Hi folks,
I've been a busy bee this week as has Neil at Ice Driver.
Ice driver will be featured in Total Impreza this month.
I've finally managed to come up with a group event of a lifetime - with some pretty good discounts too.
ALL of the INFO as forwarded from Neill:
Ice Driver Sweden 2009 – Event Ideas for SIDC.
Ice Driver Sweden is unique. Not just a winter rally school, this is Scandinavia's
premier winter driving experience. No other organisation offers you the same
combination of specially prepared cars, our race track made from ice, our professional
instruction, the stunning winter wilderness and quality hotel accommodation.
Each year, Ice Driver is chosen by a huge variety of people, companies and driving
organisations as their venue of choice for winter rally driving events, advanced car
instruction and a great corporate driving event. Our guests have included everyone
from world champions of motorsport to car and track day enthusiasts to corporate
event guests and conference organisers. There really is no definitive way to describe a
typical Ice Driver client. You're all different and all we can say is that if you enjoy
driving, regardless of your driving experience or background, you'll love Ice Driver.
Company Ethos.
You never stop learning. We believe driving should be the same. Coming to Ice
Driver should be more than a great corporate event, a great weekend break or winter
rally school day.
It's all of those things and more. We aim to send you home a faster, better, far more
confident and safer driver than when you arrived. Our instructors are specifically
chosen for their passion for driving and their ability to impart those skills to others.
That’s not to say you’ll be going back to school, nobody likes that. But you’ll be
stretching your own abilities in a safe and controlled environment.
Our instructing style is motorsport based, not safety and defensive driving based, but
you don’t need to be a competitor to benefit from what we teach. You’ll be learning
techniques that go far beyond weaving through cones and how ABS works and you’ll
leave us wanting to know more.
Logistics and Other Information
Travel
We are always on hand to provide advice on travel to Ice Driver. Many corporate
events like to have a member of their staff travelling with the group from the UK.
This is generally a member of the corporate group’s personnel, however, we can
arrange a member of Ice Driver to guide groups on their journey if required.
Although direct flights to Ostersund from the UK are not possible by scheduled
carrier, the Swedish transport system is excellent and onward ravel by train or internal
flight is simple, with a short 40 minute transfer from Ostersund airport or a five
minute journey from the local station.
A member of the Ice Driver team will meet you at either Ostersund airport or Bracke
rail station for the short transfer to the hotel.
Our Travel Guide download gives full details of suggested travel routes together with
contact emails, telephone numbers and websites.
The Venue.
Bjorkknasgarden Hotel and Conference facility is located 45 minutes from Ostersund
and just ten minutes from our driving lake. The independent, family owned hotel has
extensive, fully equipped conference facilities for a wide variety of group sizes and
free wireless broadband. The A La Carte menu is created using local ingredients and
has been awarded the Swedish Smariket seal. Smakriket is shorthand for taste, the
hotel using locally produced goods, top quality and a clear origin - quite simply the
best that Jämtland and Härjedalen small-scale food production has to offer.
The Surface.
It’s a lake. Not a forest road with snow on, but the surface of a frozen lake. You will
be driving at speed on a surface you can barely stand upright on using World Rally
Car competition tyres. But it’s not just a great big supermarket car park to slide
pointlessly around on, it’s a race track made from ice. Our tracks are each around
2kms long, 20 metres wide and are specially created from GPS co-ordinates each year
to our own design.
The Cars.
The Ice Driver cars were all built by experts in their field. None of our cars have
electronic driver aids, so there’s no ABS braking, traction control or stability control.
All our cars run on competition specification World Rally Ice tyres, just 5 inches
wide, but with hundreds of aggressive titanium studs to grip the surface of the lake.
Ford Focus Group N
Built using Ford Motorsport parts supplied by Team Birkbeck Rallysport
1.8 Zetec engine
Lightweight flywheel
Solid engine mounts
Sabelt harnesses
Safety Devices six point cage
Quaife limited slip differential
Terraform intercom
Subaru Impreza Turbo Type RA.
Built by Scooby Clinic, the biggest independent Subaru specialists in Britain
Custom ECU map
Front mount intercooler
Scooby Clinic twin piston front brakes
Safety Devices six point roll cage
Four point harnesses
Terraform intercom
Plate limited slip differentials front and rear
Torsen centre differential
340 Bhp, 330 Ft Lbs torque
Porsche 911 3.0
Our air cooled Porsche 911 is quite a well known car. Previously owned by the late
Steve O’Rourke, manager of Pink Floyd, it’s spent most of it’s life on track.
Bob Watson blueprinted engine
Competition clutch
Safety Devices cage
Porsche Cup seats
Fout point harnesses
Terraform intercom
Limited slip differential
Bilstein suspension
BMW M Powered Rally Car
Built by one of the leading Irish WRC teams for staff to use in their spare time, except
they never get any….So Ice Driver bought it.
Seam welded BMW Compact shell
Tig welded integral roll cage
Recaro carbon seats
Five point Sabelt harnesses
Terrafrom intercom
Hard lined brakes and hydraulic handbrake
Competition fuel cell
320 Bhp M3 Evo 3.2 sic cylinder engine
Very short final drive LSD
Suggested Schedule For Subaru Driver’s Club Event
Arrive at Bjorknasgarden Hotel for welcome reception and dinner.
Day One
07.30 Smorgasbord breakfast in the dining room
08.15 Meet in hotel reception area to be taken for the Ice Driver briefing
08.45 Transfer to the driving lake by minibus
09.00 Exploratory laps of the ice in the Ice Driver cars, discovering the amazing
levels of grip from the studded tyres and learning the techniques for driving on the
frozen lake. The driving sessions alternative between the fleet of cars, learning first
hand the different techniques for front wheel, rear wheel and four wheel drive.
12.00 Lunch at the hotel, or served at the lake depending on your preference
13.00 Back onto the ice for more Ice Driving and the chance to practise high speed
driving skills
16.00 Sunset and back to the hotel
19.00 Three course dinner from the hotel menu
Optional.
21.00 Evening session in the traditional outdoor hot tubs, fired with birch logs, the old
fashioned way. These are situated beside the hotel lake with changing facilities
nearby, together with traditional saunas. Always a big hit with our guests and an
excellent way to unwind - drinking beers and champagne and boasting of the day’s
driving exploits. While the braver may chose to roll in the snow….
Day Two
08.00 A small lie in, then breakfast.
09.45 Depart for airport or rail station for the journey home.
Or Take the Two Day Event Option…
09.00 Back to the lake for more ice driving, fresh from the previous days experiences
and building on the skills you've learned.
12.00 Lunch at the lake or return to the hotel
13.00 Either:
Time to put the polish on your driving. You’ll be expected to show us what
you’ve learned in your final sessions before…
15.30 A high speed passenger ride with your instructor.
16.30 Return to the hotel for a shower and relax
19.00 Awards ceremony. A light hearted moment with awards for silliest hat, biggest
snowball, or anything else we can think of.
20.00 Dinner in the hotel restaurant, then to the bar for bragging rights
OR
08.00 A small lie in, then breakfast.
09.00 Back to the lake for more ice driving, bulding on the skills you've learned on Saturday
12.30 High speed passenger ride with your instructor, showing just how fast you really can go across a frozen lake
13.00 Lunch at the lake or return to the hotel
14.00 Snow mobile trekking through the forests and return for dinner at the hotel.
16.30 Return to the hotel for a shower and relax
19.00 Awards ceremony. A light hearted moment with awards for silliest hat, biggest snowball,or anything else we can think of
20.00 Dinner in the hotel restaurant, then to the bar for bragging rights
Day Three
08.00 A small lie in, then breakfast.
09.45 Depart for airport or rail station for the journey home.
Or Take the Three Day Event Option….
08.00 Or whenever you rise for breakfast….
10.00 Chose some adventures to explore the area:
Take Stroll…
If you’re feeling really fit, take a power walk across the lake outside the hotel across
to the island and see if you can beat Andy’s time of 12 minutes 57 seconds. We
always seem to get competitive….
Snow Mobile Safari.
Trek through the forests and across the lakes on snow mobiles. Typical riding time of
around 2 hours, but you could book a full day with a barbeque lunch. Depart or return
to the hotel in true James Bond style.
Cost £100.00 for around 2 hours
Cross Karts
Similar to a Honda Pilot, drive for around 1 hour around the off road course. Great
fun and very tiring to drive.
Cost £75.00 aprox.
Costs and What’s Included.
The prices quoted below are all inclusive of the following:
Accommodation on a shared room basis at Bjorknasgarden Hotel.
Smorgasbord breakfast at the hotel, lunch and coffe, snacks and refreshments
throughout the day
Your chosen driving event, instruction, fuel, event insurance etc.
Transfers to and from Ostersund airport or Bracke rail station
You are responsible for:
Your travel arrangements to either Ostersund airport or Bracke station
Your evening meals – a varied choise in the restaurant, from a simple steak
sandwich to A La Carte in the restaurant
Your bar bill and extras charged to your room
Extra activities you chose to book, such as hot tubs, snow mobiles etc.
As a rough guide to costs, drinks at the hotel are broadly similar to prices charged if
you were on a night out in a large town centre in the UK.
Event Costs.
One day event, as described above, £825.00. Includes two nights hotel
accommodation.
One and a half day event, as described above, approx £1,000. Includes two nights hotel accomodation.
Two day event, as described above, £1300.00. Includes three nights accommodation.
Third day event prices as described above.
Snow mobiles – from £100.00 for approximately two hours
Cross Karts – from £75.00
Hot tubs and saunas – bookable as a package, regardless of the number of bathers £250.00. Can accommodate up to 12 people in the hot tubs, plus the same again in the saunas.
Additional nights hotel accommodation £90.00, can be charged directly.
Safety.
Safety is our top priority here at Ice Driver, both for our staff and our guests. Here are
details of our safety procedures and help to dispell a few myths about driving on
frozen lakes.
Firstly, the ice. The number one question by far is, "How do you know the ice won't break?"
Before we even drive one car out onto the ice, we've been monitoring conditions for months, since the beginning of autumn, in fact. We test drill the ice and check the thickness and monitor it throughout the season We undertake a written risk assessment programme every year to constantly review our procedures and ensure we're as safe as possible. Copies of this are available on request. Public liability insurance is carried, copies of the schedule are available on request.
Before anyone heads out onto the ice, we hold a mandatory safety briefing for all
participants. This will cover safety procedures, driving techniques and the controls of
the cars. All participants are required to read and sign an indemnity to state that they
fully understand the safety brief.
We have a separate viewing area for spectators. This is explained at the safety
briefing and is in a safe area of the venue, but still affords a good view of the track.
The Environment
We are sometimes asked about Ice Driver and our impact on the environment, so we think it worthwhile to answer a few of the more obvious queries Firstly, the surface. Unlike most racing circuits constructed at vast expense using materials such as concrete, asphalt and other mined and excavated materials, our track is made from a 100% natural and renewable material - water. We use no chemicals or other additives to promote ice, we simply let nature take it's course and monitor the creation of ice. Once we're happy there's enough of it, we sweep away the snow using a blower and we're done. When spring comes, our track disappears leaving no trace that we have ever been and then we wait again for next year. We carry environmental spill equipment in the unlikely event of an oil leak and always ensure that nothing is spilled onto the surface of the ice. How many other venues can claim to have a 100% natural, bio-degradable track surface? Our cars all run standard unleaded fuel. Our northerly location means that E85 Ethanol is not yet widely available locally, but we're conducting tests and as soon as we can see the benefits and know that it's viable, probably for the 2009 season, we will commence using it. Wherever possible, our staff use the Swedish rail system for travel. The high speed,
electrically powered trains use current pulled only from hydroelectric and windpowered sources giving probably the most efficient public transport system in Europe. We recommend our clients use the rail system for travel within Sweden.
I hope this gives you a flavour of the experience we can bring to your event. You will
doubtless have many questions relating to this proposal, so feel free to contact us with
any queries, no matter how small.
Best regards,
Neill Watson
Ice Driver 2009
PLEASE NOTE: There are only a maximum of 12 spaces. Obviously 2 of those are gone!
If you would like more details on this trip and are interested in sticking your name down - For initial interest ONLY then you can either PM me or alternatively contact me via mobile 07894 529 782.
If this credit crunch is hitting you hard especially with xmas coming up then a 2010 trip may also be available. If you would be interested in this trip then let me know.
Please check out the website in the mean time: www.icedriver.co.uk
Cheers,
(Phew!)
Kaylz
