I scanned the horizon of the Finnish race circuit but Charlie was possibly doing a few laps in the 500hp V8 110. “Let me see if I can find him Tony”. “Cool man”. This was the first of a handful of semi awkward exchanges I would have with Tony Hawk that week as we crossed from Finland into Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria and Monaco.
Phil Hanson, Asian Le Mans Series Champion in 2016, youngest overall Le Mans 24 Hour racer in 2017, débuted at Daytona in 2018. I’m not sure what Hanson achieved in 2019, presumably turning water into wine. But in 2020, in a year so tumultuous that governments fell, Hanson has taken the holy grail of motorsport. A win at Le Mans in the LMP2 series. What’s next, stigmata?
It’s been six years since we last drove a McLaren away from the MTS in Woking. It was a 650S with pearl white metallic elite paintwork and carbon black alcantara interior. That’s light years for McLaren. It’s the time difference equivalent of the Neptunes and Miles Davis.
It might seem obtuse of me to begin this new column on car restoration with a well-targeted shot across the bow – but nonetheless, I’m taking aim and firing.
The day started like any other. Wake up, coffee made and onto the laptop to take care of those pesky emails that roll in while we sleep. However, it quickly changed, as the imposing and rather large Rolls-Royce Cullinan whisked me across to Goodwood in chauffeur-driven fashion for a first look at the new Ghost. It’s been a long time in the making, and with the pressure of following Rolls-Royce’s most successful model ever – the original Ghost – there are big shoes to fill. On initial impression, the design is more subtle than before, yet still distinctly a Rolls-Royce. The large pantheon grill dominating the front of the car,…
The first generation of Bentley’s Bentayga didn’t do much for me at first. I think my issue was that, as a partner cog in the VAG machine, they should have learnt from Porsche’s mistakes with the straight-up-ugly original Cayenne. Then I had coffee. More specifically, I was sat on a Kensington street sipping my morning cortado, and there sat a Bentayga. Black with the large Mulliner five spoke alloy wheels (thankfully in silver).
