Shelby GT500 Drive with Car Chase Heroes

I recently booked a drive with Car Chase Heroes. It was for a Ford GT40 replica. The day came and I made good time to Barton Stacey in Hampshire where the drive would take place. I met up with my brother who would be taking photos and we went to locate the check in area. Upon arrival it was clear that this was a makeshift track on decent size piece of Tarmac. There were several great looking cars in the Pit area. The GT40 was among a Shelby GT500 Eleanor

The General Lee Dodge Charger that was used in the Dukes of Hazard TV show

A race prepared 1965 Ford Mustang,

A Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

A race prepared Corvette

 A Nissan Skyline and a Toyota Supra styled as the cars from the Fast and the Furious film,

 A Lotus Elise

 A Mazda MX5 made up to be Lightning McQueen.

Lots of people had come to drive some iconic cars and the weather was good. I was given a safety briefing and on introduction to the cars by Dave the head instructor. During this he offered out sighting laps to introduce you to the track. This struck me as a great idea as we would get familiar with the breaking points and what to expect. I was one of only a handful of people to do this. Dave took us to a Gulf liveried Porsche Cayenne and proceeded to drive us around the track giving us hints and tips.

This was brilliant as he gave us three laps before pulling in to the pits. I got out and made my way to the waiting area to have my drive. While here I met the company owner Tom Roche and chatted with him about Car Chase Heroes and the vehicles they had. The GT40 came to pit and the car was ready for me to get in.

I squeezed myself into the cockpit and tried to get comfortable. Before I could shut the door, the instructor pointed out that I would not be able to shut the door as I was too tall for the car. With that I got out and made my way back to the help des to find out what my options were.

I was told I could drive any of the other vehicles that were there. I opted for the Shelby GT500 as I have recently driven a GT350 and I wanted to know how different it was. My name was called and this time there were no height problems..

I got in and made myself comfortable. This GT500 came equipped with the Ford 302ci or 5 litre V8 engine that produces around 450bhp, a manual Ford gearbox, all round disc brakes and Gaz Gold Pro suspension. The dash was busy with dials and switches.

My favourite detail was on the gearstick, a red button with "go baby go" around the edge.

Turn the key to start the car and the Ford engine roars into life and settles to a lovely V8 idle. Into first gear and I make my way to the track. Before I can exit. The General Lee speeds past me. My goal immediately becomes to overtake the General Lee. I make my around the track, remembering all that Dave had said about how the track worked. His tips were brilliant. I chatted with the instructor, he did not have to tell me when to brake or accelerate. Trying to get past the Charger was challenging as the track was quite narrow but undeterred, I kept trying. With the first lap done, time was not on my side. At the end of the second lap, the General Lee pulled over and with a clear track I really started to enjoy the Shelby. Into the first corner and the tail steps out slightly, accelerate and wait to brake and turn right onto the back straight. As you come back towards the main area there is a tricky little corner on a slight downhill area. This is then followed by a short straight and a double apex left hander that puts both driver and car to the test, onto another short straight and then into a tight right hand corner and onto a straight to start another lap. The more I drove the better the car got. On the final lap an instructor overtakes me in the Lotus Elise. It's time to pull in and give the keys back. 

I've had a fantastic time and the staff have been really welcoming and helpful. I would recommend anyone that is thinking about booking a drive with Car Chase Heroes to do it. You will not regret it. To the staff at Car Chase Heroes, especially Tom Roche for answering all of my questions, Head Instructor Dave for the sighting laps and the instructor that took me around in the GT500. I would also recommend that someone at Car Chase Heroes puts a height restriction on the GT40 as I have seen nothing on the website that indicates that those around 6 foot would struggle to get in to the GT40. The instructor in the GT40 was around 5'5 and had about an inch of headroom.

More information about Car Chase Heroes can be found at http://www.carchaseheroes.com

On a final note if anyone reading this has a Ford GT40 living in the south of England that can accommodate someone that is 6 foot tall and you are willing to let me have a drive, please drop me a line. Thank you