A Car Chase Heroes Drive Part 2

As I make my way through the paddock after driving the General Lee, I notice a car at the back of the paddock that appeared to be looking back at me.

I found my dad and Maddi, both were happy to see me and also stay on a little longer than originally planned. I was shown the photo's and they all looked good.

I then went to find Tom, the owner to ask him about the car I had walked past earlier.

The car in question was this.

A MkI Ford Escort RS2000. 

Tom told me that he had bought this the day before and that he would be using today as trial run to see how the car would drive and how people took to it. His plan was to respray the car to make it look like the car that Paul Walker had driven in the Fast & The Furious 6. 

Having been given the green light from my dad and Maddi to stay on a bit longer I took the plunge and asked if I could take it for a spin. 

Making my way back to the paddock I was greeted by Amber and Michelle who were not overly surprised to see that I had come back for more. We chatted for a while I waited for my turn in the Escort.

This MkI Ford Escort RS2000 comes with a 16 valve, 2 litre DOHC engine that produces 100 BHP and a top speed of 110 mph. It has a 4 speed manual gearbox and weighs around 915 kilos.

My name was called and I made my way to the Escort. Once inside,  I put the seat belt on and got used to being inside the car. The first thing I noticed is that the pedals are tiny and offset to the right. This would make for an interesting drive as I have big wide feet.  

My instructor got in and introduced himself, his name was Oak. Oak took the driver card from me but informed me that as this was a recent purchase, they had not put in a camera to film the drive. We chatted briefly and then it was time to go onto the track. 

As I turned the key, the 2 litre engine barked to life, I put the car into gear, made my way around the paddock and towards the track entry

With a clear track  I accelerate hard and moving up through the gears I make my way to the hairpin corner. I then begin to break change down a gear and take a wide line through this corner. There is a little amount of body roll as the car makes it's way through the corner. Back on the power to change up and I accidentally push down on the brake and clutch another attempt and the gear change is completed. Down the second corner where a hard right hand corner awaited me. Once through it was time to accelerate up to 4th gear before making my way through a chicane. I was then overtaken by the white Audi R8. Time to break hard and change down for the left hand hairpin corner. Back on the power and back to 4th gear, through 2nd  chicane that heads towards the last corner which required another change to 3rd gear. Through this then back on the power for the second lap. 

Ahead of me in the distance I spot a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, I decided to see if I could catch and overtake it before the end of the second lap. I rapidly made my way through the corners and get closer to it. Half way through the lap I close in and overtake just before the chicane. With the overtake completed safely I make my way around to finish the lap and start the final trip around the track. I made the most of a clear track in front and really got into the swing of driving this Escort.

It was then time to pull into the paddock and hand the keys back.

Professional Photo's

Once back in the paddock, Oak handed me the driver sign on card I thanked him and got out. 

It's easy to see why the Ford Escort was so good as a rally car, it's light, quick and fairly easy to drive. It’s a small car with a big heart. Making my way back through the paddock, I bumped into David da Costa, I again thanked him for the sighting laps and he took a look at my sign on card and seemed to be impressed. Moving on through the paddock, I saw Amber and Michelle and thanked them for their help.

I found my dad and Maddi waiting for me and it was time to get the photo's and head home. On the way out I spoke to Tom again and thanked him for a brilliant morning of driving.

If you ever get the chance to do a drive with Car Chase Heroes I really do recommend it. They are very easy to talk to and helpful. I would like to thank the following people for all of their help.

Tom Roche, David (safety briefing), David da Costa, Amber & Michelle (Paddock), Matt and Oak (Instructors) and finally April Essom (Office).

For further information about Car Chase Heroes, please visit

https://www.carchaseheroes.com/index and book a drive with them.

The General Lee, A Car Chase Heroes Drive

After my first drive with Car Chase Heroes, I decided that I would return and do another drive with them as the last one was fantastic. The first drive i did can be found following this link

http://kirbyscarblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/shelby-gt500-drive-with-car-chase-heroes.html

 This time the venue was Kemble Airfield (now Cotswold Airport) in Gloucestershire and the car of choice this time was The General Lee from the Dukes Of Hazzard. I was accompanied on this trip by my dad, Bernie Kirby and my daughter Maddi.

As from the above photo, this makes for an amazing setting being based around aircraft. 

This is a 1969 Dodge Charger and was one of the 320 that was used in the filming of the series.

The owner Tom bought it at an auction of a film studio and had it shipped to the UK. The boot of the car has been signed by the original cast members.

The General Lee comes equipped with a 440ci engine that produces around 400 bhp with a 3 speed 727 Torqueflite Automatic gearbox, no power steering and no aided breaking.The photo's do not do this cars size justice as it is 18 foot long, 6 feet wide and weighs around 2 tonnes. 

I arrived early to sign in, pay the insurance, find out what time the driver briefing is and book on for the sighting laps in the Porsche Cayman to get some knowledge of the track.  

The driver briefing was soon after the sign on, then my name was called by the paddock staff Amber and Michelle and I made my way to the Porsche Cayman to go on the sighting laps. These were conducted by David da Costa who is the Head Instructor at Castle Coombe. 

 David took us around the airfield track showing us how best to take the corners and when to go flat out. If you ever meet David, ask him about Noel Edmunds. Once the laps were completed I made my way back to the waiting area to be called to drive the General Lee. While waiting, I bumped into Tom and we had a chat.

The boot has been signed by the original cast of The Dukes Of Hazzard.

The below photo's are of the engine and were taken by April Essom at Car Chase Heroes.

My name is called and I make my way to the General, once Inside, this car has lost of space and is very comfortable. My instructor Matt is ready and waiting and greets me with a warm smile, a handshake and introduces himself. We chat and Matt takes the card I have and starts to fill in some details. 

The key is in the ignition and i'm asked to start the car, I turn the key and the MOPAR V8 comes to life. I rev the engine and the noise is incredible. With the car put into gear I make my way to the track entry. It becomes clear just how heavy the steering on this car is. With a clear track  I accelerate hard, the rear wheels start to turn and the nose raises slightly, the noise increases and the torque of the engine makes itself felt. I make my way to the hairpin corner. I then begin to break and take a wide line through this corner. There is a fair amount of body roll as the car makes it's way through the corner. Back on the power and down the second corner where a hard right hand corner awaited me. Through that one safely, time to accelerate making my way through a chicane. Time to break hard for a left hand hairpin corner. Back on the power and then another chicane that heads towards the last corner which is a tight one that also leads back into the paddock area. As I Make my way around for the second lap, i'm getting used to the handling and the noise. With the steering on the General Lee, you have to correct the steering in order to stay straight. I notice that a white Audi R8 seems to be gaining on me. Time to see if the General can outrun the Audi. I make my way around the course for the second and third laps, my confidence increases.  Even when driving this car in a straight line you need to keep correcting the steering to stay straight. Chatting away to Matt I take each corner and straight as they come and then sadly it was time to end my time driving the General Lee. Happily, I was able to outrun the Audi. I thank Matt for his guidance get out taking my sign on card and memory stick with me. 

The below photo's were taken by my daughter Maddi using my iPhone

Professional Photo's

To summarize, if you like iconic cars then this is one to drive, its not going to be like driving a modern day daily driving car, Supercar or Hypercar as it has none of the driver aids. It's raw, it's basic but it loves to shout about about it. You will leave this car grinning like a kid in a sweet shop. 

Below is the video of the drive.

https://youtu.be/Vsj44ZZKsZE

As I make my way through the paddock, I notice a car at the back of the paddock that appeared to be looking back at me.

It was time to find my dad and Maddi to make sure they were OK and to find Tom again to ask some questions.

Find the answers in the next blog post.