It’s less than 48 hours since I returned from a work trip to Detroit. I still feel slightly frazzled and jetlagged, so when my second cup of morning coffee hits my lips, I can’t help but sigh in relief. Today is not a day for being sleepy: I’m going to need to be very much alert and awake. I am not usually one for consuming this much caffeine this early, but I’m trying to get my body to take the hint. Andrew and Dan have sent me on a very special mission: I am to make my way to Goodwood for the launch of their latest driving experience, and I can’t be a yawn away from burying a very valuable car into one of its many famous, and famously unforgiving, tyre walls.
Being a self-professed fan of our friends at Goodwood, I am no stranger to their track offerings. I’ve attended a fair share of their track days, and the Revival Racing Experience has gained me quite a few brownie points on Father’s Day (you should save this tip for next year!). Still, even by Goodwood standards, this was no normal assignment.
It goes like this: Goodwood has recently come together with DTO Motorsport to create something truly extraordinary. If you haven’t heard of DTO before, don’t fret. Nor had I. Firstly, they are out there doing cool stuff, bringing the expertise you’d only get from a professional race team to people like you and me via driver coaching and events such as the one I am attending today. Secondly, they do so by calling on the experience of people like our own Karun Chandhok, who is DTO’s Head of Motorsport, and oversees all their products and experiences to ensure that they are as authentic as they get.