Sunday saw the TV bring to life the magic of motorsport for millions, truly exposing how difficult it is for us mere mortals to grasp the gulf is between driving a road car and getting to grips with the physical and mental challenges of actually competing.
But it wasn’t the utter ****show of a Formula One race in Saudi Arabia that taught us that, but instead the latest in an excellent recent series of short film adventures of the current BBC Top Gear crew.
This time it was the turn of Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, ex-destroyer of Australian hopes and dreams, and now a co-presenter on the still wildly internationally popular BBC TV show.
He was being taken through the process of learning how to become a racing driver, culminating in his first proper race.
Leaving aside the predictably comedic set-ups that formed a minor part of the piece, there was much to admire.
Flintoff was delivered to Ginetta’s Blyton Park facility to be greeted by Factory Driver, senior driver trainer and ex FIA WEC LMP1 racer Mike Simpson, with a tasty line-up of Ginetta’s to focus his mind. The G40, G55 GTA, G61 LMP3 and the G60 LMP1.
All credit to Mike for his part in this piece, cool, calm and with signature absolutely perfect hair, the epitome of professionalism.
A word too for the interjection of Chris Harris arriving on the scene as a yardstick for Flintoff – the conclusion correctly reached by a man who gets very few Christmas cards from Down Under, that his co-presenter can indeed practice what he preaches in a race car. The further point is to then take a look at where Chris sits in terms of pace in a typical GT World Challenge field, and then consider how good the rest of that field are!
A short piece on the ARDS test process to Donington Park was again faithfully presented before the effort rocked up at Snetterton where Flintoff and Harris were competing in the GT Cup in a Team Hard-entered G55 GT4, the GT4 version of the car a step forward again with Flintoff’s first taste of slick tyres and c.100 bhp more.
Put aside a race-spoiling misfire that may, or may not, have been down to a rookie driver, and again the experience of a super-hectic on-track experience was faithfully presented, a near-miss with a charging Lamborghini, the process of getting the head down and looking for consistency, and all of this within a live race environment, it all gave watchers a great insight into the challenges of the sport at an entry-level.
It clearly left a big impression, Flintoff, who has had access to some stunning road-going machinery in his Top Gear role, named the Ginetta his ‘Car of the Year’.
“The one car in which I experienced more emotions in than any car I’ve ever driven in my life was the Ginetta. I absolutely loved it. It was one of those cars that the more time I spent in it, the more I enjoyed it, which is very different to what I’m usually like. I just wanted to stay in it and keep driving it and driving it and driving it. This was a fully-fledged racer, and it was making noises that I’ve never heard from a car before.
“It’s from Leeds. I know it’s the wrong side of the Pennines – I am from Lancashire – but it’s a local firm and I had so much fun. Nearly tears. I doubted myself all the time I sat in that car and I absolutely loved it!”
Now all we need is for the little G40 to become a new ‘reasonably priced race car’ for the show!
Well done BBC, Andrew Flintoff, Mike Simpson and Ginetta, a proper motorsport story told to an audience of millions, and one that is very likely to bring new blood to the sport too, a positive counterpoint to the disgrace of an event in the Gulf earlier in the day.
Freddie we’d love to see you do more, maybe Bathurst – the Aussies would love that!
