Will my bum fit in that?
No, this is not an article on the latest fashions...
I had been offered a ride in Rick’s Clio V6 at the Snetterton charity day but it soon became apparent that I might have problems getting in the car. Last year I had been in the Clio 172 and had enjoyed myself immensely but the V6 has less room for my ample proportions and the normal car passenger seat had to be replaced with a ‘proper’ racing bucket seat. On top of that I had badly wrenched my back and have been severely restricted in movement and at times in a lot of pain and with the side bars being higher I was getting very worried. Oh no I thought – there is no way I can go in that - I am going to have to go without. To most people it would have been a case of forget it but this was much too important. This was probably the only chance I would ever get to go in the car. So one osteopath later and with a lot of encouragement from husband (and Rick) I presented myself at Snetterton racetrack.
The day had dawned beautifully after a night of restless dreams involving cranes and firemen with cutting equipment. In all there were 5 of us travelling to Snetterton from Sudbury having put up another couple for the night and including our neighbour. We spent the journey up regaling stories of last years ride to the newcomers Alan and Amanda. Our first job on reaching the garage was to go and sign our lives away and pick up tickets, which would allow us on the track. Rebecca (Rick’s PR) had worked out a running order, which showed me running about 5th. The first punters were soon loaded in and taken for their spin. Barbabe was before me and Mark reassured me there was still more to let out on the racing harness so there was no excuse. Helmet on, life in Rick’s hands and body in Mark’s!! It was a bit of a squeeze getting in – not the body, which was surprising, but the helmet! I kept bashing it against the roll cage, but I was in, and belted in, and I had remembered to give Rick the ticket. He engaged first gear and we trundled off up the pit lane.
Now I had been in the previous years Clio 172 so I knew what was going to happen next. Ticket passed to the marshal, foot flat to the floor and take off. Fast as hell to the first corner then brake ruddy hard and round you go. Uh ah – not quite. This is a different beast. The V6 is more powerful, noisier and surprisingly more stable (to me that is). The ‘take-off’ was even more impressive, the trip to the first corner seemed even quicker and then Rick braked. A slight twitch, a turn and we were off to the second corner and then the straight. Oh my, this car is quick. In no time we were under the bridge, braking hard and round the Esses. Now in the 172 I didn’t like the Bombhole. I found the feeling of being thrown out of it on the exit very stomach churning but again the V6 just handled it differently. It was a lot smoother and hardly noticeable. On to Russell’s chicane and then past the pits with me waving madly to the others. I gave Rick a thumbs up to show I was OK and thoroughly enjoying myself as we speed round the track again. This time I watched the lines through the corners especially the closeness to the bollards and the line taken across the concrete. I just wanted to memorise as much as possible. At one corner we went ‘extra wide’ and onto the dirt but when questioning Rick later he said this was normal! (OK I believe you). Past the pits again after a twitchy Russell’s (more! more!) and round the circuit for the last time. Now I had got the feel for the circuit with the more flowing first lot of corners, straight and then the series of sharper bends. I knew what I (and my back) preferred. At times it was hard to keep my feet away from the fire extinguisher on the floor and my arms from flinging about. The pits approached and my turn was over.
Ahhh - the getting out. Well my husband says it wasn’t very elegant but I made it and no cranes or firemen were required. My smile was from ear to ear and still is and when people ask next week what my weekend was like, I will bore them potty with a lap-by-lap rendition.
When Jason Plato first took to Brands Hatch in the Clio 172 at the end of 1999 I thought the Clio was never going to be a racing car. It didn’t look the part being very squat and chunky. Last years ride put paid to that misconception. When I first saw the V6 I thought it looked a brute with wider wheel arches and the engine at the back, and some of Rick’s articles rather enforced that thought, but being in it shows it to be something different again. Not a lady perhaps but a rather a beauty not a beast.
My grateful thanks go to Rick Pearson, Paul Lomax, Rebecca Appleton and Mark Fish.