The Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo sounds more like a fighter jet than a racing car as it blasts out of Goodwood’s final chicane. Then, as it sweeps past, the note shifts, revealing a turbocharged take on Ferrari’s signature flat-plane V8 scream. You can hear it is flat-out – and see it, too. Onto the brakes, down a gear, into turn one. Gone.
Barely 80 seconds later, the Ferrari trundles back into the pitlane. The driver’s door swings open and out climbs its moustachioed driver. “That thing is fast!” he chuckles, casually wiping a few beads of sweat from his now-helmetless head. “It’s a serious bit of kit,” he reiterates. “Oh dear,” I think. I am up next.
Unlike the moustachioed man, I am not a professional racing driver. His name is Gus Bowers, and he has vast experience across GT4, GT3 and endurance racing. He has been doing a few laps to “warm up the tyres” – which will hopefully prevent me from getting into too much trouble.
The Ferrari is one of four cars I will be driving for the launch of Goodwood’s ProDriver Experience, which allows regular punters to don a race suit, HANS device and helmet to cosplay as a professional racing driver for the day. The ProDriver Experience is organised in collaboration with DTO Motorsport, which specialises in circuit experiences and driver training. Gus is one of the many professional racing drivers DTO drafts in to look after whoever’s feeling silly or brave enough to strap themselves behind the wheel of a 661bhp race car that does 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds.
Not that the other cars on the menu are anything to sniff at, either. The Ginetta G56 GTA, BMW M2 CS Racing and McLaren 570 GT4 are similarly serious and potent machines that far outclass the vast majority of cars that wear numberplates. Needless to say, for a racing-obsessed petrolhead this is the stuff of dreams.
But dreams can quickly become nightmares at a place such as this. Once a World War Two airfield, now a pantheon of speed, the Goodwood Motor Circuit has hardly changed since hosting its first race in 1948. It’s fast, narrow and unforgiving. There’s often little more than a strip of grass between you and the punishing embrace of the barriers. But the challenge and history afforded by a place such as this only amplify the sense of occasion.
Particularly when you’re being tightly strapped into a five-point harness in a Ferrari race car. The cockpit is dark and it already feels hot despite the best efforts of the air-conditioning. Beyond that, there are no luxuries to speak of; just a fixed-back bucket seat, a Formula 1-style steering wheel and a colourful bank of switches on the centre console.
“Ready? Feeling comfortable?” Gus crackles through my intercom. Fortunately – and despite some nerves – I am more ready than I have any right to be. The day had started with a simulator session, providing the opportunity to learn the racing line and braking points before doing it for real. Simulator training is standard practice for racing drivers these days and, as a simracer myself, I find it incredibly useful for preparing to drive on an unfamiliar track in an unfamiliar car.
But nothing can quite prepare me for the real thing. Gus wasn’t lying: this thing is indeed fast. Yet, despite the speed, my nerves have vanished before the end of lap one. And not because I’m brave; there’s no room for fear when you’re focused on hitting the brakes, turning in, squeezing the hair-trigger throttle and flicking through the paddles.
As with any serious racing car, the more you push, the more you’re rewarded with downforce and grip. Up to a point anyway. On the occasions when I am a bit snatchy with the throttle pedal, the calm voice of Gus – who is sitting next to me – crackles over the intercom. Equally, when I do something good he always lets me know, which does wonders for my confidence. Gus is a brave man: he reports that we manage 174mph on the back straight.
The Ferrari is pure joy. Razor-sharp steering, neck-snapping brakes and an engine that’s just as potent and exciting as you imagine. But the biggest surprise is how benign it feels. After driving it, you immediately understand why the Ferrari Challenge series is so popular with well heeled gentleman drivers. Once you relax and get used to being in the driver’s seat of that intimidating cockpit, the car begins to talk to you.
The closest thing I’d driven to this 488 was a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup. Despite having nearly 200bhp less than the Ferrari, the Porsche was far less forgiving – thanks to its lack of traction control and anti-lock brakes, and with its flat-six pendulously slung over the rear axle.
After making my way back into the pitlane – with the car mercifully still in one piece – I am overcome with euphoria. After all, it’s not every day you get to drive a Ferrari race car. I’ll admit it: this is a boyhood dream firmly ticked off the bucket list. Yet, as my heart rate drops from its 124bpm peak (yes, I’ve checked my FitBit), it is time to prepare for the next three machines on the menu.
This is where the driver-training element of DTO Motorsport’s ProDriver Experience programme comes in. Between each session, Gus and I grab a coffee and head to a nearby computer to go through my onboard telemetry. At first glance, this looks like an indecipherable assortment of squiggly lines, but they reveal precisely what I’m doing well and what I can improve on – particularly when overlaid against Gus’s data.
Regular punters of the ProDriver Experience would typically select one car to drive for the entire day, rather than jump in and out of each. The benefit of sticking to the same car is that you can directly apply the teachings of the telemetry – braking a little later here, using a different gear there – to steadily improve your performance, just as real racing drivers do.
Three laps in the BMW M2 CS Racing are my precursor to a performance-focused lunch designed to enhance concentration and replenish my energy levels. It’s amazing how exhausting it is to drive cars such as this at speed on a hot summer’s day.
In many ways the BMW feels like the most approachable car of the day – particularly after getting straight into it after the highly strung Ferrari. You sit higher, the cabin is airier and it feels far more familiar and closely related to a typical road car than the 488. But that’s not to say this is a tame machine.
The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six sounds glorious as it sonorously surges to its 7200rpm. With 365bhp on tap, the BMW is no slouch – despite being 300bhp less powerful than the Ferrari. The beauty of having less power, however, is that it allows you to push harder and experiment with driving techniques. After gaining confidence, I take the opportunity to experiment with left-foot braking while also being more aggressive with the kerbs. Three laps go by in a flash.
The McLaren feels like a friendlier, more approachable version of the 488. It still has that dramatic supercar silhouette and a mid-mounted twin-turbo V8, but everything about it is less intimidating and somehow more refined, too. With crisp hydraulically assisted steering, communicative brakes and a progressive throttle, the 413bhp McLaren encourages me to push far harder than I dared in the Ferrari – or even the BMW, for that matter.
That leads to a snap of oversteer when being too greedy with the throttle coming out of Lavant. The chassis is so communicative that I can immediately feel the car stepping out, and I manage to correct the slide before it turns into an undignified spin.
“Good save!” comes Gus’s response through the intercom. He’s easily the bravest and most trusting instructor I’ve encountered. The fact I am pushing so hard speaks volumes about how confidence inspiring the McLaren is for a mid-engined, slick-shod racer.
The Ginetta dials up the McLaren’s feedback to 11. The G56 is a car I’ve driven before, so I knew what to expect: a naturally aspirated 3.7-litre V6 up front that sends 270bhp through the rear wheels. And you can hear – and feel – every single horsepower this pigmy race car puts down.
There’s a cacophony of powertrain noise and vibration transmitted through the cockpit. It feels alive. And, despite lacking the guardian angels of ABS and traction control, it’s an absolute joy to drive hard – particularly on this circuit, where you can exploit everything it has through Woodcote and Fordwater without fearing the dreaded black barriers. In many ways, it’s the most rewarding of the four cars to drive. There’s little wonder the G56 honed the talents of Jamie Chadwick and Lando Norris when they were rising through the junior ranks.
I leave Goodwood physically drained, mentally buzzing and still trying to process the fact I’ve just spent the day hammering real race cars around one of the UK’s most iconic circuits. Apparently, I’d been grinning so much that several people felt the need to point it out.
The dream of becoming a racing driver might have died somewhere in my teens – but for one unforgettable day, it became visceral reality.
Fancy doing some race-driver cosplay of your own? The ProDriver Experience, presented by DTO Motorsport, is available now from £1950 per person. Click here for more.
