palmersport 2011 - Halfords

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PALMERSPORT INSTRUCTORS
PALMERSPORT TEAM LEADERS
One statistic says it all: despite the stringent requirements
and high qualifications needed even to be interviewed
as a potential PalmerSport instructor, just one in ten will
actually prove to be good enough to work for us.
How good? Well chances are you’ll be sat alongside an
experienced racer whose CV includes such highlights
as being a frontrunner in the British Touring Car
Championship, or a hotshot who’s on the verge of
reaching the pinnacle of world motorsport. We don’t like
to boast, but F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is just one
member of an illustrious list of drivers that have instructed
for us at Bedford Autodrome.
But simply being an ultra-quick racing driver will not
earn anyone a place as a member of the PalmerSport
team. Even more important is the ability for our instructors
to establish a close rapport with your guests, to quickly
understand their levels of experience, confidence and
expectation.
The most rewarding thing for them is to see every guest
progress and get the maximum satisfaction from their time
in the cars, through encouragement and coaching, from
whatever level they might start.
So our instructors need to be supremely fast but also
possess outstanding teaching and communicating skills.
Not to mention nerves of steel.
It’s little wonder so few make the grade.
Examples of our instructors from the past 10 years
Lewis Hamilton 2008 Formula One World Champion
Justin Wilson Former F1 driver & Indy Racing League race winner
Rob Huff 3rd in 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship
Robbie Kerr Race winner in A1GP World Cup of Motorsport
Oliver Jarvis Drives for Audi in DTM/Autosport Award winner 2005
Susie Stoddart Drives for Mercedes in DTM
Stephen Jelley Race winner in British Touring Car Championship
Steven Kane Formula Two test driver/Autosport Award winner 2001
James Gornall 2008 British GT Champion
Richard Plant 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Champion
Dean Smith 2009 Formula Renault UK & Autosport Award winner
Martin Donnelly Former Lotus F1 driver
Every guest at PalmerSport is part of a team and every team has its own
leader - a highly experienced member of our staff who will stay with you
throughout the day to ensure that the entire event runs like clockwork.
Your team leader will let you know exactly what you should be doing:
they will explain every activity, when you will be driving and what you
need to wear. Most importantly you never need to worry about missing
a precious drive in the cars – there’s no queuing here, just a highly
organised schedule which your team leader will smoothly implement!
You can just relax.
If you have a query or concern on any matter, whether it’s choosing the
correct size of helmet or needing a more comfortable seating position in
the car, you’ll be put at ease.