THE STRESS BUSTER

Pedalling a highly strung circuit weapon on a semi-pro basis brings with it its own set of hurdles. You’re out there suited and booted, belted in, representing your brand and backers, with a focus on performing to the absolute optimum. After all, performance is what got you there. From the outside, it looks like a hell of a time: living the dream to the fullest, doing the thing that, as car aficionados, we’d all do some dubious things to achieve.

However, from behind the visor, this is serious business. It’s not all rev limiters and banging gears wearing a grin big enough to chomp into the Ohakune carrot. There’re targets to meet, expectations to fulfil, and a whole team of personalities behind you to do justice to. It can be, and often is, an experience that combines enjoyment with a dollop of stress.

At least, that is how Leon Scott describes the experience, from behind the wheel of his well-known Evo VIII Time Attack weapon. She’s a comprehensive piece of kit: big aero, big power, and big grip. It’s a machine that requires pinpoint accuracy to eke