Motorsport students from Wiltshire College Lackham found out what it was like to be in the hotseat of a rally car when they visited Prodrive in Oxfordshire. The Level 3 students took a behind-the-scenes tour of the 14-acre site in Banbury, where the firm designs and builds the Mini John Cooper Works world rally cars and Aston Martin racing cars.
The visit started in the heritage centre, where tour and events coordinator Jackie Irwin spoke about the history of the company and its success as one of the world’s leading motorsport firms.
The 11 students learned that all Prodrive employees must reverse into their parking spaces and that it operates a clean work station policy, with all areas including the workshops being spotless.
At the end, students had the chance to sit in some of the cars on display.
They included a Porsche 911, MG Metro 6R4, MBW M3, Subaru Impreza, Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello, the BAR F1 car driven by Jenson Button, Prodrive’s P2 and an Aston Martin DBR9.
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