- 2,426
- South Auckland, New Zealand
- Nismonath5
As requested by @Obelisk, this is a true story that happened to me in one of my attempts to make it into professional motorsports.
In November 2016, I was told about a nationwide search for two young drivers to race for team CareVets in the Toyota 86 series, a one make touring car series featuring professionally race prepped 86s. The team was offering scholarships for the season, and I was just getting out of my first season of dirt track racing having just placed 3rd overall, so I paid the fee and sent in my motorsports CV. A few weeks later, I got a call saying I'd been picked as one of twelve candidates for the scholarship, and I had to come to a test day at Hampton Downs to battle it out for one of the seats!
I got the time off my classes to attend the day, and upon arrival I realised a few things. I had no experience in an FR car (with the exception of gokarts), having always raced in FF cars in dirt track and circuit. Hampton Down's was also a totally new track for me, but I brushed that matter off because I've seen enough race footage to know where I'm going.
Anyways, the first part of the day was a fitness test. This involved some pretty basic stuff, a run around the track, followed by as many pushups as we could do in a single sitting, a plank for as long as we could, a bunch of 60m sprints, and a jump test. Needless to say, afterwards I was pretty puffed.
The next part of the day was a ride in the 86 with the previous season's driver, Ryan Yardley. He made it look easy (As you would when you're comfortable in the car you're piloting), and once he'd taken all twelve of us for a ride, it was our turn. I got a 15 minute session with Yardley in the silly seat, judging me and my driving. I stuck a couple of tyres in the dirt upon exiting some corners, but otherwise I made it through pretty unscathed.
While the other drivers took their turns, the team took me in for an interview and asked some pretty general questions (Why do you deserve the scholarship, what's your goal, etc.). While that was going on, the 86 that was being used for the day lost power, the gearbox had gone kaput. So they whipped out the backup car, and after a warmup by Yardley, it was time for the big one. Another 15 minute session, but this time instead of Yardley, racing legend Greg Murphy was riding shotgun!
Now, as you may imagine, having my childhood hero sitting next to me in a $90k race car was amazing. It will forever be one of my favourite memories in racing. It will also be one of my least..
You see, the first corner of Hampton Downs is one prick of a corner. 185km/h into an off-camber right hander, it hadn't given me much trouble that day, but on this particular lap I mucked up a gear change (In hindsight because I hadn't heel-toed), sending the 86 into a mean slide. I can remember seeing the wall come oh so close to the car but thankfully, I managed to catch it and point it in the right direction, but not before making Murphy scream in terror. Yeah, I kinda knew then and there that I'd blown my shot.
The team was amazed to see that, regardless, I hadn't put a single mark on the car. And once they realised the car was mint, the team boss asked Murphy to take me for some hot laps, since I'd paid to be there and all that. And he did. He showed me some different ways to heel and toe, how to shift weight effectively to avoid spinning, and a heap of other invaluable advice that I took on board, and I've been practising ever since. Admittedly, I still don't have a race-worthy FR car of my own, but that's currently being fixed...
Edit: In the end, it turned out there was only one seat on offer, as they had decided to re-hire Yardley. Jack Milligan ended up winning the prized spot, and from the looks of it he's actually doing pretty damn well in the series!
In November 2016, I was told about a nationwide search for two young drivers to race for team CareVets in the Toyota 86 series, a one make touring car series featuring professionally race prepped 86s. The team was offering scholarships for the season, and I was just getting out of my first season of dirt track racing having just placed 3rd overall, so I paid the fee and sent in my motorsports CV. A few weeks later, I got a call saying I'd been picked as one of twelve candidates for the scholarship, and I had to come to a test day at Hampton Downs to battle it out for one of the seats!
I got the time off my classes to attend the day, and upon arrival I realised a few things. I had no experience in an FR car (with the exception of gokarts), having always raced in FF cars in dirt track and circuit. Hampton Down's was also a totally new track for me, but I brushed that matter off because I've seen enough race footage to know where I'm going.
Anyways, the first part of the day was a fitness test. This involved some pretty basic stuff, a run around the track, followed by as many pushups as we could do in a single sitting, a plank for as long as we could, a bunch of 60m sprints, and a jump test. Needless to say, afterwards I was pretty puffed.
The next part of the day was a ride in the 86 with the previous season's driver, Ryan Yardley. He made it look easy (As you would when you're comfortable in the car you're piloting), and once he'd taken all twelve of us for a ride, it was our turn. I got a 15 minute session with Yardley in the silly seat, judging me and my driving. I stuck a couple of tyres in the dirt upon exiting some corners, but otherwise I made it through pretty unscathed.
While the other drivers took their turns, the team took me in for an interview and asked some pretty general questions (Why do you deserve the scholarship, what's your goal, etc.). While that was going on, the 86 that was being used for the day lost power, the gearbox had gone kaput. So they whipped out the backup car, and after a warmup by Yardley, it was time for the big one. Another 15 minute session, but this time instead of Yardley, racing legend Greg Murphy was riding shotgun!
Now, as you may imagine, having my childhood hero sitting next to me in a $90k race car was amazing. It will forever be one of my favourite memories in racing. It will also be one of my least..
You see, the first corner of Hampton Downs is one prick of a corner. 185km/h into an off-camber right hander, it hadn't given me much trouble that day, but on this particular lap I mucked up a gear change (In hindsight because I hadn't heel-toed), sending the 86 into a mean slide. I can remember seeing the wall come oh so close to the car but thankfully, I managed to catch it and point it in the right direction, but not before making Murphy scream in terror. Yeah, I kinda knew then and there that I'd blown my shot.
The team was amazed to see that, regardless, I hadn't put a single mark on the car. And once they realised the car was mint, the team boss asked Murphy to take me for some hot laps, since I'd paid to be there and all that. And he did. He showed me some different ways to heel and toe, how to shift weight effectively to avoid spinning, and a heap of other invaluable advice that I took on board, and I've been practising ever since. Admittedly, I still don't have a race-worthy FR car of my own, but that's currently being fixed...
Edit: In the end, it turned out there was only one seat on offer, as they had decided to re-hire Yardley. Jack Milligan ended up winning the prized spot, and from the looks of it he's actually doing pretty damn well in the series!
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