Some light reading # 2...

[motormouth23]

Thankyou for the previous responses and criticisms to my other article. For a bit of research I blagged a ride in an Ariel Atom so please find below the write up of my experience. Again, I would be grateful for any adive and pointers.

Thanks

When the email came through confirming my drive in an Ariel Atom I came over all excited. Not least because I was going to be propelled around Bedford Aerodrome in anger but also my Atom owning friend was bringing his pal along. He too owned an Atom but his was the full on supercharged version. However, that night I allowed my excitement to get the better of me and indulged in a beer-fuelled trampoline rampage at a friend’s party. When I woke the next morning, the morning of my Atom drive, I was as stiff as a corpse.

Now I’m not opposed to Saturnalian style gatherings but, in hindsight, attending such a social post the night before being flung around a race track was most probably a bad idea. Nonetheless, following many expletives, moans and groans I hoiked myself out of bed and, after consuming a variety of energy supplements, headed down to Bedford.

I’m not a fan of Jonathan Palmer mainly because looks suspiciously like Meat Loaf in that stupidly lengthy music video about not doing something for love, but my god this man knows how to build a quality race track. At 4.2m long the full GT circuit is the longest in the UK. A 1km straight allows for some serious velocity with a mid-way chicane testing fear levels to the max. It’s fast, smooth and brutal.

Anyway, enough plugging for Bedford Aerodrome, onto the more important stuff. The first Atom at my service, courtesy of Mr David Trigg, is the 160bhp version. We begin with a limited 60mph installation lap which, in all honesty, was supremely terrifying. As I lowered myself into the plastic racing seats I couldn’t help but notice my right foot was resting on the steering rack and my left on a rather important looking piece of tubing. Before I had chance to question David as to where it was safe to place my shoe-bearers he booted the throttle.

Without any notification my head, under the weight of my helmet, snapped back and I rather embarrassingly let out some sort of spasmodic grunt. Within three seconds David is back on the brakes bringing the car, accompanied by another grunt, to a more moderate rate of travel. Even at such low speeds you can feel the Atom gripping the track. In front a BMW M3 tries to straight line a chicane but disappears in a cloud of tire smoke and squealing. The Atom, however, is utterly, utterly planted.

Instillation laps over we buckle in and this time attack the track with a little more vigour. A noticeable quality about the Atom is that it’s more of a living thing than a machine. It makes noises; strange rattles, clunks, clangs. The sounds and odours develop and alter the harder you push, it’s as though the car saying “Yeah, come one bring it”. “Bringing it” is something David is expelling a great amount of energy over.

Approaching the 1km straight David shifts up and, much like all the other shifts he has made up to press, it does so in rather vicious fashion. Approaching 120mph the mid-way chicane is now a matter of meters away and I begin to wonder if David has considered braking yet. Having just got over the shock of how fast this car accelerates I am then stunned again at the severity and power of its anchors. In literally under one second we are 40mph slower and turning it.

Having been shocked twice in the last two seconds I think it impossible to be shocked a third time but low and behold I am. The grip is just astonishing. Technically, as we clip the apex, we should be heading backwards in some sort of crocodile death role but no, it just hooks up and stays there.

As the tires and David overheat we make our way back to the pits, both clamber out and immediately head for a bottle of water and a seat in the sun. The thing with the Atom is it’s actually a very involving car to drive. Many years ago I did a spot of karting, I was utterly rubbish but really enjoyed the connection between man and machine The Atom seems to reflect a similar level of driver involvement. Ok, it will help you out with a bit of grip here and there and a nice shot of acceleration when you put pedal to metal but that aside it’s down to you the pilot navigate your way to a quick lap time.

During our cooling down break we are joined by a man I shall name Mr Blue as I have no idea what his real name actually is. It turns out Mr Blue is the owner of the 300bhp Atom I’ve also been signed up to. As we sit and chat he warns me that with over twice as much bhp and added supercharger it really is a totally different beast. Now I must confess that I was a little bit shaken by my previous experience but thought it best not to mention this to Mr Blue as his sunglasses suggested that he wasn’t a man to take wimps with a pinch of salt.

Once again I lowered myself into the plastic race seats but during my descent noticed a few subtle differences, not least the race-bred LED gear change indicator and smaller race-spec steering wheel. Uncontrollably I was overcome by a huge sense of discomfort and nervousness. As a result when I came to fasten my seatbelt I ended up pulling the wrong strap and sent the buckle up round my throat. Mr Blue didn’t look altogether impressed.

Before I closed my visor Mr Blue leaned across and instructed me to grab his right leg if at any point I want him to stop. This, I can assure you, was not in the slightest reassuring. Before I got the chance to say “ok” he pinned the throttle. The acceleration was similar to the other Atom in the same sense that Angelina Jolie is similar to Margaret Thatcher. Mr Blue was right; this thing is a totally different beast.

With the wind pushing away at my face I could feel my helmet trying to unclasp itself and make a break for it. This concerned my greatly, almost to the point where I considered grabbing Mr Blues’ leg. However, not only did this seem a tad homosexual but as I previously said, he didn’t appear to be the type of man to humour abjectival cowards such as myself. Instead I decided to hold on tighter and watch as the needle headed for 120mph and then continued its journey all the way to 140mph.

At this point the deafening air-raid siren shriek deposited by the supercharger became ever more apparent. Either that or I was screaming so loudly I was able to hear my own voice. Whichever way, the whole thing felt intense. A tight hairpin approaches and Mr Blue jumps on the stoppers. The power of the brakes is monumental. Although I was ratcheted in place by a three point harness I actually moved a good 30cm out of my seat.

As we exit the hairpin a Porsche 911 Turbo appears through the haze. In three corners time we are right behind him, the heat flowing off the back like a well aimed fart. Before I had chance to get a whiff of fried brakes and boiled clutch Mr Blue pips round the outside of him. That’s the truly astonishing thing about this car; it will scout any other car frequenting the track and within three corners and a short straight it will make a pass. It’s astonishing.

As we power-slide our way into the pit entrance I have time to reflect how amazing this car actually is. In many ways the Atom is like being drunk. You get the same world spinning sensations as you do after six pints and you wake up the next day feeling like a battered fridge door.

However, at least with the Atom you don’t spend the whole time laughing uncontrollably at door knobs and continually proclaiming love to the sofa.

[jb44]

You bagged a ride in 2 Atoms on the same day? And then wrote a thoroughly entertaining article about it? And you are only seventeen? You Sir, are impressive.

Keep on writing. Bye the way, have you seen a Bugatti Veyron yet? There are none in South Africa, so I haven't. What impression did it make on you? Were you impressed? Any chance of you driving one, soonest? Keep us informed please.

But above all, keep on writing; I think you have plenty of raw talent.

Kind Regards

Johan Buchner

[davidsfuk]

Have not logged on for some time and have just read your article requesting feeback on your journalistic efforts. It seems a shame that you have receieved only one reply for such an entertaining article (from the ever eloquent johanb, who we could all learn a thing or two from. Johan, don't leave! Your posts and acerbic responses make me laugh until I puke, although I must admit that my limited intelligence means that I don't always understand them). Anyway back to MM's article, I found it eally easy to read and your descriptions are very vivid which I think is the key to good writing. I found it easier to follow than the last piece you wrote as I think you succsessfully dropped the Clarksonisms. A great closing scentence too. I perhaps would have liked some kind of stat to demonstrate the difference between the two cars, but I realise that that is not the kind of article you are writing. Keep up the good work.