Article Reprinted from the Waitakere Rotary Club Bulletin; author/prize winner: Heather Pattison, Details NZ
A few weeks ago The Web Company ran a competition to promote the rebranding of their website. I was fortunate enough to win a “V8 Hotlaps” with Andrew Anderson in the ITM West City Holden Car. Here’s a recap of my exciting experience…
A few Hotlaps go on sale each year but the majority of them are given to sponsors to do what they want with them. Sukesh Sukumaran from The Web Company won one at a West City Holden event and in turn donated it as a prize in The Web Company’s competition.
On Saturday, November 7, I headed to the Pukekohe Raceway to test the fear factor.
The first question I asked Andrew was, “ Do you go as fast as normal with passengers in the car?”
The answer was that they go fast but are encouraged to show “respect to their sponsors”. Roughly translated this indicates that killing the sponsors isn’t too good for business so they slow down a bit. The drivers are also so finely tuned to the feel of the car that the weight of passengers makes a difference. If that was slow then races must be interesting!
At the start, the focus is on the officials with their flags and the track. Zero to fast in the blink of an eye leaves you pressed firmly to your seat. Just as the brain is beginning to note how well padded the seat is, you’re into the hairpin, wondering why you are on the grass instead of the nice firm seal and heading straight towards that large concrete block on the corner. Round this, somehow, it is onto the straight. Vision doesn’’ blur so much as become slightly jerky on this fast stretch of the track.
There is a car in front braking for the corner. At the last second brakes go on and it is round the bend at four times the speed of what could be considered “safe” and you wonder what happened to the 2-second rule.
Straightening up around the bend took some effort. The safety harness shows it is not just an optional extra but designed to keep passengers out of the driver’s lap. Was that steak and onion sandwich causing havoc with the car weights? Is that why we felt the ripple bumps… on both sides of the track? Back safely in the middle of the track it is down past the grandstands to do it again… and again.
A fantastic experience not to be missed! A Big Thank You to Patrick Howard, Sukesh Sukumaran, and all those at The Web Company and our own sponsor of the soapbox derby, West City Holden.
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