If you’ve followed my Zen blogs, you’d know that I’ve completely changed my life’s course. I’ve ditched everything I know and decided to follow my dream of becoming a race car driver.
On January 28th, I had the experience of a lifetime. I finally got strapped into a formula ford and got to drive it around Wakefield to my hearts ability. I’ve had no prior karting experience; nor have I ever taken my road car to the track. Everything was new. To take it all in at once, my mind had to be spongier than a sponge. Going out on my first lap was simply exhilarating, which quickly turned into embarrassment after I fell off the track at the first hard braking corner…
Whoops!
After falling off the track and feeling every single rock hit the underbelly. I had epiphanies left, right and centre. One I already knew about, however after the little accident it quickly felt much more real. It was the fact if the car gets damaged, repairs will be coming out of my pocket. Now my pockets are in no way deep. Hell, if I was in 2 fast 2 furious I’d have to leave the start line the second someone said anything about raising the stakes.
The second epiphany I had was the realisation I came to the day with the wrong mindset. I came to the day with certain expectations, something I shouldn’t have had at all. I didn’t expect how long it’d take me to get used to it all. I also didn’t expect how I’d feel, how the car would feel. After processing each and every little thought and putting them all into folders in my brain, I directed the car back to the road.
Turning my thoughts into a blank canvas (as it should have been from the very start), I gingerly got back on the road and continued, vowing not to fall off the track again.
One thought that I couldn’t get out of my mind however, was the fact that I was actually driving around a track in a formula ford. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for so long. The very thing I thought about while lying in bed every night, and here I was actually doing it. It’s an experience that I didn’t want to put to waste. I had to give it my all, yet at the same time not leave the team with a bad impression by falling off the track and possibly writing the car off.
This, mind you, is much easier said than done. There was so much to get used to, such as smashing the brake pedal as hard as I could, shifting that god forsaken 4 speed H pattern gearbox with my right hand and lastly ringing that thing by the neck around the track. It was definitely a learning experience. However it’s safe to say I didn’t get any of those 3 down pat by the end of the day.
I wasn’t happy with my lap speed at all. After 6, 20 minute sessions I was 3 seconds off race pace. I wasn’t focused on qualifying laps as all it was to me was seat time. Nevertheless, looking at the positives. One thing to take away from it was consistency. In my last session I was consistently punching out faster laps, only going slower in one thanks to a miss shift.
I definitely know where to find the pace. That’s why next time I’ll definitely nail it and I’ll be right on the pace (hopefully). Unfortunately a couple of days ago I was forced to take a month’s break from work, which really destroyed a lot of my plans, possibly ruining everything. However, what fun would a career be if it was easy?
Is my dream of becoming a racing car driver what I expected it to be? Not in the slightest. Despite that, the reality of racing has made me love it even more. In fact it made me realise just how much I’ve been underestimating them. It’s bought about a new level of respect in me for the sport.
So… What now? For me, it’s time to focus on fitness and strength, while reflecting on the first test day, so when I get into it next time, I’m able to just get straight into it. However, that being said, that’s IF there’s a next time.
I’d like to thank my friends who came on the long trip from Gold Coast to Sydney for moral support. Which I’m unsure how great of a help they were since they were insulting me 99.998% of the time. I’d also like to thank Anglo Australian Motorsport for the drive, especially the mechanic/engineer who broke his toe a couple of days prior to the event and still attended, going to the hospital after the day was over, which I felt really bad about. Just shows how great their dedication is.
Being in a race car for the first time, driving around a track for the first time, was definitely eye opening to say the least.
I hope you’ll continue to follow my journey. Thanks for reading, until next time!