palmersport 2011 - Halfords

JONATHAN PALMER ON 20 YEARS OF PALMERSPORT
I began PalmerSport back in 1991 when I retired from driving after six years racing in F1.
Building the business fitted in well with my role as co-commentator with Murray Walker on
the BBC Grand Prix TV programme.
From the outset my objective was to provide the best corporate hospitality motorsport
driving event in the world. Key to achieving this was to give our guests unprecedented
levels of not just freedom but encouragement to push some fabulous high performance
cars harder than they ever dreamed.
Twenty years on and PalmerSport has come a long way. It earned the undisputed
reputation of being the best corporate motorsport event long ago and ever since I have
been paranoid about not just maintaining but extending our position as market leader.
We made a big step forward twelve years ago with the opening of our own Bedford
Autodrome circuit complex. I designed it to be the perfect venue for corporate motorsport
events with four separate circuits that could be run concurrently, each with huge run off
areas for safety.
Our philosophy of coaching guests to go faster than they ever dreamed, striving to
improve lap times in every machine, is more powerful than ever. And so are our cars! The
performance of our fleet has escalated hugely over the years, partly with the introduction of
amazing hot rods like the 420bhp V8 BMW M3, but also because much of our line up is now
full-on motorsport machinery, like the new Palmer Jaguar JP-LM.
Impressively, our guests have proved very capable of extracting all this increasing
performance. And when experienced amidst an environment of outstanding quality,
PalmerSport has proved a compelling invitation, whether to corporate guests or
private individuals.
From the critiques all our guests complete at the end of their day, we know that in 2010 over
99% wrote they were “very keen” to come back to PalmerSport again. And that unrivalled
fact is a consequence of our continual drive to make PalmerSport better every year.
Jonathan Palmer
Chief Executive, MotorSport Vision
PALMERSPORT 2011
– WHAT’S NEW?
The stunning headline upgrade to PalmerSport 2011 is the
introduction of the brilliant new Palmer Jaguar JP-LM sports
prototype, as featured on the front cover. Our previous Palmer
Jaguar JP1 open two seater was often rated the best car at
PalmerSport and, like any successful manufacturer, we have
built on its strengths and addressed its weaknesses. Of course
it’s faster, but it is also much more spacious in the cockpit to
accommodate all sizes of driver more comfortably.
But we’ve not stopped there. Jonathan Palmer personally tests
and evaluates each vehicle type we have and every one has
benefitted from detail upgrades he has specified for 2011, to make
the cars perform better, nicer to drive, or both.
The Porsche 911 JP3 has undergone some big changes.
Performance is now much sharper from shorter gear ratios,
providing better acceleration. Brakes have been upgraded as has
the whole cabin and a sparkling new livery celebrates the changes.
The Clio Cup race cars have revised spring rates to improve grip
and ride, while the BMW M3s have stiffer springs to make direction
changes even sharper. Similar spring upgrades have been applied
to the Caterham 7s, which also feature lighter steering and better
braking, as well as onboard cameras now. Jonathan Palmer is
fastidious on detail – on the Formula Jaguar single seaters the
onboard camera has even been made more compact to improve
forward vision and cockpit leg padding improved to aid comfort.
For the first time in 10 years our karting activity has been
transformed for 2011 following the introduction of a fleet of brand
new 390cc Sodi GT5 karts, which are faster, better handling and
most importantly lighter to steer than those before.
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Finally recognising guests’ eagerness for communication, all our
hospitality suites have now been equipped with wi-fi internet
access for the first time.
PALMER JAGUAR JP-LM
PORSCHE 911 JP3
KARTS