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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Emma Gill

I let my 12-year-old drive a £240k Lamborghini, my heart was in my mouth

Parenting comes with plenty of expected milestones doesn't it. Those tentative first steps, that precious first day of school, their first trip to town with friends.

There are so many events that can leave you as a parent feeling proud of their independence, yet equally so powerless.

I wasn't quite expecting that at the ages of 14 and 12, I would be watching my kids whizz around a racing circuit driving a £240,000 Lamborghini.

Yet the opportunity to take part in a Everyman Racing Driving Experience offered by TrackDays came their way and - with a bit of encouragement - they decided to give it a go.

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Luke ready to drive the £240k Lamborghini (Manchester Family/MEN)

The crowds that greeted us at Wigan's Three Sisters Race Circuit, one of a number of venues hosting these experiences across the UK, showed us just how popular they are.

150 adults had already completed their experience on the Sunday morning and 250 juniors were booked in for the afternoon.

My two were booked in to drive the Lamborghini Hurricane, a car costing £240k and one which juniors have only just been allowed to drive.

By this point I had to try not to think too much about what was about to happen.

Instructor Peter Humphreys offering guidance (Manchester Family/MEN)

Event manager Scott Bonsor, who was chaperoning our trip, was an absolute fountain of knowledge when it comes to supercars - there's nothing this guy doesn't know.

I have to admit that a 5.2 litre engine with 610 horsepower means very little to me, but my ears did prick up when he told us it goes 0-60 in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 202 mph.

It was either utter insanity or complete denial, but given the option of signing a £35 waiver to cover the first £5,000 of damage, I declined.

I figured it wouldn't take much to amount to £5k of damage with this thing so I went with blind trust - that my kids would actually listen carefully to the instructions and that these guys would come good.

Chloe driving the supercar with instructor Peter Humphreys (Manchester Family/MEN)

If a child as young as 10 can take part, how bad can it be?

It was that thought I kept at the forefront of my mind as my daughter, first to take to the wheel in a bid to calm her nerves, set off onto the circuit.

Obviously they're given a little run-through beforehand and instructor Peter Humphreys was brilliant at putting the kids at ease.

There are no gears to contend with, as it's an automatic, and it's Pete largely in charge of the brakes and assisting with steering.

For the driver it's mainly a case of put your foot down - and I was surprised how happy my two were to press that pedal.

Juniors have only just been allowed to drive the Lamborghini (Manchester Family/MEN)

I wasn't sure exactly what speed they got to, but as they whizzed past me in the pit and took over other cars on the circuit, my heart was in my mouth.

It was only when we watched the in-car footage recorded for us to take home that I saw my daughter and son had both topped 50mph and 60mph respectively. It might not sound that fast, but it was enough to make me question my waiver decision.

At no point did I feel they weren't in safe hands though and it's apparent how much effort goes into making sure everything is as it should be.

We all got on board for a high speed passenger ride in a BMW with one of Everyman's most qualified instructors, David Taylor, who gave us two very quick laps of the circuit.

And the kids sampled even more speed at his hands with rides in the Ariel Atom.

One of the quickest, road legal, open-wheel cars available to the public, it can reach up to 155 mph and blast up to 60mph in just 2.7 seconds.

Luke, a passenger in the Ariel Atom, driven by David Taylor (Manchester Family/MEN)

As well as David, it was Atom strapper Joe Smiley who put them at ease for this one, chatting to them calmly and telling them how best to hold on for 'take off'.

By this point I had no doubt they'd be safe in David's hands. Maybe because he had the wheel this time.

Was it scary? Yes. Was it amazing? Absolutely.

Doing something like this gives kids a confidence boost that few things can compete with. They may never own a Lamborghini, or ever sit in one again, but they'll always have a sense of pride that they managed to drive one - and I'll be forever relieved that they managed to keep it in one piece.

The Junior Supercar Platinum Thrill experience costs from £109 and was booked through TrackDays.

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