I should start by saying that I am not a particularly proficient motorist. Correspondingly, the receipt of an invitation to attend the Mercedes Benz Driving Academy to experience the latest and greatest in automotive technology and drive some of their most advanced cars was met with curiosity, but a fair amount of trepidation on my part.
My fears were assuaged somewhat by enlisting my husband to join me (driving fast cars on a racetrack is not a hard sell) and so on a brisk Monday morning we set out to Sydney Motorsport Park. As we made our way to the only permanent circuit in Australia with FIA Grade 2 Licence in our dusty 2003 Subaru Forester, with its power steering long gone, we discussed the need for some new wheels for ourselves.
Karon Photography.
We were greeted with coffee and name tags and treated to an information session from Chief Driving Instructor Peter Hackett, who opened with the awe-inspiring stat that Mercedes spends $20 million every day improving its safety technology. It was made clear during the presentation that this investment has produced some frankly amazing features to assist the modern driver.
If a husband and wife share a car, the vehicle’s computer will take note of your individual driving tendencies and adjust its capabilities accordingly depending on who is behind the wheel. There are the Intelligent Drive Systems, including Active Lane Keeping Assist, which auto correct your car’s position if it is wavering over the white line or is within a certain proximity of another vehicle. Then there’s the seat belts that retract or expand depending on who is behind the driver’s seat, which tighten in the event of a collision (though I did wonder whether this could cause you some fleeting embarrassment if you jumped behind the wheel of your size 0 friend’s A Class?).
Jordan Stenmark – Karon Photography.
The twenty four of us assembled were then introduced to the seventeen highly trained motoring instructors, a veritable who’s who of motorsport. Our instructor for the morning was V8 supercar driver Ben Porter, whose task it was to take us through our paces and field any questions we had about the range.
It was then time to experience the range firsthand. Braving the track, we were exposed to everything from a cruise in the luxurious E-Class, a drive in Mercedes’ flagship roadster, the sexy SL300, and a spin in the Mercedes-Benz Actros truck. The most exhilarating experience was by far a hot lap in a sleek customised chrome C-Class, which reached speeds of over 220km/h.
Karon Photography.
My driving skills were put to the ultimate test when I cautiously ventured out on to a concreted area slick with water (known as the ‘skid pan’) with plastic tyres applied to my rear wheels. With the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) very deliberately disabled, my car spun immediately out of control. In round two, the ESP came to my aid, and the sliding was very effectively brought within my control. Given I’m of the skittish driver persuasion, I’m always grateful for technology that makes you a better, safer driver. Or maybe makes you think you are a better, safer driver. Either way, it works for me.
Interestingly, as our exploits became more extreme (our last exercise was flooring the car towards an obstacle and waiting for a last-minute light before braking and swerving to the left or right and if you swerved the wrong way, you were ‘dead’), I felt increasingly safe. My reassurance was no doubt due to the highly intuitive safety technology I was dealing with and the very calm and experienced instructor by my side.
Natasha Belling – Karon Photography.
The Mercedes Benz Driving Academy didn’t just present the opportunity to be a petrol head for a morning. Ben taught us the best way to emergency brake and make full use of Anti-Lock Brake (ABS) technology (which has been around a long time, but is often not utilised to its full potential), dispelled some old misnomers (the lessons your mum and dad taught you in your early driving days do not necessarily apply anymore) and reinforced some of those basic lessons you forget over time: visibility is the key, so look ahead at where you are going rather than letting your eyes follow your arm as you turn.
My final memory of that action-packed morning was our screeching retreat out of the carpark, in the wake of twelve gleaming Mercedes, a little red faced and thinking it was probably a good idea to invest in a C 250.
Stephanie Cornish – Karon Photography.
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