Praying at Church…

Last week I made the trip to Thruxton to be shown around the track in a Vauxhall Astra VXR with British Touring Car driver Andy Jordan. It’s not every day you get some pointers from a BTCC ace, nor that you get to experience Thruxton when it’s pouring with rain, there are puddles on the track and you’re driving a front-wheel-drive car with 235bhp.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, considering his Rallycross history, when Andy immediately switched off the traction control and proceeded to slide the car around the track for five laps, but I was certainly a little wide-eyed when we went through Church for the first time. Actually scrap that, I thought I was going to die. The hidden apex means you turn in towards the marshaling post so early you end up thinking the driver has completely and utterly lost the plot. It’s only when you emerge the other side, neatly brushing the rumble strip, that you realise all is well. Until the next lap that is, when you go through the same experience all over again.

Having watched the video of our drive I seem to have spent the whole time saying, “I don’t think I’ll be going even half this speed when I get behind the wheel…” And how right I was. Andy, thank you for your patience – I almost got Church right in the end…

Thankfully the traction control was switched back on when I had a go in the Astra and Andy had the patience of a saint as he encouraged me to build up my speed, help me get my head around front-wheel drive in a matter of a few laps, and not shout at me when I refused to turn into Church before I could actually see the apex.

The BTCC will be at Thruxton for its season-opener on April 4, so if you’re in the area it’s definitely worth a visit. Especially since the Hampshire track is so wide they could, and probably will knowing the touring cars, go into the first corner eight abreast.