Croft Skills Day 2021 by Dave Chapman

As is typical of the North East of England, Tuesday 29 June was a lovely sunny and warm day! The format of the IAM RoadSmart Skills Day consisted of morning and afternoon sessions, I arrived for the 08:45 briefing, and the event was a sell-out with 30 participants for each session.

After handing in my indemnity form, I was allocated my instructor and teamed up with another driver. My car is a JCW Clubman and my partner, David Pittock’s car was a JCW Mini. He had travelled all the way down from Inverness to attend.

After the very informative briefing by IAM RoadSmart’s Area Service Delivery Manager (ASDM), Sean Cronin, we met our instructor, and we took alternate drives of approximately 5 laps each with our instructor – this lasted 3 hours.

I learned a great deal about the capability of the car and was able to achieve everything I wanted. Throughout every run I was given instructions and advice, the great advantage of a Skills Day on a track is that it is much safer than on public roads and you are not restricted to stay in the lines you take through the bends or chicane.

Whilst it wasn’t the first time I’ve attended a Skills Day, it always takes a few laps to become accustomed to the lines you need to take to make the best progress possible.

My thanks go to my Instructor John Gregory, he hosts his own YouTube channel named ‘Reg Local’. John has lots of videos on the channel catering for both car and motorcycle Advanced Driving and Riding. Also a big thank you to the two ASDM's at the event, Sean Cronin and Scott Tulip.

I would recommend an IAM RoadSmart Skills Day to anyone who wishes to improve their driving or riding skills.