Audi’s successful Drive Experience kicks off this week for its 2013 season with 30% more courses, due to the popularity of the 2012 season.
After 15 years as an invitation-only, dealer-based program, the new Audi Drive Experience was re-launched in 2012 with a $6.8 million fleet of 40 cars.
Following a highly successful first year, the 2013 season commences next week and will continue its charter of promoting the importance of good driver education, according to chief instructor, Steve Pizzati.
“Last year, we set ourselves the goal of creating the single best driving program in the country. It was no small undertaking but then Audi doesn’t do things by halves,” says Pizzati.
“I think we achieved our goal, and even more importantly helped to raise awareness of the importance of driver education. I’d like to think we put good driving back on the agenda by creating a new program that went from half-a-day to a four level program that meant drivers could start with a useful handling course and move up through the ranks of the program to complete a full Audi race experience – if they so desired.”
“This year, we’ll have new vehicles to put through their paces including the new Audi RS4 Avant, the R8 PI model and even the SQ5 once they arrive in Australia. It’s the best collection of cars bar none,” says Pizzati.
The Australian public is able to participate in the Audi Drive Experience, as are Audi owners. The four tier program will be held at racetracks nationally and starts with the Audi advanced driving experience and ends with the full-blown Audi race experience where people can drive the mighty R8 LMS race car. Australia is the only country outside of Germany where this particular course is available.
The idea of a manufacturer-based driving program isn’t new to Audi. The brand launched the Audi quattro Experience in Germany in 1980 to demonstrate the benefits of quattro technology and to educate customers in defensive driving techniques. For 15 years, Audi Australia has also offered a simplified, half-day version of this program.
Program courses
In 2013, four levels of the Audi Drive Experience will be available to Australian punters. The Audi Advanced Driving Experience introduces participants to the program, with a schedule that includes a slalom course, understeer and oversteer identification, high-speed emergency braking with obstacle avoidance and further education about sound driving practice. Driving a range of cars from within the Audi stable, this full-day course costs $750 and will equip participants with greater awareness of accident avoidance and enhanced everyday driving techniques.
Building on that knowledge, the Audi Performance Driving Experience introduces participants to the exhilarating S and RS model range, as well as some motorkhana and racetrack exercises. This full-day course costs $1190.
Driving enthusiasts can then progress to the Audi Sportscar Experience. For $2990, the course introduces drivers to the specific skills required for high-performance racetrack driving, behind the wheel of Audi’s incredible RS 5 and R8 sportscars. One-on-one personal coaching is provided so that participants get the most out of the day.
The Audi Race Experience is the pinnacle, allowing drivers to join a very exclusive group of people that have piloted the formidable Audi R8 LMS GT3 racecar. For the most part, this group consists of the racing elite, and the car that is used for the Audi Race Experience is the same model that won back-to-back Bathurst 12 Hour races in 2011 and 2012. This full-day package costs $5990.
Ice driving experiences
Two additional programmes are on offer in 2013. Harking back to the original Audi quattro Experience of the 1980s, the Audi Ice Experience held at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground in New Zealand offers participants the opportunity to test their skills on a low-grip icy surface.
In addition, drivers can also book into the Ultimate Audi Ice Driving Experience in Seefeld, Austria, where the brand’s international team of instructors will blow your mind with tips and tricks for driver safely on the ice. This package also includes a cultural program to the heart of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany.
Pizzati is well-known as a former host of Top Gear Australia, but is also a professional race driver and engineer as well as acting as an Audi ambassador. His vision for the program – shared by Audi – is simply to develop Australia’s leading drive program.
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