I arrived at the Dubai Autodrome
Race School on what felt like one of the
hottest days of the year so far, anxious
about the experience that lay waiting for
me down on the track. The first thing
your eyes are drawn to when you enter
the Race School is the track-ready
Formula 1 style single-seater waiting
silently next to a racing spec Subaru
Impreza. I realized then that my previous
racing like experience at the Kartdrome
had perhaps not prepared me as fully as I
had originally predicted for the one hundred
eighty horsepower available from
the single seater.
The safety briefing helped to
transform the fear and intimidation I’d
once felt into an eagerness to get down
to the track, but also created a new
worry in the form of a manual gearbox.
You have to understand, I haven’t driven a
manual transmission car since I drove
the 1.1L Ford Fiesta which I passed my
driving test in, so the idea of taking on a
sequential gearbox with a heavy clutch
was coupled with nightmare premonitions
of stalls, spins and large explosions, in
that order.
My instructor, a short man with
an impressive beard, assured me by
explaining what I could expect from the
car – in particular how best to treat the
clutch. He explained every conceivable
driving method to get the best out of the
car, yet I couldn’t help thinking that the
machine would get the best of me.
Thankfully, I was to be paced by one of
the Autodrome’s Audi TTS track cars
which, driven by an instructor, would
show me the ideal racing line for the circuit.
As soon as I got out of the shuttle
bus at the Autodrome’s Oval Circuit,
the heat hit me. The track temperature
was soaring to 50°c which, when dressed
in a full racing suit and crash helmet, is a
little bit like entering an oven: on fire, but
it’s amazing how little I cared about the
heat as soon as I caught a glimpse of one
of the single seaters sitting in the pit
lane. Immaculately white and about an
inch from the ground, this racing machine
looks even more intimidating in its natural
habitat than it ever did in the air conditioned
Race School. Right then, the only
thought running through my mind was,
“Well mate, you’re in way over your head”.
If, at this point, you’re reading
this and wondering why you would ever
want to subject yourself to such emotional
trauma, it would serve you well to pay
attention to the next part.
Sliding into the cockpit of the single-
seater centers your mind completely.
I can think of few other times in my life
where my attitude towards something has
changed so suddenly and so absolutely.
Standing outside the car, I was a worried
young man – inside, I was Jenson Button.
Firing up the engine, which is located just
behind your head, sends a surge of adrenaline
to your fingertips. It’s simply a chorus
of raw racing power. For the first
time since I’d arrived at the Autodrome, I
felt ready to go for it; eager to floor it
and keep going until I hit the limiter and
then – with a little luck – shift up and
repeat.
The single seaters are essentially
four wheels, a plastic seat, a steering
wheel and a large engine dressed in an
aerodynamic coat. There is no power
assisted steering or leather trim – but
where it lacks in ride comfort, it more
than compensates in sheer driving pleasure.
I used to think I knew what the sensation
of speed felt like after a few runs
down SZR – yet I promise you, nothing
can prepare the average road user for
the rush of traveling from 0-100 km/h in
4.6 seconds with nothing but the sky
above your head and the tarmac an inch
from your seat.
The soundtrack of that 180 HP
engine is deafening, yet you still find yourself
wanting it to be louder. The acceleration
is blistering, yet you still feel in
complete control. The heat is stifling, yet
you may as well be in the middle of a
Siberian blizzard. When you’ve got your
right foot planted firmly on the gas, nothing
else matters in the world – you just
enjoy the moment and try to stay behind
the pace car.
As you tear around corners at
100 km/h, sharply pulling the reinforced
metal shifter in your quest for greater
speed, you feel like an integral part of the
machine. You feel truly at one with the
sensation that is driving. Car manufacturers
offer drivers “an involved and
responsive drive” with clever on-board
computers and adaptive suspension but
no normal car can deliver the same purity
of the drive as is available from these
earth to earth missiles.
So why not head down to the
Autodrome this summer to cool off in a
single-seater; as far as a driving experience
goes, it’s the real deal. Next level
will be on the bigger track, paced by
another single seater, driven by an
instructor. It is faster, you can use all the
gears up to the fifth on the main straight
and it sounds truly exciting. I will tell you
the story when it happens."
