Extra Curricula Activities

Once upon a time, I giggled at the conversation I had with a lady whose husband was an airline pilot. She told me how he would complete an eight hour flight, come home, switch on his computer and then do an hour or two on Flight Simulator. She just didn’t get him and thought he was slightly odd.

Sadly, I have to confess I am a bit the same. After a day of driving I will sometimes get home, switch on the Xbox and do a few laps on Forza. Just like the pilot, I can’t get enough of driving. With a games console though, I can drive a different or exotic car every day. Better still, I get to push to the limit and have some real fun, knowing the environment is totally safe.

Modern simulators are very good because in reality it is rare that anyone has the chance to drive £250,000 worth of supercars for real, let alone exploit their true potential and staggering performance - unless of course you get treated to a ‘real driving experience’, which coincidentally, I did last week.

My partner kindly bought a voucher to drive a Ferrari 360 and when I arrived other cars were available too. I could not help but indulge in the opportunity! First I sampled a Lotus Elise, then the Ferrari 360 and finally, the full 428bhp of an Audi R8. Later when my partner asked if I enjoyed myself, I replied to her ‘Oh yes’ but to be honest, I think I might need another go just to be absolutely sure.