Puresport (Monza) – Italy’s best?

Cars

Puresport has a collection of open-wheel race cars and supercars. They mostly have Ferraris (458 and a 488) and Lamborghinis  (Gallardo and Huracan). That’s it! Yes, I can hear you yelling where’s the F12, the 812, the Aventador. Well, I did all that yelling too. Maybe next year. I guess we can console ourselves with the fact that they just acquired a Porsche 991 GT3. They do have a variety of open-wheel cars including a Formula Renault, two different F3 models, and an F1.

Customer Care

Puresport is a little disorganized. I was asked to show up early in the morning, but I didn’t get to drive until after lunch. While we’re on the subject of lunch, it was excellent and classy. Good grub and the noise of race cars. Killer combination! Oh, the Italian hospitality. They’re not as strict as the American experiences so you can get close to the cars in the paddock and communicate with the engineers to your heart’s content. Trust me; you’ll feel like a pro driver every step of the way. As for the sample schedule they have on their website, just ignore it. Your experience will be nothing like that.

Safety

Safety is taken very seriously here. There’s a very lengthy briefing about car handling, especially for the open-wheel cars. However, this briefing can be better organized to account for the different kinds of open-wheel cars they have.

Race Track

Hey, it’s Monza! For those who may not know, this is the current home of the Italian F1 Grand Prix. It’s also known as the fastest track on the F1 calendar, and you get to drive the full track. It doesn’t get any better than this.

One could argue that the four GP tracks currently on the F1 calendar with the most fascinating history are Circuit the Catalunya, Silverstone, Yas Marina, and Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. These tracks have hosted some epic battles over the years, but what makes the Monza track stand out is its nickname, The Temple of Speed. The nickname is in reference to the track’s features which allow relatively higher speeds when compared to other tracks.

Also known as the home of the world-famous Tifosi (fans of Scuderia Ferrari), the track has a length of 3.6 miles in addition to an isolated 2.6-mile high-speed oval with steep bankings. The main track has high-speed curves, including the famous Curva Grande, and eleven turns. If you want to go fast in a race car, this is the place to do it.

Damage Liability

For GT cars, insurance is included but there is a deductible if it’s determined that the driver was reckless. For open wheel cars, you have to pay 200 euro +VAT extra for insurance with a 6,000 euro deductible. If you decide not to pay for insurance, you’ll be liable for damages with a 15,000 euro maximum liability.

They also have something called rain insurance. What is it? Well, if it rains so hard that they can’t take the cars out, you forfeit your experience if you didn’t pay for rain insurance! This has to be the most ridiculous condition we’ve encountered in driving experience contracts.

Experience Video

The experience video is certainly worth having, and it comes with no branding. For the open-wheel experience, the camera is mounted right behind the driver, so you get a good view of the track. However, unlike other experiences, you don't get the video on the same day. You have to wait about a week after the experience before it gets delivered to you over the internet. If your connection is slow, it'll be a painful download.

Bottom Line

Few things can beat the thrills of driving at the Temple of Speed. Your mere presence at this track in full racing gear is well worth the effort to get out there. However, the liability insurance and other unfavorable contract conditions will leave this experience out of the top ones. That notwithstanding, we would still recommend that you consider this experience. You just need to understand what you're dealing with.