Name: V8 Ford or Holden 5 Drive and 3 Passenger Laps - QLD Raceway
Price: 368.00 AUD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.0 (9 reviews)

Highlights

Five exhilarating drive laps in a real V8 race car on a real race track
Experience three blistering hot laps in the back seat
Communicate with your instructor through a headset

Take the wheel of a V8 Ford or Holden race car for five thrilling laps, then experience the full power of the track from the back seat with a pro driver.

What's included?

Five drive laps around Queensland Raceway
Three back seat passenger laps
Use of race suit and open face helmet
Highly qualified driver/instructor
Pre-drive tuition
Photo of your experience

Your V8 race car drive day begins with pre-drive tuition, where you'll learn the ins and outs of handling the car, cornering, braking and the track map. From here, you'll be ushered to the pit lane and fitted with your own race suit and helmet. After choosing from a Ford or Holden vehicle to drive, it's go time! You will be safely strapped in behind the wheel and introduced to your friendly in-car coach before setting off on five heart-pounding laps. You'll receive encouragement and advice on gear changes and brake points from your in-car coach through the intercom helmet so that you can drive fast and safely. After your drive, you'll hop into the back seat and let your professional coach show off over three laps. Make sure to bring family and friends as the excitement from the grandstands is off the charts!

Important information

Session Length

Please allow two to three hours for this experience, including the briefing and driving
Race days are held throughout the year on specified dates
Sessions available every half hour from 8.30am to 1pm

Restrictions

If you have a concern with respect to health issues, especially shortness of breath, it is recommended that you seek professional advice from your family doctor before commencing this experience.

Guidelines

As part of the COVID safe plan, balaclavas are required and can be purchased on the day for $10
Participants must be at least 18 years and hold a Learner's Licence with a minimum 50 hours log booked
Participants need to be within the maximum height of 194cm and minimum height of 135cm with maximum weight below 120kg
Both Holden and Ford manual transmission cars are available
Participants who arrive on the day of their experience and do not adhere to these guidelines will forfeit their experience
You will be required to sign an indemnity form prior to participating in the experience
All minors must be accompanied by a parent and/or legal guardian on the day
A current photo ID for both the passenger (student ID) and parent will need to be shown along with proof of guardianship, ie Medicare card
If you normally wear spectacles, it is essential that they are soft frames and face fitting to ensure that they fit inside the helmet. Contact lenses are not a preferred option as they often become dislodged
There is a phone mount on the dash of the car that you can put your own mobile phone in, to record your experience

Cancellation

Change your booking up to 14 days before the start time of your experience
Changes are not permitted within 14 days of your experience
Late arrivals or no-shows may result in you forfeiting your experience

Numbers on the Day

Your briefing will be held in a group of approximately 15-20 people.

Spectators

Spectators will love watching the high-speed action from the pitlane, so remember to bring them along!

Weather

In the event of rain or inclement weather your experience will still go ahead unless contacted by the experience provider.

Dress Code

Wear comfortable clothing as the race suit will need to go over any clothing you choose to wear. Fully enclosed, flat-soled shoes, long sleeves and long pants are required (normal runners are fine).

Location

This experience is located at Queensland Raceway, 133 Champions Way, Willowbank QLD 4306.

Reviews

4.0

9 reviews

5 stars 6

4 stars 0

3 stars 1

2 stars 1

1 star 1

Slightly disappointing

Liam 1 June 2026

The wait time for the laps was very very long and I only did three laps when I paid for five so I’m not sure what was going on there and the car was not as expected a bit old and rundown a lot of money and I expected a lot more but the team of people were very kind and nice

Customer Experience

Hi Liam, thank you for sharing your feedback, we’re sorry to hear this didn’t meet expectations, though it’s great the team were kind and welcoming. Please reach out to us with your booking details so we can look further into this for you.

1 June 2026

V8 driving

Ian 24 February 2026

Had the best day and experience. Everything was perfect and a real adrenaline rush. Thanks to the team at Willowbank.

Customer Experience

Hi Ian, your feedback is valuable to us, and we're happy to know you had a great experience. Thanks for sharing!

24 February 2026

v8 experience

jason 20 November 2025

was amazing. 2nd time and believe it gets better the more u do it

Customer Experience

Hi Jason, it's great to hear about your positive experience. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

23 November 2025

V8 Driving Experience - tick for the bucket list

Frank 1 September 2025

Absolutely fantastic! The venue, the staff, the cars, the noise, the experience - an all-round brilliant experience.

Customer Experience

Hi Frank, thanks so much for your valuable feedback. We are so happy to see you enjoyed your experience.

1 September 2025

Pretty disappointed - 5 laps but only got 3 laps

Angela 16 July 2025

This was purchased as a gift for me; my dream to drive a race car, and a Mustang at that! Anticipation was high, but I was really let down when the instructor only gave me 3 laps instead of 5 laps, as per the gift voucher purchased. It seems I wasn’t the only one ripped off though, as I overheard two other drivers commenting about the same thing. I wouldn’t recommend this experience at all.

Customer Experience

Hey Angela, thanks for your feedback. Great customer experience is incredibly important to us so we're deeply sorry to hear your experience has fallen short of expectation. We'd love to get a better understanding of what went wrong so we can improve. Could you please email us with your voucher details at info@redballoon.com.au, we'd be happy to help.

16 July 2025

V8s leaving you wanting more

Amy 26 June 2025

Loved this so much!!! Every single person that works there is amazing, helpful, caring and do a great job!! The drivers and navigators are second to none. Wish I had done more than 8 laps!!!

Customer Experience

Hi Amy, thank you for your kind feedback. We're so happy to hear you enjoyed your experience!

26 June 2025

Not as good as it is hyped up to be.

Chris 23 June 2025

The V8 Race Car Driving Experience was purchased for me as a gift and I was very excited to go along. When I got there it was very different to what I remember seeing many years ago when my dad had gone. Essentially, it seemed like everyone was in a hurry to get you in and out in the quickest way possible. Now the staff weren’t rude as such, just very impersonal, starting from the check in, the little room to check in was busy and loud, the staff don’t mention anything about possibly upgrading your car from a regular ford or Holden V8 to a Camaro or Mustang (which I did do) it was just a very quick tick and flick and off you go kind of feel with too much merchandise to comfortably fit everyone, the young mam that was doing the “driver briefing” was quick, the room of about 20 people were essentially told don’t crash on this corner, brake here, here, and here and listen to your instructor, then off to the helmet table. The older man at that table was in desperate need of another helper or two and was very friendly while trying to be as quick as the people needed him to be. There is no need to wear the racing suits if you are in long clothes, just put a helmet on them herd on over to your waiting area, there is about 20 chairs in each section and the process is that you sit and wait and as each person takes their turn we all move up one seat until you are in the next turn spot. They staff coordinating who goes where are very quick, there is little to no talking other than the basics of “you, over here” as I was getting buckled into the drivers seat, I was told to “take it easy as your instructor isn’t feeling well today” then given a basic rundown of the hearing and what gears to use in what area of the track. Driving was pretty fun, there are mobile phone holders on the dash you can place your phone into to record (a 360 camera on the roof would be a great idea) as I am driving the instructor gave basic commands, gear up, gear down, brake hard, turn in/out. Pulled into pit lane and almost as quick as I am trying to get out, the next person is being pushed into the car. And just like that it’s over and I return my helmet to then head home. Was it cool to drive the car? Yes, was it amazing and something I would recommend to anyone? No. It cost close to $400 in total (upgrade of $100 included) and it was a very unimpressive experience. If they were to spend a little longer and make it feel a little more personal and not just a herd of cattle being pushed into and out of a car, it would have been a much better experience. So no, I would not recommend this particular experience to anyone who values their time as it didn’t feel like this company valued mine.

Customer Experience

Hi Chris, I am sorry to hear that you didn't fully enjoy your V8 drive. I’ve passed your valuable feedback through to our experience operator. We’re always looking for ways to improve, so I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your honest feedback of your experience.

23 June 2025

Unforgettable experience

Jacinda 28 October 2024

An experience i will never forget. I highly recommend this experience for anyone that is wanting to try it. It was a present for my 60th birthday, I only wish that there were more drive laps.

Customer Experience

Hi Peter, thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your kind words and are thrilled to hear about your positive experience!

28 October 2024

V8 experience

David 23 June 2024

Awesome definitely go for hot lap with race car driver, was better than driving yourself which is also pretty good.

Keerat

Hi David, your feedback is valuable to us, and we're happy to know you had a great experience. Thanks for sharing!

23 June 2024