[Lupo116]

Hi there!

My girlfriend made me a special gift this Christmas: A winter driving training. :frozen: :thumb: It's located in the ÖAMTC safe driving arena in Saalfelden, Salzburg, just a two hours drive away. I went there on Dec. 27th and it was a great experience.

I already had a race driver training in Italy (under the flag of Alfa Romeo) and a rallye training, so I was a little sceptical, since ÖAMTC (touring club like AAA) training are not focused on the fun. But I was wrong. Our instructor pushed us (and our cars) to - and often over - the limit and it was great fun! :wave:

As a kid, I was a fan of Knight Rider, so I was stoked to learn the famous backwards turn, Michael Knight had to do so many times during his profession. Funny enough, our instructor called this "Fluchtwende", which means Escape turn if you translate it word by word. :thumb:

The day also included a slalom par course, avoiding a collusion on icy roads and a skidding pad, which spines the car, while you drive over it. It was really a great day and I recommend such a training to everyone who wants to train his/her skills and have a lot of fun!

Greetings from Austria,
Lupo

 

[GreatEscape2004]

Great videos LUPO. Looks like you had a great time. I used to work parttime for a local limousine company and I was always after the owners to send me to a driving school like this. I just wanted to try the "Escape Turn" with a 30 foot stretched Lincoln!!

 

[Surfscape]

Nice driving !!!!

 

[theescaperoute]

That's awesome Lupo!
Looks like you had a blast!

 

[Lupo116]

Thanks guys, this really was one of the highlights of the past year! The ÖAMTC offers also a SUV driver training with light offroading. This is something to look forward to...

 

[Ajax]

:clap:

Thanks for sharing, it looks like a blast!

 

[weebee]

:rockon: Looks like you had a great time!

 

[stone]

Viele Danke for those film clips Lupo! You definitely had fun.

 

[RobtRoma]

Very Cool... :thumb: Now I'm a little jealous.

 

[jonas1022]

Cripes! Yaahoo! That looks like fun for sure! What is training like that worth in Euros?

I used to do things like that for fun when I was a kid in Ohio during the winter. Lots of snow and ice there!

Good to know you were given instruction on how to do it properly. I wish I had access to something like that. Especially around here in Texas. Texans don't seem to have a handle on icey road conditions. Like today! Rain and freezing temps = ice.

 

[Scooter Scott]

Awesome clips! I honestly think it is crucial for someone to be able to learn how to drive in those types of conditions. I'm a big advocate of going into an empty parking lot and trying this for yourself...just depends what your local law enforcement thinks of it.

 

[JIMMYJOHN]

Here it's worth a good size ticket. However it may teach some folks how to handle their ride better

 

[Squishy]

Wow! I'm going to add that Escape Turn into my lessons. :yes: I already teach understeer/oversteer recovery and do a slalom exercise with my friends who are new drivers.

Over here it's normally a trespassing ticket, because the Highway Traffic Act does not apply to private property. However not all cops know that (or just want to be dicks) and exercises like that fall under "stunting" which gets your vehicle impounded under the HTA.

 

[jonas1022]

I used to do that in the high school parking lot. It was an open lot, and the nieghbors had some tolerence to wildhairs. Just had to stay clear of the fuel pump and the buses. No one would call the police. Go near the buses and the pump the Sherriff wasn't far away...!

 

[abide01]

cool stuff, man :thumb:

 

[Lupo116]

Hi guys!

Thanks for your comments! It really doesn't look that thrilling on the videos, as it looked from the driver's seat. But I had a big grin on my face for the whole day.

What is training like that worth in Euros?

Between 200,- and 250,- €, depends on the weekday and membership. But it's definitely worth every cent.

Here's another video my girlfriend made. The black spot marks the skid pad, that spines the car, while you drive over it. After that are two obstacles that shouldn't be hit. My top speed was 57km/h without hitting anything or leaving the track. That's fast for a car without ESP. I also tried it with 66km/h - the same speed a brand new BMW X6 tried it with ESP - , but that didn't work out.

It doesn't look fast anyhow, but it felt a lot faster from the inside. :shock:

 

[Scooter Scott]

:clap: