DAF Driver Magazine Winter 2021/22 - Issue 27

Page 12

CLEARED TA

SUPERCAR FEATURE

“J

ust let it run up to around 130mph”, says my instructor. We are at the Millbrook test track in Bedfordshire, a place I have visited many times before over the past 30 years in a wide variety of cars, vans and trucks. We are sitting on the mile straights, where I have also been many times. Usually, the person beside me has had a stop watch, or more sophisticated timing gear and we have been going through the ritual of recording 0-60mph times. For that we would record a number of runs in both directions - to compensate for any effects of the weather - and then calculate an average time.

12

DAF DRIVER WINTER 2021/22

This is a bit similar, but also a bit different. The man on my left has no stop watch or timing gear and I can’t easily see all around the car behind me, because the interior mirror and door mirrors have been arranged so he can see behind. He’s also a racing driver, which is why he’s sitting there - we are in a highperformance car. We are checking out the car’s launch control. It’s a simple technique. The transmission is automatic, so I can change gear if I want using the paddles behind the steering wheel or leave the ‘box to sort itself out.


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