Appointment with the champion

The horsepower figure echoes on my head as we start moving faster. It’s “just” 238hp, sent to the back wheels of a car weighting about 900kg, wearing hard compound tires on a particularly cold and wet winter day…

No cell phone app could anticipate this weather, but I guess those weren’t around back in the days when Clark, Mikkola, Mäkinnen or Alén were revving the guts off their BDA engines.

Since we’re here, I better behave like a grown up, trust my scarce skills and hope for the best. “Just act like you know what you’re doing”, I repeat to myself.

But when the engine is on cam it all comes to a mix of fear and excitement. All of a sudden it’s so loud inside this naked cabin, it feels like there’s a dozen Rotweillers barking right on my back. I can hardly take on the adrenalin rush, but lifting is obviously not an option, as the tail tries to find a way past me.

Feature originally published on Topos & Clássicos magazine.

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