Thruxton Motorsport Centre
Originally a wartime airfield, Thruxton played a big part in the D-Day landings but was recommissioned as a racetrack in 1968. Since then, Thruxton has seen numerous racing greats take to its circuit. Most notably, in 1993 Damon Hill drove an incredible 57.6 second lap of the 2.4 mile circuit; that’s an average speed of 147.25 mph!
Drive or be driven
If you’d like find out how you compare to Hill, you can choose which supercar or racing car you’d like and take it for a spin around the track. Choose from a Porsche Cayman, an Aston Martin, an Octavia VRS, a Ferrari 458 Spider, an Audi R8 or even a Formula Renault and burn some rubber on the fastest track in the UK. Thruxton always endeavours to have a range of the latest supercars available.
If you’d rather spend the day upskilling yourself, then consider the Skid Pan Experience. For an hour you will be given the skills needed to correct and control a sliding car and handle a car in adverse conditions. Driving a Mini Cooper and a Toyota GT86, you will receive expert tuition from advanced driving instructors, helping you to invest in the safety of you and your passengers.
If you’re more of a passenger yourself, you can sign up for the Tiff Needell BMW M4 experience. If you recognise Tiff from Top Gear or 5th Gear, you’ve probably seen him perform all manner of seemingly impossible sideways slides in various cars. Now you can experience his legendary car control as a passenger as he takes you around in his BMW M4.
Of course, to experience such amazing driving events, there are a few restrictions – for everybody’s safety. Drivers need to have a full driving licence to drive any of the Supercars available. It doesn’t matter if you have points on your licence; just that you have one and that you are at least 17 years old. In terms of physical restrictions, a driver cannot be taller than 6’4” or weigh more than 18 stone (252 lbs). If you pass all these requirements then you’re good to go!
For a driving experience of a different kind, the attached Thruxton Kart Centre is one of the best outdoor kart circuits in the country. Drivers as young as 8 years old can drive the Thunderkarts at speeds of up to 60mph on the 0.68 mile circuit.
Spectator Sports
Finally, if you’d prefer to watch from the sidelines, Thruxton plays host to many car racing events, like the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, the BARC championship, Classic Sportscar Club Race Meeting and even the British Superbike Championship.
Or, if you need a venue for an event, Thruxton can cater for that as well. With over 30 years’ experience hosting events; Thruxton can host anything from a corporate driving event to a bespoke event at Thruxton for a different kind of office Christmas party. Thruxton has a number of function rooms, ten hospitality suites and numerous catering options on offer.
Once you’ve decided how you’d like to spend your time at Thruxton Motorsport Centre, you have to get there. Fortunately, getting there is easy. Southampton Airport is just 45 minutes away and Andover train station is just 10 minutes away. If you’re planning on driving, it’s 1.5 hours from London and 2.5 hours from Birmingham, and is readily accessible from both the M3 and M4.
There is a range of nearby hotels and guesthouses for you to stay in if you want to make a weekend out of your trip, or you can camp onsite if you are attending one of the race meetings. Toilets and showers are available, as well as fresh water and waste disposal facilities.
Contact details
If all of this sounds like your idea of awesome, you can find out more information at www.thruxtonracing.co.uk, on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/thruxtonracing, and on Youtube (Thruxtonracing). You can also follow them on Twitter @thruxtonracing. If you want to contact them to find out more about their driving experiences, call them on 01264 882222 or 01264 774921 or email info@thruxtonracing.co.uk.