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 are waved through. OK have fun. I’ve been living in New Zealand for nearly 5 years now and I really shouldn’t have expected more than that, but still, essentially: take your powerful sports cars onto a high-speed track with your friends and family. Pretty much drive however you like. Try not to die.
My current daily driver is a Volvo S60. It’s not exactly a track weapon but it goes OK compared to your average motor. However, as we were getting ready to start, an array of spicy motors lined up on the grid, including; a Porsche Carerra 4S, a Civic Type-R and an Audi RS4 – all cars with 2 to 4 times as much horsepower as mine. I was feeling a little like I’d brought a spoon to a gunfight. But soon after lining up on the grid a couple of lads in a bog-standard Toyota Yaris pulled up alongside us. Knowing that there was a wee Yaris directly behind me in the running order put me at ease. I could be as slow as I liked and I still wouldn’t be the slowest on the track. Soon enough, the Lexus safety car beckoned the 10 or so cruisers onto the track.
Oh, so we're really going for it then? I remarked as everyone floored it out of the pit lane. The supposed safety car was long gone and I never saw it again. This would be no pootle then. However, it turned out that I had nothing to worry about regarding my own pace. It soon became clear that not only was everyone going at their own speed, but I was way faster and more confident than I expected. I moved over for a couple of the bigger boys on a straight, but passed a MX-5 myself later. I easily kept up with the Type-R and we both gained on a couple of rally classics – a Subaru Impreza WRX STI and a Mitsubishi Evo 5.
The only significant limitation imposed on us was that we couldn’t exceed 120kph, which was only an annoyance down the main straight. I was able to go as fast as I wanted into and out of the corners and owned the racing lines to overcome my power limitation. It felt really natural to be on a track, not to mention fun.
My Volvo performed really well on the handling front. It felt poised and responsive but remained exceedingly calm and comfortable. A little too comfortable actually. But what did I expect from a Volvo (even a particularly sporty one)?
Despite the limitations of my car and the event format, it was still an exciting experience. One of my aims this year is to get used to the taste of adrenaline. By this metric, the Track Cruise passed. After I’d finished on track and pulled up to the cafe for lunch, my hands were shaking as I held the menu. After the drive home I had developed the same kind of pressure headache as I had after rally school (though milder). This was only a sip of adrenaline compared to the keg I’d imbibed at rally school, but it is exactly the kind of thing I’m aiming for this year.
The Track Cruise at Hampton Downs is great value at only $50 (or $70 for 2 sessions) and exceeded my thrill expectations. Well worth it if you have a car you want to push (but not cane) and you fancy a quick fix of adrenaline. I would definitely go again, but it’s not nearly enough for someone on an important Rally Quest. I'm already looking forward to my next mission...
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 are waved through. OK have fun. I’ve been living in New Zealand for nearly 5 years now and I really shouldn’t have expected more than that, but still, essentially: take your powerful sports cars onto a high-speed track with your friends and family. Pretty much drive however you like. Try not to die.
My current daily driver is a Volvo S60. It’s not exactly a track weapon but it goes OK compared to your average motor. However, as we were getting ready to start, an array of spicy motors lined up on the grid, including; a Porsche Carerra 4S, a Civic Type-R and an Audi RS4 – all cars with 2 to 4 times as much horsepower as mine. I was feeling a little like I’d brought a spoon to a gunfight. But soon after lining up on the grid a couple of lads in a bog-standard Toyota Yaris pulled up alongside us. Knowing that there was a wee Yaris directly behind me in the running order put me at ease. I could be as slow as I liked and I still wouldn’t be the slowest on the track. Soon enough, the Lexus safety car beckoned the 10 or so cruisers onto the track.
Oh, so we're really going for it then? I remarked as everyone floored it out of the pit lane. The supposed safety car was long gone and I never saw it again. This would be no pootle then. However, it turned out that I had nothing to worry about regarding my own pace. It soon became clear that not only was everyone going at their own speed, but I was way faster and more confident than I expected. I moved over for a couple of the bigger boys on a straight, but passed a MX-5 myself later. I easily kept up with the Type-R and we both gained on a couple of rally classics – a Subaru Impreza WRX STI and a Mitsubishi Evo 5.
The only significant limitation imposed on us was that we couldn’t exceed 120kph, which was only an annoyance down the main straight. I was able to go as fast as I wanted into and out of the corners and owned the racing lines to overcome my power limitation. It felt really natural to be on a track, not to mention fun.
My Volvo performed really well on the handling front. It felt poised and responsive but remained exceedingly calm and comfortable. A little too comfortable actually. But what did I expect from a Volvo (even a particularly sporty one)?
Despite the limitations of my car and the event format, it was still an exciting experience. One of my aims this year is to get used to the taste of adrenaline. By this metric, the Track Cruise passed. After I’d finished on track and pulled up to the cafe for lunch, my hands were shaking as I held the menu. After the drive home I had developed the same kind of pressure headache as I had after rally school (though milder). This was only a sip of adrenaline compared to the keg I’d imbibed at rally school, but it is exactly the kind of thing I’m aiming for this year.
The Track Cruise at Hampton Downs is great value at only $50 (or $70 for 2 sessions) and exceeded my thrill expectations. Well worth it if you have a car you want to push (but not cane) and you fancy a quick fix of adrenaline. I would definitely go again, but it’s not nearly enough for someone on an important Rally Quest. I'm already looking forward to my next mission...
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