DRIVING McLAREN’S GT3 ‘SINGLE-SEATER’

I’m driving back from Snetterton down the M11, traces of earlier adrenalin still coursing through the bloodstream. I’m trying to decompress, and somehow process my experience. The usual stuff: what I did well; what I didn’t do well; where I could have done better. A racing driver’s staple diet.

I’m thinking particularly about the last part of the lap, the bit that still feels most like the old circuit: the Esses, Bomb Hole, and the entry to Coram – that corner used to be super-fast, but it’s now a frustrating, long-radius, almost 180-degree righthander that feeds into the second part of what used to be the Russell chicane.

It’s through this section – five corners if you’re being generous, three if you’re not – where I’m giving away most of my laptime deficit to McLaren pro driver Rob Bell. The main difference is that Rob brakes later for the Esses and shows more trust in the car’s aerodynamics through the fast bits. That’s not unexpected, but what is unexpected is how insanely late you can brake, and how hard you can attack these corners in what is a 1200kg supercar.

I didn’t think GT3 cars were like this, or to be like this. I was expecting something lazier; something with a lot of power and a few gizmos to help you control that power, but not much else.