Podium celebration at EXR Racing — a gift for dad in Israel
GIFT GUIDE · EXR RACING

A Gift for Dad in Israel
That Isn't Another Sweater

Finding a gift for dad in Israel is a yearly ritual of quiet defeat: he insists he needs nothing, he means it, and whatever you buy anyway gets a warm thank-you and a shelf. This guide is about breaking that cycle with the one present he cannot shrug off — an hour behind the wheel of a real sports car, on a real race track, with his whole family cheering from the stands.

THE MAN

The man who gave everyone everything

Think about the arithmetic of your father's life. Decades of driving other people to their things: school runs, army bases, airport pickups at absurd hours, moving apartments with his back and his car. The car was always a tool in service of the family — never once the point. Somewhere in there is a younger man who loved driving before driving became logistics.

That's the man this gift is addressed to. Not "dad the provider" but the person underneath, the one who still glances at a passing V8 a half-second longer than necessary. A session at EXR hands him the keys to a 450-horsepower Corvette C6, a rally-bred Mitsubishi EVO X, or a BMW M240 — and for once, the destination is nowhere and the drive itself is the entire purpose.

THE FAMILY EVENT

Why this gift for dad works best as a family day

Here is what separates this from every voucher you've ever given him: you all get to be there. The Arad race track in southern Israel has a dedicated spectator area with room for up to a thousand people — which means grandchildren at the fence, your mother filming vertically, siblings arguing about whether that lap was faster than the last one. He isn't redeeming a gift alone; he's performing for the people he spent his life driving around.

The circuit itself gives the family plenty to watch: fourteen corners and an official pit lane on a state-licensed track, so every lap passes the stands and every braking zone is visible. And because professional video and photos are included in the session, the day produces its own heirloom — footage of grandpa in a race car is the kind of file that outlives phones.

If your father is more mountain-road romantic than track animal, there's an alternative venue in the Judean Hills near Nes Harim, about thirty minutes from Jerusalem — quieter, greener, no grandstand. For the full head-to-head between settings, the choosing guide walks through it.

HIS OBJECTIONS

Pre-answering his objections

You know exactly what he'll say, so let's dismantle it in advance. "It's too expensive." Sessions start at ₪1,000 — about $270 — for roughly an hour of driving, and siblings splitting it three ways are each spending less than they did on the espresso machine he never uses. Bigger formats reach ₪8,000 for a full day, but nobody is forcing the deep end.

"I'm too old for this."He isn't. The requirement is a valid driver's license — his fifty years of experience are an asset, not a liability. A certified English-speaking instructor sits beside him for every meter, the day opens with a proper briefing, and insurance is included. The pace is his to set.

"What do I even wear to a race track?" Sneakers. That's the list. Everything else — car, fuel, coaching, cameras — is provided, as the first track day guide explains in detail.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

From family group chat to track day

The mechanics are deliberately simple. One family member messages EXR on WhatsApp at +972-50-661-0451 and describes dad: age, driving history, whether he'd grin harder at the Corvette's V8 thunder or the EVO's manual gearbox he learned on. The team answers with options and a quote; you pick, and a voucher comes back. Some families reveal it at a birthday dinner; the braver ones tell him it's "a family trip to the south" and let the pit lane do the talking.

If your father lives abroad and visits Israel once or twice a year, this works even better — foreign licenses are accepted, the whole experience runs in English, and the session becomes the anchor event of the next visit. Prices and formats live on the pricing page; when you're ready, the voucher details are on the gift voucher page.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

My dad is in his sixties — is he too old for a track day?+

Age is not a barrier; a valid driver's license is the requirement, and drivers in their sixties and seventies take the wheel regularly. The certified instructor in the passenger seat calibrates the pace to him, and the briefing beforehand means nothing on the day is a surprise.

Can the whole family come and watch dad drive?+

Yes — that's what makes this gift different from a voucher he redeems alone. The Arad circuit has a spectator area for up to 1,000 people, so children and grandchildren watch every lap from the side, and the included video and photos capture what they saw.

Dad hasn't driven a manual in twenty years — which car should we pick?+

Both the Corvette C6 and the BMW M240 spare him the clutch. If he came up on stick-shift and misses it, the Mitsubishi EVO X's manual gearbox may be exactly the nostalgia you're buying him — the instructor helps him knock the rust off.

How do several siblings split the cost of the gift?+

Informally — one sibling messages EXR on WhatsApp (+972-50-661-0451), arranges the voucher, and the family settles between themselves. Sessions run from ₪1,000 (about $270) to ₪8,000, so there's a tier for two siblings or six.

Dad lives abroad and visits Israel once a year — does that work?+

Perfectly. Foreign driver's licenses are accepted, instructors speak English, and the voucher stays flexible until he lands — many families schedule the session as the highlight of the annual visit.

What if dad says 'you shouldn't have spent the money'?+

He will — dads do. That objection dissolves about three corners into his first lap. The gift works precisely because it's something he'd never allow himself: an hour where he receives instead of provides.

He gave everyone everything. His turn.

Tell us about your dad on WhatsApp — his age, his old car stories, your budget — and we'll shape a session he'll never see coming.