Join Bonnie Jensen at Hampton Downs for a wild Corvette hot lap with Red Bull Supercars stars Will Brown & Broc Feeney—hitting speeds of 220km/h. Video / Carson Bluck
I gained plenty more respect for Liam Lawson after my Red Bull experience riding a hot lap at Hampton Downs.
No, Lawson doesn’t drive a Corvette - at least not on race day. And yes, he races at speeds far beyond the 230 km/h I experienced. But even at that velocity, for an everyday person, it offered a glimpse into what the Kiwi Formula One driver endures on the track.
Honestly, why? Why would you put yourself through that thrilling - but mostly terrifying - experience for your day job?
I suppose it’s because motorsport athletes are wired differently - adrenaline junkies, delightfully unconventional, willingly flirting with danger, all for the sheer love of speed and thrill of the chase.
Or maybe, it’s just me. Perhaps I’m the unconventional one, who learnt that I don’t have a sheer love of speed nor find the chase thrilling.
Supercars are more similar to the everyday road car, prioritising straight-line speed. F1 cars are single-seaters, designed for maximum speed through turns as well as on the straights.
After going for a spin in the Corvette with Brown - who is Taupō’s defending champion - I naturally had to ask him the most obvious question: “Do you get scared racing?”
“No, not really,” Brown laughed in response. “Generally the Supercars are really safe.”
His answer baffled me, as I had just stepped out of the passenger side feeling like my soul was leaving my body.
Feeney, echoed his compatriot saying: “You get nervous, but I wouldn’t say scared so much.
“I probably feel safer driving a race car than I do on the road. Going 300 kilometres for me is not scary at all,” said Feeney.
The pair, however, both agreed driving a Corvette - like the one they drove me in - was a slightly more uncomfortable feeling than what they’re used to.
“It’s a bit different, to be honest, it’s not as fast as a Supercar, but because you don’t have the harnesses in there, the roll cage, everything like that, it nearly feels faster, it doesn’t probably feel as safe,” Brown said.
Supercars driver Will Brown. Photo / Carson Bluck
Feeney said what most people don’t know is how physically demanding motorsport can be.
“I suppose everyone thinks it’s like driving a road car... We’re not just sitting here in aircon cruising around, it is actually physical.”
“Inside the cars, it’s normally 20 degrees above ambient. So when it’s hot, we’re like 55 to 60 degrees inside the cars, and then we’ve got all the race suit stuff on, so it gets very hot and it’s quite hard.
Feeney also explained how pushing the brake is another difficult task. Given they are going so fast it’s like pushing 100kg of weight every time.
Feeney said he’s looking forward to the challenge of the Taupō course where he could reach top speeds of 300 km/h.
“It’s like going to a go-kart track, it’s really tight and twisty, it’s very different to what we’re used to, but the thing that makes it fun is, the surface is like very different.
“Normally there’s just like one layer of surface where there’s probably like 30. It’s really challenging for a driver, which is quite fun.”
Brown hopes to back up his 2024 efforts, claiming some silverware.
“We’re currently leading the championship again, which is really cool, but we’ve only had one race, win this season, so [I] want to get on the podium and win a race this weekend.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Feverpodcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
