conducting performance driver training?

I’ve been instructing Lotus owners since 1999. Originally I was using an Elise on the road to cover advanced driver training for race drivers. Then people started turning up in their own sports cars. Most of these had little to no race experience. The decision was then made to do limit handling in a safer environment. Having come from racing I knew we couldn’t do this on track. So I developed a fast course to limit handling at real speeds, on an airfield. Paul Golding of Lotus on Track was one of the first to have the road course and then the airfield course before he moved on to racing. I competed in his Lotus Elise race series and managed to win the inaugural race and eleven more that year. Paul and I have worked together for years, arranging track days, activity days and road events.

So how do you start with someone like me, with a little track driving experience, forty years of road driving, a raft of bad habits and a car far more capable than I am?

A couple of simple exercises. First, just stopping the car correctly. This can normally reduce the stopping distance by at least a car length.

Second, the high-speed bend. Drive down a straight, then at a set speed turn the corner. This is repeated faster and faster until eventually, you hit the ‘imaginary wall’, i.e. you spin. Once you say it can’t be driven any faster I’ll show you how it can be. Entering a corner too fast on the road is most people’s worst nightmare. It can of course be caused by your mistake, other drivers or road conditions. Once you have learned a few of the ways to deal with this scenario, you will hopefully be a safer driver and you can have more fun. I make sure there is lots of exercise-based tuition, tailored to your skill level in the safe environment of the airfield with plenty of runoff, no other cars in the way and nothing to hit, cars or walls!

I understand you run training for four people per day. How does this work?

I start with a little assessment of each individual. We then move onto the high-speed bend. One at a time each student drives the bend. You then come around and try again. I jump between cars giving tips to improve or demonstrate the next exercise. Some will be taken away to do circles or steering exercises. In the last couple of hours, we use the little circuit to hopefully put the skills into practice. The little circuit is designed to really test your skill. It is marked on the ground and looks like a ‘race track’. There is plenty of runoff if you get it wrong but the idea is to stay on the marked track, much harder than it looks!

How do you manage different driver skill levels?

The training is bespoke to each driver's skill level and aspiration for the day. As an example, although you will all be doing the high-speed bend it is likely each individual will be doing a different technique in the bend depending on ability and prior experience. 

I cannot heal and toe, trail brake or do any of these fancy techniques. Is this a problem? 

These won’t hold you back. You might learn a few techniques on the day, trailing braking in particular.

What am I likely to be able to do that I couldn’t when I arrived?

Firstly with the basics covered the idea is you will leave here with the car telling the driver how to go faster, safer and more confidently. As to individual skills, it all depends on the driver, some will be happy just controlling under and oversteer. For those who want to do more, we could well move on to how we can get a car back from 90 degrees without even moving the steering wheel. Spin control, when you see the lucky Formula 1 driver spin off backwards down an escape road I’ll show you how it’s no accident. 

If you are an experienced track driver and are looking for that thousandth of a second, hopefully, I can steer you on the way to finding those elusive fractions of a second.

If I do a track day I can get tuition. What is the big difference?

Unlike track tuition where we have to keep you safe and smooth gently building up speed. I’ve shortcut the learning process allowing you to find the limits within imaginary walls. Once you fail, I’ll then show you how to make improvements. Usually adding a lot more speed through the corner than you thought could be done.

I assume I have to use my own car. Am I likely to hit anything, as it sounds like I will be spinning at some point during the day?

Firstly, I do have two cars you can hire if you are uncomfortable using your own vehicle, a Lotus Elise S1 and a Toyota MR2. Secondly, we are driving quickly and that does bring its own risks. Having said that no one has damaged their car by hitting anything since I have been operating it. The ‘track’ I use is marked out on an airfield with a lot of runoff in all directions. There are no kerbs or holes to hit.

When I met Andrew it was wet and cold. An airfield in these conditions just seems to make everything wetter and colder. Having said that, the cars going around the ‘track’ all appeared to be having fun. The poor conditions really test the drivers' skills to the limit. As Andrew said when departing, days at North Weald should be treated as entertainment. Even the most academic people can only concentrate for 30 - 40 minutes at a time. However, if you are playing you can learn for hours.

If you are tempted to experience driver training yourself keep an eye on the Lotus Drivers Club website. We are talking to Andrew to see if we can get some Lotus Drivers Club exclusive days.