I gained plenty more respect for Liam Lawson after my Red Bull experience riding a hot lap at Hampton Downs.
No, Lawson doesn’t drive a Corvette - at least not on race day. And yes, he races at speeds far beyond the 230 km/h I experienced. But even
Riding with Red Bull: 230km/h in a Corvette with a Supercars driver at the wheel
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Even the burnt tyres - after my rides with Supercars drivers Will Brown and Broc Feeney - were enough to make my stomach turn.
The Australian Red Bull Ampol Racing athletes are in Aotearoa for the Taupō Super440 event this weekend.
Supercars are fundamentally different to F1 through their design, performance and racing focus.
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Supercars are more similar to the everyday road car, prioritising straight-line speed. F1 cars are single-seaters, designed for maximum speed through turns as well as on the straights.
After going for a spin in the Corvette with Brown - who is Taupō’s defending champion - I naturally had to ask him the most obvious question: “Do you get scared racing?”
“No, not really,” Brown laughed in response. “Generally the Supercars are really safe.”
His answer baffled me, as I had just stepped out of the passenger side feeling like my soul was leaving my body.
Feeney, echoed his compatriot saying: “You get nervous, but I wouldn’t say scared so much.
“I probably feel safer driving a race car than I do on the road. Going 300 kilometres for me is not scary at all,” said Feeney.
The pair, however, both agreed driving a Corvette - like the one they drove me in - was a slightly more uncomfortable feeling than what they’re used to.
“It’s a bit different, to be honest, it’s not as fast as a Supercar, but because you don’t have the harnesses in there, the roll cage, everything like that, it nearly feels faster, it doesn’t probably feel as safe,” Brown said.
Feeney said what most people don’t know is how physically demanding motorsport can be.
“I suppose everyone thinks it’s like driving a road car... We’re not just sitting here in aircon cruising around, it is actually physical.”
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“Inside the cars, it’s normally 20 degrees above ambient. So when it’s hot, we’re like 55 to 60 degrees inside the cars, and then we’ve got all the race suit stuff on, so it gets very hot and it’s quite hard.
Feeney also explained how pushing the brake is another difficult task. Given they are going so fast it’s like pushing 100kg of weight every time.
Feeney said he’s looking forward to the challenge of the Taupō course where he could reach top speeds of 300 km/h.
“It’s like going to a go-kart track, it’s really tight and twisty, it’s very different to what we’re used to, but the thing that makes it fun is, the surface is like very different.
“Normally there’s just like one layer of surface where there’s probably like 30. It’s really challenging for a driver, which is quite fun.”
Brown hopes to back up his 2024 efforts, claiming some silverware.
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“We’re currently leading the championship again, which is really cool, but we’ve only had one race, win this season, so [I] want to get on the podium and win a race this weekend.”
Taupō Super440
Saturday:
- 10.25am: Qualifying for race 1
- 11.05am: Qualifying for race 2
- 12.50pm: Race 1
- 4.05pm: Race 2
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Sunday:
- 10.35am: Qualifying for race 3
- 12.50pm: Top 10 shootout for race
- 3.05pm: Race 3
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.