It’s one of those jobs you just can’t say no to: driving a single-seater race car. It’s every gearhead’s dream. And I wasn’t going to buck that trend by being a little bitch about it, either. Thanks to the good folk at Formula Challenge Racing, I was given the opportunity to pitch up and have a steer of FCR’s single-seaters and its race-prepped V8s (sorry boss) around Taupo Motorsport Park.

I suited up and headed out for a couple of reconnaissance laps, before being ushered into my choice of either a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon. I may be import obsessed, but I still have a preference between the marques: the Commodore it was.

The V8 was surprisingly quick and, with wheels wrapped in full slick rubber, cornered pretty well too. And while it was great fun, it was a V8 and this is NZPC magazine not NZV8 magazine, so let’s just say the Commy served as a decent way to learn the lines I would need to follow in the single seater.

After eight laps it was time to switch platforms to something a little sharper: a Formula Challenge chassis. Incorporating technology found in modern race cars (including an F1-inspired paddle-style gear change) the 150hp Suzuki GSX-R1100-powered open-wheelers are serious pieces of kit. In unrestricted form the 1100cc cars can pull 12,500rpm, clock 230kph, go from nought to 100kph in 3.8 seconds and back to zero again in 1.8 seconds. Oh yeah, and pull 1.98G through corners. Frankly, I’m not that good, which is why FCR wisely limits the cars to 7500rpm. It’s still plenty enough grunt and doesn’t compromise on cornering speeds.

Just as I was heading out, one of the Formula Challenge lads gave me a heads-up that I should warm the tyres for the first two of my 10 laps. He wasn’t kidding. I had barely turned into the first corner when I learnt what it’s like to drive a race car on cold 10-inch-wide slicks: the back end got away from me and I spun 180 degrees. It was a salutary lesson.

Tyres warmed, I started to push the car. This thing can really accelerate on the straight, but in many ways that’s the least impressive thing about it. Where it really cooks is in the braking and cornering. The only thing I’ve driven that’s comparable is a go-kart nothing else has this much grip, this extreme level of responsiveness.
Which doesn’t mean it’s easy to drive, even with the tyres warmed up and to prove it, I suffered another little spin, and gained a new appreciation for the skills of people who drive single seaters in earnest.

After 10 laps I rolled back into the pits. I’d been told the single seaters were roughly 1.5 to two seconds quicker per lap than the V8s. It certainly felt faster. So I was shocked to find I’d been lapping three seconds slower than I’d managed in the V8. Better luck next time and you can bet I’ll be back for another go once Formula Challenge has its additional programme up and running at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.