How fast is a Rallycross car?
Wed, 14 Oct 2009
STRAPPED into a bucket seat tight enough that I can’t move, I am sitting in a 550bhp Rallycross car at Mallory Park ready to go for a passenger lap of a lifetime around the new 1-mile long off-road/on-road circuit as a taster for the action at the eighth round of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Mirror on Sunday, October 18th.
Anyone that takes out a CIA motorcycle insurance policy automatically receives a £5 discount voucher to visit Mallory Park – another great benefit from CIA Insurance when you are looking for cheap bike insurance.
The revs rise and you can’t hear a thing, the noise is deafening, despite the helmet strapped tightly to my head. The driver – Liam Doran, one of the most exciting upcoming talents in the sport and a multiple race winner this year - flicks a switch for the electronics, gives me the thumbs up and then dumps the clutch.
The grippy Tarmac of the Mallory Park straight is overwhelmed by the horsepower going through the four-wheel drive system but the Ford Fiesta based car still hits 60mph in 1.9secs (faster than a Formula 1 car or a Superbike) and 100mph in 2.6secs. This must be how a fighter pilot feels on full thrust – pure vicious, violent acceleration. Then we enter the first turn.
At a speed that most Fiestas can only dream about, the car swoops into the corner and simply grips the road. If it was to lose traction, the crash would be huge and at well over 100mph. The next turn takes us onto the first technical gravel section.
The noise inside the cabin goes off the scale as stones and grit crash around the bodywork and it slides from side to side, the expert skill of Doran keeping it on track and moving forward at an unbelievable rate. We enter the off-road straight and flat out in fifth, with only 20-yards to the left-hander, the brakes slam me into the belt and despite the loose surface it slows and then catapults us onto the track again.
Through Edwina’s tight Tarmac corners the car slips a little and then shoots out with incredible breath-taking force before coming round and then entering the main straight off-road section. It’s fast. Fast enough to make me shut my eyes and I swear I heard my heartbeat even over the din of the gravel striking the car.
In a flash he is across the finish line and he pulls to a stop. The ride is over and I am left wondering what it must be like to watch eight of these cars setting off and diving into the first turn in a race. I want to see that for myself.
Track action starts at 0930 on 18th October at Mallory Park with the racing starting at 1000. Two-time Champion Pat Doran (father of Liam) has already claimed the title but the racing will be fierce in the £200,000 Supercars to end the season on a high and the support Championships promise to be equally exciting – there are approximately 60 races on the day so plenty of action for everyone. Tickets cost just £15 per adult and children under the age of 12 are free – with an open pit lane and plenty of family entertainment and refreshments on site as well.
To book advance tickets for the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship in association with the Mirror at Mallory Park please call on 01455 842931 or visit www.mallorypark.co.uk. Mallory Park is situated in the heart of the midlands in Leicestershire just off the A47 between Leicester and Hinckley and easily accessible from the M1, M69 or M6. For further directions, please visit www.mallorypark.co.uk.
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