“If You Can Feel the Grip, You Can Go Fast”: Meet Drive Silverstone Instructor Peter Bennett
30 January 2026Drive Silverstone’s instructors come from many different motorsport paths, but the very best share an instinctive understanding of cars, grip, and human behaviour. Peter Bennett is one of those rare instructors whose journey into motorsport began not in karts, but on muddy fields, learning how vehicles behave when traction is scarce.
That early education now shapes how he helps guests unlock confidence, control, and speed at the Home of British Motorsport.
Learning to drive at an early age
Peter’s relationship with driving started unusually early. “I learned to drive when I was nine years old,” he explains, helping his father’s transport and garden supply business.
“In the summer it was easy driving on a field. In the winter, if you could drive a 7.5-tonne rear-wheel-drive truck on mud, you were some sort of rally hero.”
Those formative years taught him lessons many drivers never fully learn: how to feel grip, how to sense balance, and how to control a vehicle when conditions aren’t perfect. “I think those early years gave me a good foundation to start from,” he says.
Unlike many racing drivers, Peter didn’t begin in karting. Instead, motorsport found him later, and in his own way.
Building a racer from the ground up
When Peter started work and received a company car, his old family Peugeot 205 suddenly became a blank canvas.
“I decided I wasn’t going to sell it,” he says. “I put a cage in it and all the things needed to make it eligible to compete.”
He modified, tuned, and learned the car intimately as he went racing, developing a close relationship with both machine and mechanics. “Racing became like a drug,” he admits. “The more I had it, the more I wanted.”
That journey through grassroots motorsport shaped not only his driving style, but his empathy for first-time Silverstone guests. “I know exactly what it feels like for people who come here for the first time to drive a single seater, or a Ferrari, McLaren, or Aston Martin.”
Why circuit racing changed everything
Before circuit racing, Peter had rallied, but it wasn’t enough on its own.
“In rallying, unless you’re going really fast or really slow, you don’t see anyone else,” he explains. “In circuit racing, you all start together and head into the same corner. You’re jockeying for position. That’s what I wanted: traffic.”
That environment brought him full circle to his earliest driving memories. “It put me back into that place where I could feel where there was and wasn’t grip. That allowed me to progress better than some drivers with more powerful cars.”
Reading people as well as the track
Peter’s strength as an instructor lies in his ability to read drivers quickly.
“You can tell a lot by how someone walks; how tense or relaxed they look,” he says. “Then you talk to them, understand what they want from the day.”
From there, his approach adapts completely. “You encourage people differently depending on who they are. Confidence, pace, and learning all look different for different drivers.”
That adaptability is what makes his in-car instruction so effective, especially for guests progressing through multiple cars in one session.
A favourite corner with a twist
Ask Peter his favourite corner at Silverstone, and his answer surprises many: Club.
“It’s off-camber,” he explains. “That makes it more of a challenge in both cars and on bikes.”
Turn in too early and you’ll miss the line. Turn in just a fraction later and everything comes together. “You get a nice apex, apply a bit of throttle, and drift out. It’s a tremendous feeling when you get it right.”
He also has a soft spot for Stowe, thanks to the high-speed approach down Hangar Straight, a corner that still reminds him of the satisfaction of nailing it for the first time.
Simple advice that makes a big difference
Peter’s coaching focuses on efficiency and feel rather than force.
“One of the biggest mistakes I see is too much steering,” he says. “When I do sighting laps, I show drivers how little steering I’m actually using.”
Why does it matter? “Your steering is linked to your throttle. The straighter the wheel, the sooner you can apply power, and the further down the road you’ll be.”
At Club, he’s especially clear: avoid the kerbs. “The grip is on the tarmac. The kerbs are painted, especially in the wet, they don’t help you.”
Why in-car instruction is his favourite
While Peter enjoys all Drive Silverstone experiences, his passion lies in in-car tuition.
“You can properly interact with the driver,” he says. “You can really teach them how to get the most out of the experience.”
That’s why the Supercar Experience stands out. “You’re with the same instructor through all three cars. You see their confidence grow, their inputs improve, and their enjoyment increase. It becomes a proper, in-depth coaching session.”
Drive with Peter
Whether it’s your first lap of Silverstone or your first time chasing confidence through a fast corner, Peter’s calm, feel-based coaching helps drivers unlock control they didn’t know they had.
