So last week we were lucky enough to get an exclusive opportunity to try out the latest addition of the Lane7 Racing Rig before it officially opened for the public. You may have followed our story on snapchat whilst we were out. In case you missed it, I’ve written a little recap of my verdict.
8:45pm Food First
So around 8:45pm we had arrived. I think it’s safe to say, our stomachs were definitely pleased to finally be presented with the menu and have someone to take our order promptly. Before I go on, I think it’s worth noting that the Lane7 menu isn’t huge, but there’s something for everyone such as Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Lactose intolerant etc. But, if food options are a concern and you don’t trust my judgement, there’s a copy of the menu on their website. As it was quite late at night, I ended up going for a Superfood Salad whereas the others went for the Chicken Sammich.
Our food was served in good time and we even treated ourselves to desert, would definitely recommend! By the end, we were definitely stuffed. The quality of the food is most definitely worth the price you pay.
9:50pm Upstairs
So after we ate, we were then invited upstairs – the home of the new Racing Rig. Now, the others didn’t know what to expect, but I’d earlier had a sneaky view of the videos uploaded to Facebook by the Lane7 team and it definitely looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. When we arrived upstairs, we were greeted with a pint of Heineken.
We then got side tracked and played a couple of rounds of Ping Pong before we applied for our Lane7 Driving Licenses.
10:45pm FINALLY get to the Racing Rig
Finally, after an hour of letting our food settle (kinda..) we were instructed on how to make our driving licenses that we’ll need to activate our cars on the Racing Rig.
So, again for those who didn’t follow our snapchat story, the Racing Rig is sort of like an indoor racing cart feature where you race against others on a motor track. Instead of using remote to control your car however, you have a real seat, brake/reverse and accelerator pedal.
First off - you have to enter your name and home town on one of three machines that are used to print your paper licenses. On each of these three machines there’s a camera that you can use to take your picture, or if your camera shy there’s an option to go with one of the cartoon caricatures.
Once we each had our licenses printed, we made our way to the back of the room where the Racing Rig was located and chose our seats. To activate your wheel and profile, you have to scan your driving license barcode on your chosen seat. This was a pretty cool feature as once you’ve activated your seat your license details appear on the TV screen in front and once everyone’s all sat and scanned their barcodes – everyone competing is listed on screen in an F1 racing sort of way.
After having a couple of rounds, we were definitely unleashing our true competitive side. As someone who’s still learning how to drive, I’d say I did pretty well. Also, perhaps one of the greatest features of the Racing Rig is the commentator. We played two round and had the most enthusiastic and hilarious commentators which made the experience even more entertaining. On top of that, the loud music and the drinks flowing made the experience even more intense – we were ready to turn our two rounds into a “Best of ten” tournament.
Alas, all good things must come to an end and unfortunately for me, I had to be up early the next day.
Priced at £3 a pop – I’d say it was really good value for money. As Lane7 is primary a bowling alley, the Racing Rig would be great to play in addition to going bowling or perhaps after a night of Karaoke if you’re looking to finally rest your vocal chords.
Fresher’s takeaway
After reading this, you may be more interested in visiting Lane7 - especially if you’ve not been before. Lane7 is a great venue for socials, birthdays, dates and events. It’s also a good place to go if you’re looking to get to know new people. So, particularly if you’re moving into Halls this September – whilst fresher’s week can be very alcohol fuelled Lane7 could be an ideal non-boozy destination for you to get to know your flatmates.
P.S - Here's a recap of our snapchat story!
Lane7 Night from Northumbria University on Vimeo.
