Mazda MX5 vs BMW Drift Battle

What Can I Expect

It's a Mazda MX5 vs a BMW 330 drifting at Bovingdon! A full-blown, sideways-sliding day of drifting on the airfield circuit in Hertfordshire. Let's see how you get on driving both of these very different drift cars.

The MX5 is a rear wheel drive pocket rocket and has been beefed up with roll cages, limited slip differential, coil overs and fancy Enkei alloys! As for the Beemer, you'll love the look of this special Drift Taxi paintwork. This 330 BMW has a custom-mapped hybrid turbo setup, which makes this big car a whole lot of fun on the drift track. On all experiences you will drive half the time in the MX5 and the other half in the BMW.

First up is some basic drift training. You need to get a feel for oversteer. Then it's all about breaking traction and balancing the car in a smooth, rolling drift. Nice. A bit of practice on weight-shifting to flick the car sideways and you're on the road to cracking those transitional drift skills.

You'll soon be power sliding those wide, sweeping bends at a teeth-clenching 60mph or more, whilst staying in third gear. If you opt for more laps, you'll take your drift skills a step further. You'll learn how to link those transitional turns - and maybe even try early initiation, with a little hand brake entry to proper style it out.

Anyone totally mad about drifting, should max out on the 36-lap drifting experience in Bovingdon. After your four sighting laps with the instructor at the wheel, you'll start by learning all the basic moves. You'll have loads of seat time to be able to perfect all those, before progressing. Here you'll perform nice runs of handbrake turns and Scandi flicks, using lift off oversteer, weight transfer dynamics and hand brake entries.

As you can probably tell from this write up, this isn't just 'having a go' at drifting. Bovingdon hosts proper drifting training sessions. You'll learn lots about this motoring skill that's almost as fun to watch as it is to actually perform. So a call to all petrol heads: get yourself down to Hertfordshire for a drift-busting day in an MX5 and a BMW!

Availability

• Selected weekdays throughout the year
• Upgrades to include Saturday mornings are available (payable direct when booking your date)
• Experiences are subject to availability and weather conditions

Suitable For

• Minimum age is 17
• Maximum age is 80
• Height restrictions: minimum 5ft, maximum 6ft 2ins
• Weight restrictions: maximum 18 stone
• A full manual driving licence is required
• Participants must be physically fit with no serious health conditions

Spectators

• Friends and family are welcome to come along and can participate in passenger hot laps  or driving laps,  for an additional charge payable on the day

Anything Else

• Flat soled shoes must be worn
• Glasses must be worn if needed
• Lunch is not included - refreshments and snacks are available to purchase onsite
• Drivers will need to sign a form accepting risk and vehicle damage liability of up to  £10,000+VAT.  Alternatively damage liability reduction is available to purchase on the day starting from £27
• Please note rebooking within 14 days of your booking will incur a fee