The Motorsport Lab

Don’t waste your money! My complaints echo the other one star reviews.
1. Onerous liability waver forms (14 pages) which suggests a gratuity based on a 15 to 20% of $ 500 plus retail price (so tacky… so I’m going to pay more in gratuity than the overall value of the Groupon for about 3 minutes of drive time??? makes me just want to puke) and a laundry list of insurance waivers costing a min. of $ 20 ea. for each line item from any scratches incurred to tire/​rim damage to clutch damage, etc.
2. Short laps around a coned track within a parking lot.
If you like the feeling of being nickeled and dimed with liability waivers that instill so much fear in you that you don’t even feel comfortable driving the car around a parking lot for Pete’s sake… then this experience is for you.

I just did this in the Seattle location and I thought it was great fun, if a bit short. Mine was a Groupon gift. I want to address some of the complaints I’ve read here and compare/​contrast to my own experience.
1. Autocross course. I didn’t find this misleading because I know what that means. In this case, it was basically a short oval around a parking lot. I’m not sure why people would expect to be able to take a supercar on an actual racetrack at high speed for only $ 100 with minimal instruction. It was fine (there are lots of example videos on YouTube of Motorsport Lab sessions, if you want to see exactly what you’re getting). The course was short — I’d be surprised if I hit 50 mph. You stay in second gear, but this isn’t the second gear in your Honda Civic — it can do over 90 before you’d need to shift. I pitched it into the corners and screeched the tires. Woo-​hoo! The car was super. The retail price would be a bit much for me, but I thought the Groupon was a good value. Anyway, when am I going to drive a Gallardo again?
2. Yes, there are a lot of disclaimer forms and things to sign. I guess that makes sense if you think about what it means to let strangers drive 550 horsepower cars. The guys there were really laid back about it. The 6500 RPM limit (and potential overcharge) sounds concerning, but the check in guy said, don’t worry, you won’t hit it. And he was right. Not even close. All in all, they were very laid back. It’s up to you and how much you trust yourself to not hit something or damage the car, in my opinion. The Gallardo is an easy car to drive, I came to find out.
3. I was signed up for a video, which I was really looking forward to having, but when I got home it was blank. That really sucks. I am in contact with them to see what can be done.
4. The instructors were positive, polite, friendly, laid back, etc. The «tip» that is mentioned all over the place was downplayed (they said whatever you feel like, or not, it is up to you). It notes in the paperwork that the instructors are paid on gratuity alone, regardless of what you paid for the reservation. Some reviewers are offended by the suggested tip amounts (which are based on the full retail price, not the Groupon deal that a lot of people bought). I think folks should relax and tip what they feel is fair. Personally, I based my tip on price paid and the 3:00 minutes I was in the car, and added some because I had a blast. Seemed fair to me.
Overall, I thought it was a super fun morning and hey, I got to drive a Lamborghini. It’s a bit of a racket (makes me want to start a company like this), but it was exactly what I expected. I am most disappointed about the video and I’m pretty sure I’m screwed on that. The bottom line is, would I do it again? Absolutely.
EDIT: I emailed about the video and got an immediate response and multiple staff have followed up. That is impressive. I’m still bummed out by not having my souvenir, but sometimes things don’t go your way.

I’m not going to lie, reading all the negative reviews freaked me out a little bit. And the liability waiver forms they have you print and fill out before hand are super aggressive and rather nasty sounding. But when I got there with my girlfriend, the people running it were super nice! I left wanting to hop back on Unilocal and defend them a little bit.
First off, don’t bother buying any of the extra insurance add-​ons. They are totally unnecessary and just a way for Motorsport Lab to make some extra money. One of the pro drivers hit a few cones himself and nobody even blinked an eye. My instructor was really nice, and he definitely encouraged me to go fast. The driving experience was amazing, the Lambo handles like butter. I would recommend getting the 6 lap package though as 3 laps only equals about 90 seconds of driving.
I knocked off a star for the tackiness of the gratuity system. They repeatedly remind you that the drivers work solely on tips (which is doubtful) and at the end, the check-​in people ask you how much you want to tip in front of everybody, which is awkward. It’s definitely a high pressure tactic, and a low-​class way to operate. They even have all the percentages of tips written out on your forms, and it’s based off the normal price, not the LivingSocial deal I had. That means they wanted 20% of the $ 500 original price. LOL. I tipped em $ 40. Nobody on Earth deserves a $ 100 tip for 90 seconds of work.
Overall though, this was super awesome. I can see myself getting the 6 lap deal next year.

I am definitely going to give this 5 stars. It’s a $ 99 groupon, that’s Cheap as hell to make any car guys dreams come true. It gets you 3 laps which realisticlally is only a minute and a half, but my honey bunny ended up doing 4 laps because he was last, and then the sherpa took him around for two extra laps! We did spend $ 50 on useless insurance, but I wasn’t mad, it’s because we were just using our average debit card and didn’t have a credit card to put on file. So we got that, tipped our sherpa $ 50. Honestly, I feel he deserved more for the homie hook up but it’s all we had on us at the time. Some guys were tipping well over $ 100, others were tipping $ 20. Don’t feel obligated to tip the 18% of the «actual» price, that all the paperwork says. The next time they offer this groupon we are getting the 6 laps, AND paying the extra $ 50 to split the laps between a ferarri and the lambo. It was such a fun guy, and I’ve never seen my guy smile so big, at least not since his daughter was born. WELL WORTH IT. Just try not to break down the cost by the amount of time you’ll actually spend driving. IT will be an expensive minute. But really, a once in a lifetime experience. Oh AND for $ 50 you can drive your own car around the course when every one is done and I think we might add that on because we have fun little AWD subarus to drive. I cannot wait to do this again!

Greatly disappointed. When I purchased this as a groupon certificate I could not have been more excited to give it my boyfriend. It advertises as though your «laps» will be on a track… This driving experience is in a parking lot. NO JOKE. The 3 laps equaled about ¹⁄₃ of a mile… total. There were no safety accommodations such as hay bales or tire guards. It is literally in the parking lot… like where you might take your kid to teach them how to drive.
Worth 100 $ not to us. They should not use the pictures of the Portland International Raceway, if they are not using the actual track. Oh… and if you want to really cover your behind with liability… like hitting a cone or further damage expect to pay another 150 $ for further insurance. I agree with Timothy O… their waver is unbelievable. SOOO not happy with their set up.

Fantastic experience to drive one of three awesome Italian super cars, Ferrari 360 Modena, Ferrari F430 or the Lamborghini Gallardo!
I came back two more times after driving the F430, which was an absolute dream.
The instructors are very friendly and helpful, assisting you in finding the limits of what you can do with these cars, yes, you can push them harder than you’d think, but you’re nowhere near the cars capabilities.
The auto cross tracks are short, so in reality, your drive time is over way too quickly, yet, you will escape with a grin from ear to ear!
My last visit I went back to the Lamborghini, more so because of the more circular track layout, compared to the tighter technical layout setup for the Ferrari.
If you’ve driven with Motorsport Lab prior, mention it and bring proof to get a free lap!
I bought an additional lap for my son and I, so that we could get 4 laps, which turned into 5! Now we’re talking! With 4 – 6 laps, you actually can get into a rhythm and drive the car, I had the pleasure of power sliding a $ 200,000 Lamborghini through corners!!!
If I could do this every day my cheeks would hurt from smiling!
If they’re looking for more drivers, ask Steve, he had a fun ride along with me, I’m available!
Ladies, if you’re looking for a gift for your boyfriend or husband, you cannot go wrong. Gentlemen, I haven’t seen a lot of ladies taking advantage of this opportunity, she’d love it as well.

So I got nervous when I printed their 14 page liability and intro packet as it felt more like a legal contract than simple liability waiver/​risk form and a way to charge my credit card for anything under the sun like going above reasonable rpm’s so I did some research and read the reviews on this and other sites. I don’t think I have ever seen so many poor reviews.
It is not driving on racetrack. It is orange cones in a parking lot.
Poor service, sketchy staff and long waits combined with something like 5 minutes of actual drive time.
I received this as a gift and was pretty excited to go drive the car tomorrow but have decided it is not worth the time, hassle and liability if they choose to get nasty and charge my CC for anything they see fit.
Maybe Groupon was their last ditch effort to make it but with reviews like this and delivering bad experiences I would be surprised if they last long and may get desperate.
Count me out. ..

It was a blast to sit and drive the Ferrari 430. The sherpas (pro drivers assisting you) are awesome, they know there stuff and give you the green light to open up the gas! I purchased the video and it’s fun to relive the moment!
The cons, …it rained and I feel we should have the option to reschedule. For a business that offers a luxury experience, the wait and administrative staff were anything but. We stood for about 35 minutes and the check in staff was anything but high class. The guy in the trailer looked more like someone selling drugs. Just saying.
Also, while we wait, someone should be with us answering questions about the cars. I left wanting more facts about Ferrari. Set at Portland International Raceway, one gets the feeling you will be on the track… but your in a lot that you could throw a baseball across. I don’t regret it but I don’t think I will recommend it.

Purchased a Groupon for $ 129: 3 autocross laps in either Ferrari 360 Modena or Lamborghini Gallardo & video from the inside as you drive. There is an option w/​no video or to drive the Ferrari F430.
On the liability & informational paperwork they send you via email 3 days before your appointment to fill out it states to check in 45 mins early, upgrade options & additional liability insurance options.
My take is for 3 short laps around a small coned course you don’t need their liability insurance. The course is too small to actually get up to any dangerous speed & the instructor is in the car. You also don’t need to check in 45 mins early unless you want to wait for an hr. It seems like arriving 20 mins early is enough. In the informational packet there is a suggested tip amount. They say the instructors don’t get paid, just tips. The question then becomes ‘why doesn’t the business pay them’? I’m torn on the tipping thing. Tip stands for To Insure Prompt Service but I see it as you tip when someone has gone above & beyond to make your experience enjoyable.
The drive time was probably 3 mins & the brief instructional time about 5 mins. There wasn’t anything memorable about it except for what I already paid for, driving 3 short laps in a cool car.
Nothing wrong with the business itself but would I spend the money to do it again… no. This equates to 3 stars.