Part 19. What's next?

Another Track Day at Hampton Downs under my belt. It was a similar story to last time, just without the existential crisis. I had fun and didn't die. I comfortably smashed more times into the 1:25s. I even managed not to totally devastate my brakes as usual. Great success!

I came away from the day pretty satisfied, feeling like I've now had my fill of this experience – that being, driving my car around this specific track layout. I've confidently achieved my goal and now it's time to widen my motorsports experience further.

So what's next?

First up, clearly, I need to get a Porsche:



*Suddenly wakes up* Oh, I was having the most wonderful dream. 

Now where was I? What's next! I have been considering some potential experiences for 2025 and beyond – most of which involve thrashing other people's cars.

You might be thinking – why not get into Go Karts? They're pretty cheap and don't require a lot of storage or technical knowhow compared to cars. They are by far the most popular route into motorsports for youngsters, and many adults continue to race them at a serious and competitive level. And to you I say: good for them, but no. At least 50% of why anyone gets into motorsport as a driver is being able to pretend to be a cool guy. Anyone in the sport who doesn't admit that is lying to you, or is lying to themselves. Sorry, but a man approaching 40 driving a Go Karts is desperately uncool. No offence.

Glad we got that out of the way. 

So, here are some of the things I have been thinking about. In no particular order:

  • The Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy – A decent step up from the track day instruction I've experienced. You get a day to drive a racing grade Toyota TR86s with a dedicated instructor. You'll dive into the data and analyse recordings of your laps in detail.

  • MotorShare – I spoke to a gentleman at my last Track Day who had recently returned from an excellent adventure. He had taken turns driving a dozen supercars on a roady down to Taupo. He was an owner of a kind of timeshare for supercars. Intriguing. OK, it's not exactly motorsport as you can only drive on public roads, observing speed limits – but it's closely adjacent given the horsepowers at hand. Shares cost a few thousand dollery-doos for 10 days per year access to a variety of supercars. Definitely fulfilling the 'pretend cool guy' aspect of motorsport.

  • Supercar Track Day – A lot shorter than a normal Track Day, but you get to drive someone else's, much faster, cars. Though upfront it's more expensive, the advantage is that there is a fixed cost (petrol, servicing, engine, tyre & brake ware and tare all included). In addition, you get to drive some serious big boy cars. 3 laps in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Tricolore and a Lotus Exige. Phwoar.

  • Targa Tour – The soft, gentleman driver version of the real (scary) Targa. A kind of road rally that takes place on closed public roads. You can take your daily driver and a passenger and drive decently fast over some cracking NZ roads for a few days.

  • OK Cup or NaZCAR – I currently lack the mechanical skills, funds and all-round knowhow to take part in a real racing series on my own, with my own racing car. This competition is about as cheap as it can possibly be. Even so, my idea here is to find an exisiting team seeking a driver, or put myself up as a reserve volunteer in case a team-mate can't compete on a given day. I'll need to get a motorsport licence for this too.

  • Honda Cup – Similarly, this series is relatively low cost, but the route in is more certain. The organisers lease several race cars per year, including maintenance and delivery to track. It's relatively cheap. But not that cheap. So, I've got to be sure if this is what I want to do. Likely this will follow one or more of the above.

  • Watch an F1 race LIVE – Few motorsport experiences can compete – at least in grand spectacle – with an F1 race. It's been on my bucket list for a while, but maybe now is the time? Singapore or Australia seem the most likely candidates, but you never know where I might pitch up over the next few years.
Right, so I'm off to buy a Lotto ticket. Catch you next year friends!

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