My next step to becoming a racing driver: learning some on-the-limit technique, allowing me to deal with hairy cornering situations and instigate crafty mid-corner overtakes.

  My first port of call was evo’s tame driving expert, Colin Hoad, and one of CAT Driver Training’s thoroughly excellent drift days at Millbrook. Me and designer Adam Shorrock (my sparring partner at a previous CAT day) met up with Colin during Saturday’s lovely sunshine and had a good play in his drift-biased Caterham.

A stab of the throttle at 10mph sees you sideways, your lack of speed allowing plenty of time to get the hang of collecting the tail via some opposite lock (and the ensuing unwind to get you back straight). We were soon barreling along quicker than that, though, having a bash at figures of eight, J-turns, transitional drifts and the fabled 360 degree drift using a 20ft circle.

Colossal fun, and highly recommended. And my resulting spins (there were one or two…) got me comfortable with breaching a car’s grip limits: something that could well be vital come race day, the onset of panic much less likely should I cock things up.

Next up was teatime at the Bedford Autodrome with Dickie Meaden. Not for sausage rolls or cake, but some Rocky-style mentoring in another Caterham on the South Circuit, Bedford’s most Snetterton-like section.  

Top of the bill was getting me heel-and-toeing, a skill I’ve tried to teach myself on road but never managed to get comfortable with. A few practice-runs up and down a straight, trying 4th-3rd and 3rd-2nd, and I was soon (ham-fistedly) throttle-blipping and apex-clipping my way around. There were more spins, mind you (and some justified laughter from Dickie), but if you don’t swap ends, you’re not trying hard enough.  

So with just a handful of days until my racing debut, the nerves are setting in but my confidence is up, thanks to Colin and Dickie’s wisdom. It was bloody good fun, an’ all…