OFFER: "Racing & Waiting" Ice Driving Courses 2014

Our pal Tim Hutton over at Racing & Waiting is offering another dose of Winter driving magic in Norway in early 2014. And if you don't know how much fun ice driving courses are, have a look here.

Racing & Waiting founder, Tim says: "Following on from the success of this collaboration with Classic Grand Touring this year I am very pleased to be able to offer Ice Driving to you all again. This is possibly the most fun you can have on four wheels... Thomas has been visiting the same lake for the last five winters and knows all the elements required to make the trip a very memorable one. 

"CGT will arrange the flights and hire cars to transport you up to the lake. We will have accommodation organised for three nights allowing us two full days driving on the lake. We will also get initial instruction in each of the FWD, RWD and 4WD cars to get the most out of them, then you will be free to enjoy the different cars all day long. At the end of the weekend there will be a timed stage to assess how far you have mastered the art of driving quickly on ice.
"I have been grinning all year after attending this in March, it really is great fun. There is no need to spend thousands on driving 911's or Lamborghini's on ice, this gives the same thrill at a fraction of the cost and the moose burgers aren't half bad either! Below is the full itinerary, if you are interested get in touch with Classic Grand Touring and tell Thomas I sent you!"

The dates & details are:
Thursday 30th January
Fly from Gatwick on the 0910 flight arriving at Oslo Gardemoen airport at 1220. We collect our hire cars here and drive in convoy up to the lake; expect a three hour drive. We will go straight to the lake for our briefing on the weekend’s activities, and there might even be time for a few laps before the sun goes down.

Friday 31st January
After breakfast we head to the lake to get started in the cars. We will share the time between the cars available whilst taking instruction through the day. Lunch is included here.

Saturday 1st February
Again we have a full day on the Lake with lunch included. We aim to round the day off with a timed stage. We will have a finalé evening at one of the ski resorts.

Sunday 2nd February
This morning we will use all the skills we have learned and apply them to ice karting! We then return back to Oslo airport for the 1820 flight arriving into Gatwick at 1930.

The price
£795 per person based on two persons sharing a room (single supplement £150).

What’s included:
• Return flights to Oslo International airport
from London Gatwick
• Three nights hotel accommodation on bed
and breakfast basis
• Use of Ice driving cars on lake
• Tuition
• Lunch on two of the days
• Services of an experienced tour manager

What’s not included:
• Road car hire

VIDEO: One For Our Norwegian Rally Readers!

As a treat for all our lovely, new-found readers in Norway – to which we say Hei! Hvordan går det? – here's a cool video with the Norwegian Royal family of rallying, the Solberg brothers (Petter & Henning) and the army. Sounds quite random, but it's a really well proceed video by Petter Foshaug. Check it out!

NEWS: Bentley On Ice Winter Driving Program Expansion

Bentley's surreal, unreal, superb Winter Driving Experience has been expanded – adding the superb Flying Spur to the high-adrenaline Finland ice driving shenanigans, with rallying God (four-times WRC title holder) and world ice speed driving record holder, Juha Kankkunen.
The amazing experiences, which have more dates added to meet demand for the 2014 programme (running from 6 February-6 March 2014) are designed to "give the Bentley luxury experience on and off the ice."
Bentley say: "Acclaimed for its exquisite levels of craftsmanship and luxury, the new Flying Spur effortlessly combines this refinement with all the potency of Bentley’s 6.0 litre W12 twin turbocharged engine delivering 616 bhp (625 PS) and a 200 mph (322 km/h) top speed that makes it the world’s fastest luxury four door production car.
"A state-of-the-art all-wheel drive system, constantly adjusting the levels of power to the front and rear wheels depending on available traction, ensures the Flying Spur delivers optimal grip regardless of road or weather conditions and is one of the very few ultra-luxury sedans capable of conquering this kind of ‘off-piste’ driving challenge."
Juha adds: "The Flying Spur is going to be an excellent addition to the Power on Ice experience and we’re looking forward to showing what it is capable of. There’s going to be something special about driving a luxury car you’d expect to see in Monte Carlo or London across the snow and frozen lakes."
The Flying Spur will join an array of Bentley Continental GT coupes in Finland (powered by the company’s 6.0 litre W12 and 4.0 litre V8 engines) and Kankkunen will work with Bentley’s own factory-trained driving experts who will offer in-depth tuition designed to allow drivers to broaden their range of driving skills when faced by testing road and weather conditions.
Away from the thrill of learning how to drive the Bentley of their choice at high-speed on ice, the four-day adventure in Finland offers guests the chance to unwind in the exclusive and luxurious surroundings of the Ruka Peak resort.
Situated just 60 km from the edge of the Arctic Circle, the resort offers a wide selection of hotel and private chalet accommodation options and the mountain resort is widely believed to offer some of the finest, unbroken views of Finland’s spectacular winter scenery. Open fires, saunas, first class local cuisine and flying to and from Helsinki by private jet help to complement the first class experience.
For full information on availability, pricing and accommodation options please visit www.bentleymotors.com and to see highlights from this year please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U32h094I8IQ

An experience certain to stay with you... don't you think?

See more images to entice here.

NEWS: Bentley Continental GT3 Racer Makes World Debut @ Goodwood FOS & More!

Bentley are bringing their biblically epic Continental GT3 race car to make its world debut at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed – in their biggest presence at the ace hill climb based car show event. Best of all, four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen will drive the breath-taking Continental GT Speed (coupe up the famous Goodwood hill-climb over all three days of the Festival! And as if that wasn't enough... Bentley will also be bringing a Speed 8 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Le Mans win. And there will be a new Flying Spur and the full Bentley range on display the Bentley stand! 

Oh, and did we mention five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell MBE once again donning the Bentley overalls for the event – this year piloting the fastest four-seat convertible in the world – the 202 mph (325 km/h) GT Speed Convertible. With a more dynamic chassis setup, increased power and torque and a host of subtle yet distinctive styling cues, the GT Speed Convertible is the pinnacle of the Continental range. Derek comments: “Coming back to Goodwood with Bentley is always a real honour, and this year I have the pleasure of driving a 616bhp convertible up the infamous hill. 2013 is certain to be a great year for us at the Festival.”
The Continental GT3 will be unveiled on the media stage in the F1 paddock at 10:15 on Friday 12th July, at which point more information about the car will be released. And you can hear all about that and see more pictures here, naturally.

For now, see some more images of the Bentley's on display here.

NEWS VIDEO: Laponie Ice Driving New Cars & Courses

Our pals at Laponie Ice Driving have unveiled their 2013 events and what a cracking line up it is – with a choice of over 28 high-powered cars (including Lambo Gallardo’s and Porsche 911's) and 20 ace instructors, taking place on 750 acres of frozen lake in Lapland, with replica F1 circuits. If you like your driving, sideways, and safe, in an unreal location... you should book one and have a memory of a lifetime. Brand new for 2013 are two Lamborghini Gallardos, three Audi S4s and six Subaru STi S Imprezas, joining up with Porsche 911, Corvettes and more cult cars. They say: "There really is nothing quite like learning to drift on a private frozen lake in Lapland - all 750 acres of it - under expert instruction. Moreover, you can now drive on one of two replicas of the Silverstone Formula 1 circuit, as well as on other famous Formula 1 tracks. For the past seven years, Laponie Ice Driving has been thrilling participants, ranging from complete novices to semi-professional drivers. And yes, it really is possible to learn how to drive fast and safely on ice in two or three days. You can choose your car, and you will be assured of at least four tutored hours behind the wheel each day- hours never to be forgotten."
And Laponie now has UK representation, so for further information please do get in touch (in case you were wondering, Laponie is the French for Lapland!)
See more or book for yourself: www.laponie-ice-driving.co.uk
NB: The video above is for the old 2012 courses and an old offer we ran, but shows you how cool it all is! See more videos here: http://www.laponie-ice-driving.com/uk/videos.php#ancre