Motors and Me

Shopping trolley + weekend fun = £12k. Solve for x. Now that I’m getting a place with a garage and a driveway, I can seriously think about owning 2 cars and not worry about where I would keep them. As I’d like to reduce my carbon footprint, one car has to be a fuel-efficient shopping trolley for commuting and... well, shopping. The other would provide the fun. I reckon I’ve got a budget of the Mini plus £2.5k, making a total of £12k. The question is, where do I spend the money? Here are a few options I’m considering: Option 1 would be to go for an ultra-cheap banger and couple it with an aging S2000, VX220, Elise, or similar. On the up-side, I would get to own a proper RWD sports car. The fun car would even be practical enough to use day to day, should I need to. On the downside, the fun car would be getting into the high-maintenance phase of its life and there’s a good chance the banger would give me a load of grief too. Option 2...

A healthily large envelope arrived in the post yesterday: my Go Racing pack from the MSA . Yes, this means I’ve actually spent some money to get me started in competitive motorsport. Only time will tell whether it was a waste of money...

Another trip karting, another bruised back. And another trophy. I wasn’t meant to win, though. I’d been invited out by my brother to join his company’s karting event. I’d promised not to whip them and would even throw the event if need be. Some might consider that arrogant, but experience has taught that, with corporate karting events, I can be fairly confident I’ll be near the sharp end of the grid, if not on pole. On the day, I misjudged things a little. My first flying qualifying lap turned out to be quick enough to put me on pole, even though I felt I’d held a little back. Ooops. Then, when the race started, my only concern was to avoid getting injured from some over-exuberant T-boning action. I managed that, but it also meant that I got quite a few lengths’ lead in the first few corners. If I’d backed off at that point, it would have been very obvious and quite insulting. I had to accept the truth — I’d blown it. Fr...

Is it possible to take off in a car safely ? From time to time, in the pages of Evo magazine , there’ll be a photo of an Impreza or Evo with daylight clearly visible under its wheels. Never more than a few inches, but the car will definitely be airborne. I used to think that only something like a rally-bred turbo nutter could take such punishment, but I was wrong. The Mini can do it too. Last year, I surprised myself by getting all four of the Mini’s wheels off the ground near Rothbury in Northumberland. As things slowed down to bullet-time , it was both exciting and worrying. We hung there for what felt an eternity; at least compared to earlier occasions when the car had gone light. And then we landed — all four wheels at the same time and beautifully cushioned. Seriously, I’ve driven over patches of relaid tarmac that have given my suspension more grief. I was both ecstatic and deeply relieved. Immediately afterwards, I vowed never to push my luck that fa...

Things to do in 2007: new circuits... tick! A couple of months back , I made a typically rash, half-hearted commitment to increase my attendance at trackdays. Finally, I’ve begun to act upon it. Last weekend it was the Gallardo experience, if that counts, and now I’ve just booked myself in for a trackday at Snetterton . Up until now, I’d been holding off for a couple of reasons: I’m buying my first house and somewhat naïvely expected to be busy. I’m not. And neither, it appears, are my slacking solicitors. :( I don’t want to wreck the Mini’s tyres and brakes, as I aim to sell it soon after I’ve moved into the house. In the end, the frustration became too great. It seems there’s always something stopping me doing a trackday, but in reality, I’m the one holding myself back. Sod that. I’m rather looking forward to Snetterton. It’s not a circuit I’d really considered much before — Oulton wa...

Things to do in 2007: drive a Lamborghini Gallardo... tick! However, that’s it really. Driven . Not raced. Not thrashed. Just driven. To be fair, it’s no more than I was expecting when I coughed up £99 for Everyman’s “Lamborghini Thrill”. I’d hoped I would be able to push it, but I really didn’t expect it. So, if you’re a trackday regular who pines for the chance to drive a supercar on track, here are a few things you might like to know about the Everyman experience: You’ll be told what speed you have to take the corners e.g. 30mph in the chicane You’ll be told what gear to be in; generally a gear higher than you would choose yourself You’ll use barely half of the available rev range You’ll be told to brake very early and gently; no chance to go in hard on the brakes If you’re taller than 5’ 10”, you’ll not be comfortable. I had to shuffle my bum forward and lean right back t...

Lewis Hamilton: the next Michael Schumacher. Discuss. You might think I’m talking about his talent, but it’s more than that. I’ve yet to see anything from the lad to suggest that he’s anything more than a machine. A personality-free zone. Granted, he’s being kept away from the press to a large extent, but whenever you do see him interviewed, there’s so little humanity there. You get the feeling he never really had a chance to grow up properly and, as a result, all the interaction he knows is polite media talk. There is no Lewis Hamilton. Okay, that might be a little harsh, but honestly, I feel sorry for him. Long term, I also feel sorry for the sport if this is what it takes to win. In so many ways, he appears to be the Tiger Woods of F1. Can Britain ever really take someone like that to its collective heart? I don’t know. Don’t we prefer our sporting superstars to be human? Wayne Rooney, for example. Ronnie O’Sullivan. Jenson B...