Young drivers now able to learn around Top Gear’s test track

Young people looking to learn how to operate a car before the age of 17 can now put their skills to the test at the famous Top Gear test track.

Young Driver is a driving experience company that helps teach people aged between nine and 17 years old how to drive safely and responsibly, and now, it has added the Dunsfold-based circuit to its list of locations.

The Dunsfold Aerodrome was the home of BBC’s world-famous Top Gear, best known for its power laps and ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ feature.

Students will be able to get behind the wheel of the new Suzuki Swift and some of the teenagers will be allowed to drive around the track in Young Driver’s Porsche 911.

Additionally, the original ‘Reasonably Priced Car’, the Suzuki Liana, will also be on display for the students to take a look around.

Casey O’Loughlin, Young Driver’s senior field manager, said: “Dunsfold is a dream location for a driving school. We might be based on a track made famous for fast cars and celebrity lap times, but our sessions are all about calm control, not speed. Dunsfold offers a large space so we’ll be able to offer lots of different driving activities for young people, whether they’re beginners, or have already had a few lessons at another of our venues.

She added: “When they’re reverse parking at the end of the first lesson, it’s often a shock for parents! Plus, what young person wouldn’t want to say they’d driven the Top Gear track?”

The next Young Driver event to be held at the Dunsold track will take place on June 15.