Over the AMG GT S, C43, C63 on the circuit ... AMG Driving Academy
Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG have a number of global programs for consumers. One of them is Mercedes AMG's "AMG Driving Academy", where you can learn advanced driving skills such as steady circles, drift control, and circuit driving in earnest.
In the editorial department, I was able to participate in the advanced course, so I would like to report on the situation.
In Japan, it was held at Fuji Speedway for two days on March 2nd and 3rd. The AMG Driving Academy (Academy) has two types, basic and advanced, and the basic one-day program will be held for two days with different members. For Advance, the same members spend two days taking various driving lessons. The participants this time were 30 basic participants each day, 10 advanced participants, and a total of 70 participants.
The vehicles provided are all Mercedes-AMG's C63, C43, E43, A45, CLA45, and GT S.
The lesson course uses the Fuji Speedway parking lot space, drift course, and main course, and six instructors, including active GT racers, teach driving techniques.
On the first day of the lesson, the main program is basic practice that also serves as a break-in. Steady circles on wet roads, corner drifts, and other "agility slaloms" will teach you about the behavior and control of your car. Unfortunately, it was raining on the day and the conditions were not good, but it was a great opportunity to learn the limits and slip control of the car, including the following main course.
The driving on this course is basically led by an instructor, and it is a platooning (lead and follow) where the lead car is replaced in turn every lap, but the pace is not easy. Even though the pace is adjusted to the level of the participants, if you let your guard down, you will be left behind. In the first half of the agility slalom, the participants learned that it is difficult to control the limit in heavy wet conditions, even though it is a high performance car. .
The last day of the first day was a gymkhana-style time attack called “Autocross”. Slaloms, S-curves, sharp turns, and goals are short but difficult to control speed, as they stop within a box area surrounded by pylons. In particular, each corner has a regulation pylon on the outside side, and if you go even a little overspeed, you will go off the course. Since this is done in heavy wet conditions, it will be a lot of practice.
After the autocross, we left the circuit and stayed at the hotel prepared by the academy. The lessons are quite hard, but the accommodation heals your fatigue with luxury course meals and hot springs unique to Mercedes AMG. Such contrast is important.
Day 2 is even harder. First of all, as a review of the previous day, I will do an autocross. The weather improved and the track was dry by the time the lesson started. Of course, the time will be faster than the previous day, but all the participants are getting better at controlling the car.
After Autocross, all the lessons will be on this course. First of all, lead and follow run by GT S, which can be said to be the highlight of this academy. Since the cars are run in groups of five, once they enter the course, they will complete five laps (plus one lap for cooldown depending on the situation) at a considerable pace.
It's a rare experience to test the GT S's RACE mode on the circuit. The platoon is changed on the home straight, but even at the end of the straight it reaches around 200km/h (the instructor will adjust the pace and ability of the following cars). Both the Fuji 100R and the Dunlop Bridge are valuable experiences for participants to control monster cars at their own limits. At the same time, you can learn high-speed braking and cornering techniques.
After that, the GT S equipped with a video and GPS logger ran in a similar platoon, and in the afternoon, explanations and guidance on each technique were given while watching the video and data. The lead car at this time was Toranosuke Takagi. Strict checks are made on line alignment and steering wheel operation.
Takagi also served as an instructor for the next program called “Individual”. In this, the instructor will follow the leading car and give instructions over the radio while chasing the car in front. This is also a run with 5 cars changing the formation every lap. Although the car is a C43, the lap will be in a clear state ahead, so it is possible for the participants to make a time attack on this course. After all, the rear is a professional racer, so the full throttle for the participants can easily follow.
Even if you are running desperately, the radio says "too much in from the outside", "more from this side", "still about two cars' worth of in", "intrusion (speed) is too high", and "release the accelerator too fast". And so on, advice comes. This will be a lesson that is comparable to or even better than the lesson that you get on the passenger seat.
What I thought about professional racers and instructors as a professional job is that although they are strict about line adjustment and accelerator operation, there is no advice such as "brake too early" or "depress more". This is a driving academy, not a racing academy.
The end of the program is lead and follow by C63. It was a lesson while enjoying the sound of the V8 turbo, comparing the difference with the C43's RACE mode.
It's hard to find a program where you can enjoy driving like this almost all day at an internationally certified circuit that can host F1. I would like to introduce some of the voices of the participants.
A man in his 50s from Aichi Prefecture participated with his wife and son. Moreover, the son has entered the basic course on the second day, and it is a form of taking the academy together. I am an E280 owner and have been using Mercedes for over 20 years. Perhaps because of that, his eldest son also got a license and entered the basic course. "It's nice to be able to talk about common topics with my son about cars," said his father. When I asked his wife about her husband's hobbies, she said, "I'm worried about accidents, but if it's just a car rather than other hobbies," she seems to accept it.
The owner of CLA in Kanagawa Prefecture also participated with his wife. "My father's influence on cars has been with me since my father's generation, and I've been driving an AMG since I was in my 30s. I heard that the Academy will be held under the same program as overseas, so I decided to participate because I wanted to improve my driving skills. The agility lesson was interesting."
However, several participants said, "It was difficult to understand which lesson to do next in the progress of the day." It would be nice if there were programs like sightseeing and shopping."
I think it would be quite difficult to include a sightseeing tour in a program that occupies this much of the circuit and introduces a large number of lesson vehicles, but it might have been nice to have some ingenuity for the waiting time of the companions.
This time, the two-day schedule ended without any vehicle troubles or accidents, but behind the scenes, there were instructors, vehicle maintenance staff, tire support (Michelin cooperated), and other people involved. think. The car has also been heavily used in hard lessons, but it seems that it has the potential to run on the circuit without any damage to the brake rotor, damper fatigue, or engine malfunction.