Liz's Journey to Motorsport: From Dream to Reality

Six months ago, Liz was sitting at home, dreaming of owning a car that would take her on an adventure she had never experienced before. Her eyes were set on the Porsche 911 Turbo, a car that would give her the thrill of a lifetime and allow her to compete in motorsports. She had always been fascinated by racing, but never thought it was possible for someone like her to participate. That was until she saw a Mini Cooper S in a club sport setting on TV, with a similar price tag to the Porsche 911 Turbo. This chance encounter sparked something within Liz, and she decided to take a leap of faith and buy the car.

Liz's first experience with motorsports was not an easy one. She had never done anything like this before, and her biggest fear was coming last in the competition. As she arrived at the track, she felt nervous and unsure of what to expect. Her instructor, who had helped her prepare for her debut, took her to the Bruntingthorpe aerodrome to get her ready for the challenge ahead. Before they could start, Liz needed to learn how to "run" the car - a term that was new to her.

"It's like a quick trip to the shops," she joked. "Yeah, I gotta come last out." Her instructor chuckled and said, "Smash time to inject a bit more of an attack mode." They worked on improving Liz's driving skills, focusing on how to handle the car at higher speeds. As they practiced, Liz learned that it was essential to give the car some room and not be afraid to take risks.

The next step was for Liz to practice holding a set amount of revs - around 4.5 hours could even do it sitting there right now. Her instructor showed her how to engage the clutch, drop it, and pick up again. They worked on teaching her to use aggression in the car, particularly when turning corners. With each passing session, Liz became more confident behind the wheel. She learned how to "wriggle" the car around corners, using a technique called "attach of the unfair advantage." This was a new concept for Liz, but she was eager to learn.

The day of her first event arrived, and Liz was nervous. She had never experienced a hill climb before, and the idea of competing against experienced drivers made her anxious. Her instructor gave her a head start by providing an exact map of the course, allowing her to familiarize herself with the track beforehand. As she passed scrutineering, Liz felt more at ease. The competition was intense, with 22 identical Club Sport Coopers lined up against each other.

The first practice run was promising, with Liz setting a respectable 14th fastest time. However, disaster struck during the second run - she lost power on a hairpin turn and stalled the car. Her instructor explained that it was because she had engaged third gear instead of first gear, which had caused the engine to die. The mistake dropped her down to 20th place.

The final run was under challenging conditions - heavy rain and limited visibility. Liz's fears of coming last were looming large, but she refused to give up. With concentration etched on her face, she focused on setting a strong time. She improved her pace by a tenth of a second at the halfway mark, but it was the final corner that would decide her fate.

Liz needed to put everything together and execute a flawless run. As she approached the final corner, she took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. The engine roared back to life, and Liz pushed the car to its limits. When she crossed the finish line, she had set the seventh fastest time - an impressive result considering the challenging conditions.

Despite the disappointing start to her motorsport journey, Liz's instructor was proud of her performance. She had worked tirelessly to improve her skills, and it showed in the end. As they walked away from the track, Liz realized that racing wasn't just about setting fast times; it was about having fun and enjoying the experience. With this newfound understanding, she looked forward to her next adventure - one where she could forget about hill climb times and focus on the thrill of the ride.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is Liz be a gionee a trader in the city six months ago she was sitting at home thinking of treating herself to the 911 Turbo she'd always dreamed of owning by trading in her SLK Mercedes and adding an extra 20 grand the Porsche would be hers then she saw me on TV in one of these a clubsport Mini Cooper and the same 20 grand she could buy it and have a whole season of motorsport thrown in for free I bought a mini that now means that I compete in the John Cooper challenge and doing something sort of spontaneous I haven't really thought what it actually entails now I realize what I've got to do and I'm not sure whether I can do it my biggest fear of being in this competition is actually coming last I'm the only girl up against all these guys I've never done this sort of thing before and so that is my biggest fear also not quite knowing what hill climbs and Sprint's involved Liz's first event would be a blast at the short narrow tree-lined road of the wisp and Park Hill Climb where she'd only get to practice runs and two timed runs to make her mark so I took Liz to the wide open expanses of the Bruntingthorpe aerodrome to help her prepare for her motorsport debut but before I could start I needed to find out what racing skills she's runway it was like a quick trip to the shops well yeah I gotta come last out smiter time to inject a bit more of the attack commode they're gonna break pretty late and aggressively turn that car castle it just laughs laughs laughs but then the Gators bring me some higher speed quarters as well so for me you have to give it a bit that way in the back and you can you see this right from this car today so you can escape from things and how amazing you can throw it around and you're not gonna bite me that's what you need to learn I think what if some swing it this way that way and then break water feel of getting off the line we want to do is practice holding a set amount of revs to say about four and a half hours could even do it sitting there right now creep the clutch up you man's about to say startling really drop it go let it go probably changed a bit earlier and hang those ropes a bit lock no ups this cord an outbreak even people that turn the steering wheel start to break out further and there's just good aggression that's your first gear here Vince you gotta break up punch it down again turn now feeding the power but watch Gill yeah you got third you see you gotta use to that again can't afford that on a hilltop he would have lost ground we go again because amazing that he'll come it's gonna be so narrow now we got the space that's good good aggression up the second wittingly wiggling it wiggling it having got the basics right what we needed now is what we in the racing business called attach of the unfair advantage to give there's a better idea of what was to come I got my hands on an exact map of whisk and park so I could lay out the course and give her a head start there Ready Steady Go a good time Lucy 48 seconds so I'm hard on the throttle to be competitive Leeds would need to get under 50 we're not gonna brake hard it twice we crash there or click the girl that's good after several attempts the shopping run was history and a sharper more aggressive Liz was just half a second off my target for the final dress rehearsal I left her to go it alone you like it then how do 49.3 where we gonna finish next weekend just six days after being put through her paces on a flat aerodrome novice racer Liz arrived at the top of the whisk and Park Hill Climb the venue for her motorsport debut submits to not quite like no before no it's like that yes a bit different I couldn't simulate that I couldn't build you great Hills anyway this as you can quite see obviously the finish so I think we better go down the bottom and start at the start a start that fires you straight is were tight first gear left hand outs before heading for the trees then after nice gentle section through bunnies leap we come to gate which as you can see some people have got very close to aim for this next fine tree and that's all about memory the more you can remember now the easier it's gonna be on the run you can't see round the corner but you know what's around the corner could be walked it now the temptation is gonna be too catty too early I know you're gonna do that you did it before too so you've got to hold yourself out wide cutting late that's right bull and when you get the whale spin just feather it off feel for the maximum traction that's what it's all about from here up to martini and the final first gear left-hander to the finish line Liz eight o'clock in the morning we pass scrutineering your first runs 15 minutes away how are we feeling not good not really nervous it's nice and then at a churches steady run but be aggressive under braking under under throttle but just take a look take aggressive under braking we're safe can you come with me don't allow that you're on your own now don't you let me down alright with 22 men lined up against there in identical club sport Cooper's the competition was going to be intense practice run number one was a sensible and promising 14th fastest practice number two was another matter Liz shocked everyone she was fit fresh is on there right no more coming last we were podiums now with the not coming each competitor would now get just two runs to set their best time halfway up she was quicker than ever but on the final corner disaster please what happened I lost all power on that last hill that last hairpin whacked into first and got nothing the engine just died so I've crawled over but the engine had only died because lizard engaged third instead of first and that small mistake dumped her down to 20th place now there was only one run left and it was spitting with rain Lizzie's fears of coming last were looming ever larger now she needed to put together everything I've taught her the concentration in her eyes was proof enough that she was giving it her all she improved her time by tenth of a second at the halfway mark but there was still fact final corner to count this time though for no mistakes Liz would set the seventh fastest time and what was generally a slower run a brilliant effort under real pressure and in very tricky conditions she done her teacher proud soul is it rained you see there's always an F in motorsport but you know I worked out you getting up at 14 it's not quite what we were hoping for after the promising I'm not lost no that's true now we could go you're worried about getting lost and some of those times were quicker and now you're a veteran and now you can forget about all these hill climb times and look forward to racing that's what really counts you\n"