Picture the scene. My 2001 Mini Cooper Sport in Flame Red. Fat tyres under bulging wheelarches. Silver dashboard, chunky steering wheel. Just look at it….it wants to be driven. No need to rev, just use the torque and keep up the speed, and oh the steering and flat cornering, like nothing else.
Spend ages lying on the ground taking pictures, like a small supercar, fat rubber! And then I discover the roundabout. Perfect tarmac. 400 metres after a straight approach road. Wide open spaces, visibility 100%. Its a daily pilgrimmage on my route to work.
At first nervous, then more and more confident each morning. Is there a touch of frost, a wet leaf to give me a thrill at a loss of traction. Heavy G forces, each day I attack the roundabout 1mph faster, going to work was never such fun. 50mph, 51mph…..60 mph, 61mph – testing my arms to the limit, hauling that Mini round, will I ever reach the limit of grip or will fear be my speed limiter?
I reached cornering nirvana one beautiful balmy sunny morning without a cloud in the sky – a moment that lasts a lifetime – at a speed that will forever be a secret.