Olympic cyclists try four wheels fast with VX Racing star

VX Racing was delighted to give two Olympic cyclists a unique four wheels experience at Oulton Park last week. VX Racing driver and current British Touring car Championship leader Matt Neal gave Beijing Gold medallist and 2008 World Champion, Ed Clancy, and triple Olympic medallist and double World Champion, Rob Hayles, a Masterclass in driving at the Cheshire race circuit, with each of the cyclists getting behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Astra VXR 888 for an afternoon of high speed thrills on four wheels.

Neal, a double BTCC title winner and no stranger to the Oulton Park Circuit showed each of the cyclists the perfect lap, talking each through racing lines, braking points and gears. It was then the turn of the Olympic pairing to take to the track in the Vauxhall Astra VXR 888 which is prepared by the Triple Eight Race Engineering team, the operation behind the championship winning VX Racing team in the BTCC.

Clancy was Neal’s first candidate and onlookers were impressed with his speed, as the British Olympic hero took up the challenge to be a racing driver for the day, “That was awesome!” exclaimed Clancy after the tuition laps. “I really enjoy motorsport and driving fast, but you are always aware you have to be safe, so to be let loose on this track was a real privilege. I think all things considered it went really well, there were no crashing or any visible damage to the car! I picked up some great tips though: slow in, fast out, and make sure you don’t run out of road. It was great to just go for it.”

Clancy swopped the driving seat with fellow cyclist Hayles and Neal was soon showing him the art of driving quickly and smoothly at Oulton Park. Hayles was surprised that the car was a standard road model, saying, “Can I buy this car at my local dealership? It’s very tempting!”

Of his Masterclass he added, “It was a fantastic experience on track today. With Matt driving obviously he’s much more of a talent and you can see how it’s done by the pro. With me it was more a battle between myself and the track. Its hard work, I can see why racing drivers are so fit.

“Getting a few laps in you start to get to know the circuit, then when you start to get more confident, you realise you don’t know it that well and you could end up in the grass. I really enjoyed the feeling of driving fast on the track without the danger of seeing blue lights in my mirrors or a speed camera round the corner!

Talking after the Masterclass the racing driver and the cyclists were comparing the training regime, skills and strategies employed in each of the sports and commenting on their similarity. Hayles contrasted them saying, “The technical side of cycling is a bit similar to motor racing, when we’re doing the team pursuit on the track we are trying to hold the correct line and trying not to scrub off speed, “ and Clancy added, “I think there are quite a few similarities between the two sports to be honest, same sort of deal, race to be at the front, there is a grid starting system, same sort of mentality, Matt’s probably training seven days week and always focused on his job like we are. That is perhaps where the similarities end though. In terms of speed there is an awfully big gap, I think the top speed we can reach are on a descent, like the Pyrenees or the Alps where you can reach 100kph, if you were really going for it.”

Neal commented of the cyclist’s skills, “I think they are both naturally very able and competitive people, but they were very willing to listen and learn which is great when you’re out on track. There were two quite very contrasting styles behind the wheel, but we got to the end in one piece which is the main thing. Ed, he is the youngest and was very gung-ho about it, it wasn’t for the faint hearted. Rob is older and more experienced with it as he’d done some track driving before. He takes it all in and moves forward with that, he’s much more like an experienced race driver to be honest. By the end of the day though after some tips and tution, they had very similar performances.”

Oulton Park will host the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship on 30/31 May. Tickets cost from £23 for adults, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information, visit oultonpark.co.uk