Part 7: Sunday driver
Last weekend my co-driver (wife) and I took a leisurely Sunday drive to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park for my first Rally Quest mission of the year – a Track Cruise – an event described as “six laps of the racetrack behind our safety car with family and friends in the car with you.” The idea was to have a little pootle around a real big boys track, get the feel of it, then come back with confidence for a more serious event later. The prestigious home of New Zealand motorsport turns out to be a few warehouses and a humble pit lane scattered around a track. The ‘spectator area’ is basically a few logs bolted to a hillside. We eventually found the nondescript office and awaited the briefing. It was, no joke, less than two minutes long. Here, dear reader, is pretty much the entire briefing: If your car breaks-down pull off the track and don’t get out, unless you are on fire, in which case, get out. Don’t drive like a dick-head, don’t go over 120kph and don’t overtake unless you...