Fancy trying your hand at Stunt Driving? I take a trip to Wicklow to learn some stunt driving secrets writes Suzanne Keane
I may (or may not be) a stranger to pulling a handbrake turn in a wet car park but when the invitation to visit Stunt Drive Ireland popped into my inbox I couldn’t resist the challenge
Arriving at the centre in Co. Wicklow I was greeted by Aoife Byrne – a real life stuntwoman who has been set on fire as part of her working day in the past! Aoife is not only a certified Advanced Precision Driving instructor but has also been thrown across a room and beaten up as a stunt double in many feature films and TV shows.
Aoife’s choice of car for the day was a Mitsubishi Colt with a very loud exhaust and I couldn’t have picked better myself!
As part of the Level 1 Experience the first step was to master the forward slalom which involved driving through (without hitting) a line of cones as fast as possible – from my initial 3 attempts and tangled arms it was obvious that my hand positioning on the steering wheel needed work! Aoife took over for a second session showing how steering wheel control could make the Slalom effortless – well it looked effortless for her anyway! On my second attempt, following instruction there was a noticeable improvement but I’ll need to go back for more practise before considering myself an expert!
The second step in the Level 1 Experience was the reverse Slalom. This is where my years of reversing into parking spaces came into use and I was well able to swing in and out between the cones using just the wing mirrors – impressive for a beginner Stunt Driver!
The final part of the Level 1 course was 180 degree turns (or handbrake turns for the girlracers). While it may not have been my first time trying these out it was my first time using a hydraulic handbrake and definitely the first time I was able to get the car to slide to a stop exactly where I wanted it to be – however, despite multiple attempts I couldn’t quite master sliding into the box – self preservation and a foot brake pedal were my biggest enemies!
As someone who spent their younger days messing around in car parks I really didn’t think I’d learn much from an afternoon at Stunt Drive Ireland l but was really surprised by the adrenaline rush – even from the initial slalom. Later on in the day was all about control and making the car do exactly what you needed it to. I really can’t wait to go back for more practise and can definitely recommend Stunt Drive Ireland to both experienced and novice drivers.
For more information visit http://stuntdriveireland.ie/ or call 087 3812878
Suzanne Keane
15th February, 2016
