Puresport at Autodromo Nazionale Monza – Italy’s best?

Puresport is a provider of supercar and open-wheel driving experiences in Italy. The experiences are hosted at famous Italian race tracks including Monza, Mugello, and Imola. The Monza experience held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza (also known as The Temple of Speed) is likely the best as Monza is currently the home of the Italian Grand Prix and also famous for being the fastest track on the Formula 1 schedule.

The fact that Monza is 45 minutes way from Milan is an added benefit. Puresport also has an open wheel racing program for those who may be interested in taking it to the next level.

Cars

Puresport currently has an updated fleet of cars. During our last visit in 2023, top cars available included an AMG GT-R PRO, Porsche 992 GT3, and Ferrari F8 Tributo. Also included are a Ferrari 296 GTB, Lamborghini Huracan Technica, and Huracan Evo. The current lineup of supercars adds up to a total of just twelve. That’s no match for the top providers in Las Vegas, but the list includes a good number of relatively new cars. A Lamborghini Aventador is still conspicuously absent, which is rather unfortunate for an experience based in Italy.

What sets Puresport apart is the lineup of open-wheel cars. The available cars include four different F3 cars, one Formula Renault, and a Formula 1 car. While some of these are dated, particularly the Formula 1 car, Damon Hill’s Arrow from the 90s, you won’t find this variety of open-wheelers at any other experience provider.

One thing to keep in mind is the availability of the open-wheel cars. You need to select dates when the cars you want to drive will be available. That could potentially limit your options.

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 (open-wheel experiences only), it was excellent and classy. Good grub and the noise of race cars. Killer combination!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 2024, supercar experiences have insurance included in the base price but the driver won't escape liability if it's determined that the damage was due to recklessness.

Insurance is optional for open-wheel cars and comes at an additional cost. When you pay for insurance, there's a €12,000 deductible. If you decide not to pay for insurance, you'll be responsible for damages up to a €25,000 maximum liability. Needless to say, an accident in an open-wheel car will be expensive even when you buy insurance.

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 would forfeit your experience if you didn't pay for rain insurance! We're happy to announce that rain insurance is now part of the base price you pay for the experience.

Experience Video

While the quality of the video isn't great. it is certainly worth having (It'll keep the memories of your drive at the Temple of Speed fresh long after the experience), and it comes with no branding.

For the open-wheel experience, the camera is mounted right behind the driver, giving you 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 over the internet.

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.