Just recently, we were invited to train with a legend in race driving. None other then Rob Wilson himself… Little did we know, he would be teaching us how to fly around a circuit in a Vauxhall Astra.
Currently, more then half of the current F1 Grid have either learned from Rob or are still training with him. That is a pretty big opening statement right? Yes! Rob is a well respected and very experienced driver. Also a musician and songwriter in his spare time, he’s simply an all around cool guy. He knows how to make drivers faster, sharper and more natural on the track. Big in the game.
We arrived to Bruntingthorpe in a gorgeous Aston Martin DB11 we had from our friends at XL Vehicles and proceeded to driver briefing with Rob. After one of the most incredible one to one discussions on car control, weight distribution, movement, force, lines and mind state, I already knew exactly what I was in for. Rob has a beautiful, human way of explaining fundamentals and it was a pleasure to listen to him outlining each of his theories in such an understanding manner. After some further discussion and a coffee, we headed out towards the cars.
Out on the track, the brilliance of our session was simply the Astra. The small yet powerful diesel car was pushed to its limit and I was able to process essential driving techniques in terms of my cornering and exits with ease thanks to Rob’s tips. It was so much fun working the manual gearbox and using the brakes to shift weight around the car; Techniques Rob uses today to teach F1 drivers “Back to Basics” skills. Using “Heel and Toe” gear shifting techniques and also learning to make a “Flat Car” on exiting a corner are incredibly valuable tricks to achieving quicker lap times.
It was an experience I will not forget and I look forward to driving with Rob again. He says I did very well and I was impressed with how much I progressed throughout the day!
Thanks to Vauxhall and Rob Wilson for teaching us how to drive like an F1 racer in an Astra.
For more information, visit Vauxhall
MR. GOODLIFE
