Whether Carroll Shelby actually said those words is debatable. Actor, Matt Damon (Carroll Shelby, in the film Ford V Ferrari), expressed what racing drivers feel driving high performance racing cars at the limit. It’s exactly those emotions I’ve experienced recently on a cool day at Teretonga Park, New Zealand’s southernmost motor-racing track. Overnight rain has left a few damp patches adding an extra challenge on the track.
I couldn’t be in better hands. We are just starting a run in one of the best-presented Shelby Mustangs in the South, driven by long-time peddler, Rodger Cunninghame. Rodger has been out for a few warm-up laps, and the car sounds great. His pace heading out of the pits is as expected with the infamous northern ‘Loop’ arriving exceedingly quickly until you get used to the speed. Our first lap is over in rapid fashion as we exit the tight GWD Hairpin at the Southern end of the track, lining up for the long run on that exhilarating main straight. It’s a full-on blast of V8 sound accompanied by a solid shove in the back as Rodger gets it under control. There’s a quick grab at the shifter and the briefest of pauses in the assault on your ears as third is selected and another big surge of power as the outside world passes in a blur. The distant end of the straight rushes towards you over that wide, flat bonnet as fourth is selected and the exhaust roar becomes a howl. Immediately in front of me is the king of speed, Carroll Shelby’s signature on the dashboard.
Seconds later braking markers fly past and the nose dips as we brake and line up for the track’s notorious ‘loop’, a section of the track with a reputation for catching out any driver who relaxes concentration for a split second. I’m sitting in the right-hand seat of this left-hooker, with the camera
