How fast?

I spent all day on Wednesday at the Brands Hatch GP circuit in a Radical SR4 – This was with a company called Fast Club, who provide the car, fuel (for car and driver!), tyres, pit garage, with crew, and an instructor. I was lucky enough to have Michael Vergers assigned to me for the whole day. Michael is one of top drivers in the UK, with many championships to his name – His recent drives cover cars as diverse as Ascar to LPM2. I didn’t really know what to expect from the day, as I’d never been to a track day before, but what a fantastic experience. The track time was split in to groups 1,2 &3 covering Novices, Intermediates and Experienced drivers. I’d only done races before, so quite rightly, the FC guys had booked me in to day group 2 with the possibility of joining group 3 if I came up to spec.


We started with Michael taking me out for some ‘sighting’ laps to let me see what the car could do and to discuss how I wanted to progress over the day. (They had a great intercom system built into the helmets they supplied). I liked Michael’s direct style and was quite happy that he should give me a hard time if I was screwing up. Then it was my turn – I drove an older Radical for 10 laps at Mallory Park back in 2001, but this was way different. It’s only 480kgs (add 150 for driver and passenger) and is powered by a tuned Suzuli ‘Busa 1300cc engine putting out circa 200bhp. The first few laps allowed me to get to grips with the car, and then it was down to learning – Michael focused on aspects of driving that I’d never even considered before. Before I knew it, the session for group 2 was over, but we went straight back out with group 3, so I guess I was doing OK:-)
Just after lunch Michael did another couple of laps at full speed – it was amazing, and gave me an idea of just what could be achieved. Over the course of the day Michael was constantly on my case (in a good way) and I learned a massive amount. - I just didn’t realise how much until, during our second last stint, I could see another Radical ahead – I had followed this car/driver combination for a couple of laps during one of the morning sessions before managing to just get past – I couldn’t believe how quickly I caught up with and passed the very same guy.

The main reasons for attending this day were, to get back up to racing speed in preparation for my first car race of the season at the final rounds of this seasons FPA championship at Brands Hatch GP at the end of September, and to see if I could learn some driving skills. I’m sure I did both, but I guess September will be the proof of the pudding.