Drive of a lifetime

Of all the cars available for an experience like Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and Aston Martins why choose a Ford GT40?

My answer to that could be “Why not?” but there is more than simple defiance to the pursuit of high tech and glitz to my answer.

That dream to drive a Ford GT40 most likely goes back nearly sixty years ago. At the time we lived in a house that was very near what was to eventually become the M4 motorway from London to Wales. In 1964 it only went as far as Maidenhead Thicket and there was no upper speed limit. Quite often my Dad would tell me that late at night he would hear a high performance car going along that road and returning. He found out they were Ford GT40’s being road tested. In Ford’s drive to beat Ferrari at Le Mans these cars were initially built at the factory at Langley located halfway between Slough and Heathrow with easy access to the M4.

One day he came home and gave me a Lesney Matchbox toy version of the car and ever since then I have been fascinated by them.

About two years ago I was going through my collection looking for this particular car but couldn’t find it. Soon after that fruitless search it was Christmas and my wife, Heather, gave me a Hot Wheels version of the car. I have it on my desk in front of me. It will never replace the original one with its patina of wear and tear. Every time I look at it, still in its blister pack, memories return. One night when I stayed up very late trying to understand algebraic equations that my Dad was helping me with. That was when I heard one of the high performance cars he had mentioned hammering its way along the road. Grainy black and white footage of them would appear on programs such as Tom Tom and Tomorrow’s World. Only those of a certain age and living in Britain in the 60’s will remember these programmes with Fred Dinenage and Raymond Baxter respectively.

One of my presents for Christmas 2022 was a black T shirt emblazoned with a white stylised image of the car. Just like a Rolling Stones T shirt designed by Ronnie Woods, I still don’t know if I should wear it or frame it. As I was admiring it Heather asked if there were any of the cars still being used on racetracks. I said that I doubted it very much as they would all be too valuable to be hammered around but there were road conversions. Of course they nothing like the iconic image first developed by Ford in the early 60’s. I was given another present which I thought was going to be a DVD but when I opened it inside the box was a voucher to actually drive one on a racetrack under instruction.

Wow!

I have ridden racehorses on gallops, flown a helicopter, flown a glider, flown a single engine plane and sailed. All of them were Premiership standard experiences and all tied for first place at the top of the league but driving a Ford GT40? That was going to be another experience sharing first place.

Leading up to the day of the experience I studied the map of the circuit and watched cockpit footage from cars going around. Madgwick with a double apex. Fordwater that turns right on to an uphill straight to St Mary’s, a long and shallow left hand bend. Lavant Corner and then on to the Lavant Straight. To Woodcote which is almost a ninety degree right hand turn leading into the Chicane. Through that and on to the straight past the stands, the pits and over the finish start line.

I felt as ready as I could be but not ready enough to go out straightaway in the Ford GT40. Instead, I bought a sight lap. How much different the circuit looked from the passenger seat of the BMW. The corners went by quicker than I could call them out and despite watching all the cockpit recordings I was surprised at how undulating the circuit was.

In the pit area I watched as the Ford GT40 returned. I put my name down on the list and only had to wait for two drivers to go ahead of me. The wait was soon over.

Remember, these cars are only forty inches from the ground to the top of the roof, hence the “40” after GT. So, a certain degree of flexibility is needed to get into one. Unlike a conventional car you step on to the seat and then slide down into it like you are getting into a bath. The door sill on you right is at elbow height. The steering wheel is sort of rounded square shape. The gear stick is central and controls six gears as well as reverse within a very narrow gate. The dashboard behind it did not have a speedometer. It did have a rev counter and a couple of other dials one of which was engine temperature.

The instructor introduced himself and filled in some paperwork. I asked him where the CD player was as I had brought along a short playlist. He laughed and said that he had never been asked that before. My first impression was that although the cockpit was small it certainly wasn’t claustrophobic. “Snug” would be the best adjective to apply. It felt strange sitting that low and getting used to the shape in front.

We started up. Despite the engine being directly behind us and with only a pane of glass separating us from it, it was surprisingly quiet. Quiet enough to be able to talk conversationally. First gear into the pit lane. Without power steering it was easier to drive than I had expected.

Wait for the green light to come on. Wait for the marshal to do a visual check, wave his flag and we were away. First, second, third and fourth. All to soon the arrow sign for Madgwick came up on the left. Aim directly at it then towards the first of two black crosses on a yellow background indicating the apex’s of the bend. Don’t try and keep close to the inside line. Let the car drift and it will set you up for the next apex.

Push on to St Mary’s even getting into fifth and taking the kink in as straight a line as possible. Down through to third or even second for Lavant. When leaving the apex “floor it” and go through the gears to sixth at least once during the three laps.. Then towards the chicane, brakes, down to third then second to get through without touching the sides. From such a low position the barriers forming the chicane looked as high as the Great Wall of China. Leave that behind and there it was in front, the straight that goes past the stands, the pit lane and over the start finish line.

Three times we went round and I loved it. The car didn’t roll or pitch so for whatever speed and corners we were doing it felt comfortable and secure. The car almost felt like it was my friend and was working with me. We were a team.

By the end of the third lap I was able to anticipate what the instructor was saying. I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed the ride I was glad to enter the pits right after the chicane. I had done enough for a first time in a Ford GT40 and it will not be the last.

Getting out was easy. Open the door and reverse the procedure used to get in. No wonder the seat looked well-worn and the interior a bit beaten up.

I watched the high end high performance go around and go past me but they did not appeal. I even took a spin on a "high speed" lap in a BMW as a passenger. It was an experience feeling the car pitch and roll on the corners but put me in a Ford GT40 any day and that would be my happy place, even without a CD player.