To many, being Great Britain’s most successful Olympic athlete would be enough of an achievement – not for Sir Chris Hoy.
It’s been a year since he retired from competitive cycling, but he is back for a new challenge.
After signing a deal with Nissan, Hoy will race alongside Alex Buncombe in the 2014 British GT championship for the factory blessed Team RJN, in their Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
Most of those who have followed Chris Hoy’s career to the top of the world of track cycling; winning six Olympic gold medals, a silver and multiple UCI championships, wouldn’t have known about his quiet passion for motorsport. What was once a pipe dream, playing with slot cars as a kid, led to track days at Oulton Park, racing at club level in a Radical last year and now British GT in a competitive car. Racing has been an ambition of his for quite sometime, but his real dream is to race at Le Mans.
After sitting down with Hoy it is abundantly clear he is serious about this new chapter in his career as a world class athlete. Hoy speaks with real enthusiasm, he’s hopeful and motivated about this chance to tackle top-line sportscar racing. Hoy evidently has a deep rooted interest in the sport;
“I remember when I had a Scalextric set when I was a wee boy, it had Le Mans cars with lights for the night. I didn’t know why, but my dad explained it was for the Le Mans 24 Hours because they race all day and night. I remember thinking, that sounds special, but I never dreamed I would give it a shot!
“But I think I have to be realistic,” admits Hoy. “If you don’t start racing in single-seaters by the age of 17 you have missed the boat really. The beauty of Le Mans is that it’s a massive challenge, but it’s not only for people who have spent their whole life doing it competitively. You see these amazing stories every year of someone who has made it to Le Mans as part of a dream, so it seemed relatively realistic compared to other forms of motorsport.
“Everyone knows about F1, and everyone knows about Le Mans, it’s a globally recognised event, it is the pinnacle of sportscar and GT racing so, if I could get involved and be a part of it, it would be really special.”
Le Mans is a long term plan though, as 2016 is being touted as the year he may give the ‘French Classic’ a shot. For now though, his focus is on home soil, where he will be tested by 22 other GT3 cars this season, in the ultra-competitive British GT championship.
Hoy is in good hands though, as Team RJN have plenty of experience in the SRO-sanctioned domestic series, almost winning it outright two years ago with GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough at the wheel, together with RJN’s ‘secret weapon’ Al Buncombe (below).
RJN have worked closely in recent times with the GT Academy gamer-to-racer graduates, helping them progress in motorsport, and now have their strategy of development down to a tee. Hoy is from a different background to their usual projects, but the goals and expectations remain the same.
“For anyone, having a six-time Olympic champion on their team is a great honour,” RJN Team Principal Bob Neville points out. “We are delighted with that, and his relationship with Nissan created this ambition.
“We don’t expect massive strides immediately, we want him to drive the car, drive round and just get some race finishes under our belts. Most of the Bronze drivers in the series are very experienced, it will be a test, it’s a high level, the highest in Britain, but we are very optimistic.”
While Hoy has dabbled in motorsport, he is the first to admit that he hasn’t had enough experience behind the wheel to be considered a favourite among the other drivers in the same driver rank as him.
“I’m not saying I am going to be any good, I’m just going to give it all I can. I am just looking forward to being in the car, and experiencing it. I have only had a brief amount of time in the car but it is immediately obvious what it can do, it’s not nearly as intimidating or scary as I thought it might be.
“It may sound weird, but it is an easy car to drive,” chuckled Hoy. “It’s confidence inspiring, the brakes are incredible, it’s got variable traction control – I am sure they will turn it right up for me so I don’t make any silly mistakes!”
The whole programme has come together in an unusual fashion, initially an informal chat at Goodwood led to some serious planning between Hoy and Nissan – who linked up as part of a partnership with the British Olympic Association. But the lateness of the deal has severely reduced his preseason running to a short race in a GT4 Nissan 370z and just one run in the GT-R GT3, before the season opener at Oulton Park.
“It’s only really come about in the last three or four weeks; we spoke about it a lot, but there were a lot of negotiations about how much time he has available. It’s not been really a certainty until the last few weeks, which is why you didn’t see our name on the British GT entry list,” explains Neville.
Racing alongside Hoy this season will be fellow NISMO Athlete Alex Buncombe, who has a wealth of experience racing for Bob Neville’s team and in the GT-R over recent years. So Hoy rightly seems relieved and excited to be paired up with someone who can mentor him closely throughout the season.
“He’s (Alex) an approachable guy, nice, down to earth, and keeps you calm. It’s great because it can be very intimidating coming into a race team with minimal experience,” acknowledges the 38 year old Scot.
“To have somebody to learn from, compare data with, and correct me; it’s fantastic. He’d say ‘take that corner flat’ and I used to think ‘hang on, you’re not the one who has to drive the car’ but I feel more confident now. I see Alex waggling his fingers down straights and adjusting his helmet, while I grip the wheel firmly with aggression and hurt my knuckles. I still struggle with how much pressure needs to be applied to the brakes too, every time I press down it’s like my eyeballs come out of my skull! It’s very physical, you need to be in top shape.”
Within NISMO though, there is a sense of quiet optimism – as Driver Coach Rob Jenkinson happily points out. And there is no reason to doubt his initial impressions, after all, so many diamonds in the rough have been spotted and polished in the Nissan GT Academy project.
“We have unfortunately had a very limited amount of time with Chris, because he has such a busy schedule,” said Jenkinson. “Looking at his limited performance though, I am remarkably impressed as his base level. Comparing him to the GT Academy drivers you know, he seems to be on their level when they first graduate, so I think in three or four races he will be able to hold his own.”
It’s going to be a fascinating season in the British GT this year; with a bumper grid, a packed calendar and now an Olympic athlete to marvel at British GT racing has never seemed so appealing. For Chris Hoy, it may only be the start of what he hopes can be a successful spell in the world of motorsport. Out of his comfort zone, and off his saddle, Chris is clearly out there to make a mark;
“There is no pressure except the pressure I put on myself. I want to go out there and be competitive, take small steps and improve gradually, we will get there in the end.”
Stephen Kilbey
