I’m standing in the brand new Silverstone paddock complex, which has been christened ‘The Wing’ because of the new pit buildings’ likeness to an aeroplane appendage. The paint is barely dry on the facility, but my attention isn’t focused on the shiny modern architecture, it’s fixated on the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo in front of me. This will be my ride for the weekend.

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The nice folks at Lamborghini have invited me to the UK to compete as a guest driver in the Silverstone round of the Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo championship and hey, it would be rude not to accept, right? Billed as the world’s fastest one-make racing championship, the Super Trofeo runs a Pro-Am format, pairing a wealthy amateur with a professional driver for three 40-minute races, each with a mandatory pit-stop. The list of pro-drivers includes big names such as GT1 driver Peter Kox, ALMS front-runner Marino Franchitti and FIA GT drivers Fabio Babini and Jarek Janis. I was meant to be sharing the White No. 2 Gallardo with Lamborghini’s test driver Mario Fasanetto, but at the last minute I find out I’ll be competing solo as one of the paying drivers is short of a pro for the weekend.

Upon arrival at Silverstone (home of the British Grand Prix and one of the most well known tracks in the world), I’m taken to the back of a transporter and kitted out in slick Lamborghini branded race-gear. I am then introduced to the flock of Italian engineers and mechanics that will be looking after me this weekend. Pleasantries over and after a quick look around the car, I impatiently clamber through the scaffolding that is the Gallardo’s roll-cage and drop gracelessly into the carbon race seat. God, it’s tight! The seat is more suited to a malnourished Milan catwalk model than to my full-figured frame. I wince in pain as I squeeze in, the hard edges of the seat digging into my hips. I look at my engineer Andrea for reassurance that he has a solution, but he just shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and tells me there is no time to change the seat prior to the first practice session. I will just have to deal with the discomfort for now; not ideal on a track with as many high-speed corners as Silverstone.

 

Practice
There’s no quiet way to start any Lamborghini, let alone one that doesn’t have to adhere to road noise regulations. I flick the ignition toggle, prod the starter button and the V10 bursts into life with a flare of revs loud enough to wake the dead. The glorious note ricochets off the hard, bare surfaces of the stripped-out interior, further amplifying what was already a raucous noise in the road-going Gallardo. After completing a radio-check and making some final adjustments to my belts, I filter out for my first exploratory laps in the Super Trofeo. The Pirellis get up to temperature, and I start to pick up my pace. The straight-line acceleration is pretty vivid as you would expect from a Lamborghini race-car with 570bhp, but I’m surprised at how reluctant it is to turn in. The front end pushes wide with chronic understeer pretty much everywhere, but it’s especially pronounced in quicker corners.  Mid-way through the session I get called into the pits to check tyre pressures but I’m unable to get going again as the starter motor has decided to call it a day and I miss the rest of the session.

While I’ve lost out on valuable practice time, it’s probably for the best as I’m in severe pain from the tight seat. Although I never felt I was exploring the limits during my half-dozen laps, I’m nevertheless shocked to find myself a whole six seconds off the pace. Data from the telemetry suggests I’m braking way too early everywhere, and as I’ve never driven a four-wheel drive racing car before, it’s taking me time to adjust to the concept of just mashing the throttle and allowing the clever system to do all the work, rather than gradually feeding on the power as you would do in a big- power rear-wheel drive car. Lots to think  about for tomorrow.

Qualifying
Armed with a more comfortable seat, new brake pads and new rubber (the first of three sets of tyres I am entitled to over the weekend) I venture out on track. We’ve made some significant setup changes to the front anti-roll bar and rear camber with the aim of improving the front end of the car, but despite our efforts, understeer stubbornly remains. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just an inherent handling trait, due to the four-wheel drive.

With a clear track ahead I try to maximise the grip from my new rubber and start to push, searching for the maximum corner speed. The Lambo is very stable in the braking zones and encourages me to brake later and later. Traction out of the slower corners is also pretty impressive, but I continue to suffer with a recalcitrant front end that’s costing me time through Silverstone’s numerous fast bends. By the end of the session I’ve set a fastest lap of 2:13.1; an improvement of nearly four seconds from the morning. I’m reasonably pleased with my effort until I get back to the pits and find out that I’ve qualified on the back row of the grid, five seconds off the pole position time. I’m used to fighting at the front and feel crushed by my lack of pace. What’s worse is that I’m mystified as to where I’m losing time as I feel like I have gotten pretty close to the Lambo’s limits. A review of the data doesn’t help either, as I’m having a hard time communicating with the Italian data engineer and sign language isn’t getting the job done.

Race One
After tightening my belts to the point of almost cutting off circulation, my mechanic slams the door shut, gives me a thumbs up and heads back to the pits leaving me all alone with the stunning view of 12 other Lamborghinis lined up to take the start of the race. Unfortunately the view is ahead of me, not in my rear-view mirror, but on a positive note I can only go forwards from here.

Or at least that’s what I thought. The lights go green for the rolling start, and there is a wall of noise as 13 pedals are mashed simultaneously, but I’m too cautious into the fifth gear turn one and find myself dead last. The first lap is pretty entertaining; I have a perfect view of the chaos occurring in front of me as a train of Lambos swap positions on every corner. I’m pretty flustered by my tail-end Charlie position, but slowly begin to settle down and find a rhythm. The cars in front are now beginning to slow me down but making a pass isn’t easy, as the cars are all identical and the guys behind the wheel are amongst the feistiest I’ve ever encountered on a race-track. I come close to contact a couple of times as the Gallardo ahead shuts the door viciously every time I attempt to get past.

I’m going to have to throw caution to the wind. On the run out of Stowe corner I get under the yellow rear bumper of the car ahead and with only millimetres to spare I pull out of the slipstream and dive down the inside under braking into the chicane. The brake pedal vibrates under my foot, as the ABS does its thing and I just about get the car stopped at the apex, leaving my rival nowhere to go. With my overtaking cherry popped I start to regain my confidence and pretty soon I’m breathing down the neck of the black car ahead. I get a good run out of the final corner and am alongside going down the main straight. I brake as late and hard as I dare to ensure I hold position and the rear of the car slews sideway, but I plant the throttle and feel the four-wheel-drive sending power to the front wheels and hauling me out of trouble.
I’m really beginning to enjoy this and within a few laps I’ve passed another four cars and rediscovered my mojo. I’m up to P8 and am all over the back of the car ahead when I get over-ambitious with the throttle exiting Village corner and slide into an expletive-filled spin. I’m such a numpty; I can’t believe I’ve thrown away all my hard work. I’m now last again with an insurmountable gap to the cars ahead meaning I have a very lonely run to the finish. To add insult to injury I also get a stop/go penalty for missing the pit window. Not exactly a stellar debut. Race Two can’t come soon enough.

Race 2
I’m determined to banish my earlier demons and vow to make amends for my rubbish start to the weekend. I’ve made further setup changes to the car to allow me to drive it more from the rear and further sharpen the front end. Due to a couple of cars retiring I am lined up 11th on the grid,  but still have a windscreen full of cars ahead of me.

The lights go out. This time I’m more on the ball and sneak past two cars through the first couple of corners. I’m pushing hard,being aggressive and soon find myself up to P6, in the thick of the mid-field action. This is brilliant racing and – finally – I’m enjoying every second of it.

One by one the cars in front dive into the pits leaving me with clear track ahead. I push like crazy and when I emerge from my own pitstop my engineer comes over the radio to tell me I am now in P4. Even better than that, I’m rapidly catching the white Gallardo ahead. I’m right up behind him through the high speed complex of Maggots/Becketts and just as I’m about to make my move he gets completely out of shape and starts to spin. To avoid hitting him I have to take to the grass and get passed by three cars. I’m back down to P6 and stay there until the finish.

Race 3
This time I’m starting in P6, right up at the sharp end of the grid. My heart pounds during the warm-up lap as I weave from side to side to generate heat in my tyres. We bunch up through Club Corner waiting for the start lights to go out. The first few corners are bedlam; there are Lamborghinis everywhere all jostling aggressively. Through divine intervention I somehow manage to hold position, and now there’s a black and orange Gallardo ahead of me, holding me up. I need to dispense with him if I’m going to keep intouch with the leaders. I make several attempts to get past but he’s brutal in his defence, shutting the door on me several times. I finally get past at the chicane with a do-or-die lunge down the inside. He leaves me just enough room and I accelerate out onto the main straight just ahead of him and start to hunt down the leaders who are now a few car lengths ahead locked in a titanic battle, slowing each other down as I cruise up to the back of the pack.

A lap later the safety car comes out as a car has broken down in a dangerous position. While dawdling in the train behind the safety car, I feel a bang at the front left wheel. Suddenly my steering wheel is no longer tracking straight and the car is more reluctant to turn into right-handers. I don’t have too long to think about this as the safety car peels into the pits and we are back racing. Despite the steering issue I am easily hanging onto the lead pack and when the pit window opens I immediately dive in to get me out of the traffic. The leading yellow Gallardo also comes in and a super-committed entry into pitlane sees me sitting right on his rear bumper as we trundle along at 60kph, bouncing off the pit-limiter. This is exciting stuff! During the mandatory 60 second stop I ask the team to look at my front left but they see nothing out of the ordinary.

When the pitstops have all shaken out I find myself in P4 with the leading cars just ahead of me. I’m rapidly catching the Gallardo ahead and when he gets out of shape into Brooklands I pounce. P3, and I’m beginning to wonder what the trophies look like.

There are ten minutes left on the clock and the handling of the car is getting significantly worse every lap. The understeer is horrendous, and now followed by lift-off oversteer. All the quick corners are an adventure as I have to put on big dabs of opposite lock to keep the Super Trofeo pointing straight. I keep radioing into the pits to ask how much time is left as I am really struggling now.
Then, with four minutes left, there’s an almighty bang as my left front tyre explodes violently. I can’t believe it! I scream every curse word I know into my helmet as I crunch back slowly to the pits. The team immediately retires me as the tyre has damaged the damper, which is spewing oil. I’m absolutely gutted.

Despite the disappointment of being robbed of a podium finish one lap from the end, it’s been a great weekend. I arrived with no idea of what to expect and was initially overwhelmed by the pace of the action. The Gallardo Super Trofeo is unlike any other car I have raced and requires an aggressive driving style to make use of its four-wheel-drive and ABS brakes.

It was a character-building weekend that made me dig deep to go from being massively off the pace at the start of the weekend to fighting at the front with some top notch GT racers. It was an awesome experience and one I would love to repeat. How about it Lamborghini?

@EVO Middle East
@James Moy