Reviewed: Exotics Racing Driving Experience – Los Angeles

I was invited to the new Los Angeles location of the Exotics Racing Driving Experience, to drive a supercar of my choosing. This is a brief description of my experience.

I was out the door before I’d texted, “yes”. I get to test drive a lot of fast cars —most recently comparing a new Porsche Turbo S to a new Viper GTS— but I almost never get to drive cars like this on a race track. The street is fun but you are always tethered by the fear of the police. You also don’t get to hit the same corner over and over, improving your skills. So, if you offer to let me drive an expensive car with many hundreds of horsepower on a race track, I will be there. Oh, I have to fight a dragon, and then endure 16 hours of American Idol beforehand? Hand me my sword and Snuggie. It’s worth it.

Exotics Racing has been operating a location in Las Vegas for a number of years, but just opened a second location outside Los Angeles, in Fontana. The facility is located in a corner of the Autoclub Speedway’s parking lot, an area the size of Africa. That’s a good thing, because it allowed them to pave a 1.2 mile track, complete with red/white borders, double apexes, a chicane, and a decent-sized straight. Some of you have probably done some legitimate track days and rolled your eyes, but even you can recognize the benefits of a track with lots of run-off and zero walls to hit. My bank account does.

This is also vastly superior to some other arrive-and-drive companies that run exotics around an autoX course. Those have a lower fee of entry and provide a good time to a wider market, but the instruction tends to be as brief as the act of righting a fallen cone.

ER has a more comprehensive, patient, almost serious approach. There’s a “classroom” portion that is about 25 minutes long. Rules, safety, all that are gone over, but they also explain understeer and oversteer, progressive throttle, and—one of the most overlooked topics—the ludicrous capability of these cars. I know what 600 horsepower means, you know what it means, but John from accounting and his date might not. This leads to people either driving too lightly, or going WAY too fast and expecting the car to figure it out. They present themselves as a racing school, and although it’s more like a condensed version of one, the presentation was thorough without being long-winded.

Next up: a ride-along. Gold star to ER for this. If you went right from the classroom to the track, you’d waste several of your precious laps just figuring out where the road goes. The instructor, BJ, took us around twice, pointing out the apex markers, and where to turn and brake. Very helpful.

That part done, I waited for my instructor to be available. While I waited, a C6 Z06 was giving ride-a-longs, 2 laps at a time, sideways. Drift ride-a-longs? That’s a very good thing. I got to ride with Formula D driver Corey Hosford once, and it was one of greatest automotive experiences of my life. Their Corvette doesn’t have as much power, but in the hands of their pro, Rudy Ibanez, it was ripping around every corner with lots of oppo and tire smoke. I asked how many tires they go through per day, and the answer was “many.” That’s the best $99 ride anywhere. Including anything offered at Six Flags.

Finally, my turn. What to drive? As you can see below, there were several tempting options. Not all of them are available at both locations, but if you can’t find happiness here, the list of cars isn’t your problem.

I chose the Nissan GT-R – EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN. Sit down and I’ll explain!

Yes, I passed on the Italians and Germans, but that’s because—with the exception of the 458 (which had a long wait)—at some point in my existence, I have driven the other choices.

But… I’ve read so many posts calling the GT-R a video game you could fill the Smithsonian with them. It’s not fair to judge a car on the opinion of others, so I wanted to see for myself. A track is the perfect place to test drive something (ahem,  car shoppers).

Clifford the big red Nissan. I’ll skip the specs because that’s what Google is for. It’s like a Porsche Turbo, but with the engine up front, worse visibility, and a heavier feel.

The instructor gave me a thorough briefing of the game plan (5 laps), how passing works (Yes, there’s passing), and showed me his backup brake pedal. He even helped me adjust my seat. I know about seat and hand position, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who think leaned back with one hand on the door sill is proper driving position.

That all set, video camera rolling (Costs extra, provides fastest lap, a speedometer, and two camera angles) we rolled out.

Flat-footed shifts, ABS braking, tire moan; yes please.  You don’t have to pull punches here. The track is quick, with a nice flow and a good selection of features. Small undulations under the fresh asphalt keep your fingers active and had me reminiscing about the best canyon roads. First-timers’ minds will explode and their eyes will permanently grow by 2mm. Their ears will hear lots of new words (“What’s a ‘chicane’? Is that a French chicken?”) Experienced drivers will appreciate the instructors encouragement to trail brake, go WOT, and pass. Follow the cones for optimal apex/tracking out and you are moving. With enough run-off to land a jet, you can drive at 10/10ths without fear of death. But if your technique is bad, you’re sliding off the track, trying to drift, or generally bad, the instructor will offer advice, explaining what went wrong, why it went wrong, and how to fix it.

The 5 laps feel longer than you’d think, but of course, it’s never enough. You can always tack on more laps for a reduced price, but for me it was 5 only. The GT-R at full tilt is anything but boring, but it does have a softness to it I didn’t expect. A bit of lean here, some squat there. Compared to the Turbo S I drove the week after, it felt heavier, a little less focused. It has the numbers to run with big boys, but it’s missing that intangible electricity that slaps your senses.

I walked away from ER with a solid respect for their business. They’re giving people a taste of what real track driving is about and they’re doing it in a way that is approachable and safe. These cars are serious, and anyone who just tosses you keys and says, “Have fun.” is not only irresponsible, but they’re not helping you extract the most from that opportunity. By giving instruction on how to drive, in the classroom, the ride-a-long, and then the laps, freshman drivers will really be able to understand what these machines can do and get a very complete impression of what it’s like to take them to the limit. You’ll probably learn something too, and better driving applies to any car.

But I think the best thing about a place like this is that for anyone who loves cars but will never own one of these extravagant machines, it will be one of their greatest memories.