A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
“I really love this track. There’s one corner that is very special and that’s Turn 5. You arrive so fast and, especially when you are in a fight, you arrive side by side through this corner. It gives you a big boost.”
Pascal Wehrlein is no stranger to corners such as Eau Rouge and Suzuka’s 130R in Formula 1 machinery, so his assessment of Brands Hatch’s Hawthorn Bend gives you some idea of just what a challenge the Grand Prix circuit is to drive in a DTM car. It’s easy to underestimate the fast sequence of right-handers through to Westfield and Dingle Dell, simply by watching on TV, just as it’s easy to forget how spectacular racing cars can be without heading trackside to witness the drivers tackling the seemingly endless undulations at the top end of the circuit.
But as rare as seeing DTM cars on the GP layout is (a view, as an aside, that doesn’t feel at all neutered by the addition of fences for 2018), if there’s ever a better way to find out how impressive they are on the loop then it’s to have the even rarer experience of lapping the circuit in one of the series’ ‘taxis’ (a Mercedes driven by Christian Vietoris, in this case).
After filling out the standard waivers, and an inelegant climb into the passenger seat, you’re ready to go. It’s immediately clear from the wheelspin pullaway in the pitlane that this is no ordinary bit of kit and, although Paddock Hill Bend, Druids and Graham Hill Bend are relatively well-known quantities, out on the loop the car really starts to boggle the mind.
As spectacular as the speed is through Hawthorn, the corner itself is anti-climactic. Once the Mercedes finally exits the never-ending Surtees left-hander, through which it feels as though you’re stuck permanently at 45 degrees, the huge drop-down – which TV cameras don’t do justice – Hawthorn Hill slowly gives way to the sight of the incline approaching the corner, so the long brace for the right-hander ultimately feels premature once it’s tackled.
But that’s where car and circuit catch you off-guard while you relax to take a breath, for at the next corner in the sequence, Westfield, you jolt out of your seat as the driver stamps on the brake before plunging downhill into Dingle Dell as the end of the lap approaches. The out and in-laps leave you short on time to gather your thoughts, but in no doubt of the commitment necessary to drive one of these cars at full whack, and in full appreciation of those who do.
Usually, Pr-speak such as Audi boss Dieter Gass’s declaration that “every driver enjoyed racing on this circuit” could be overlooked as sheer cant, but in this instance it’s hard to believe this wasn’t the genuine sentiment. It shouldn’t be news to many people, but the GP loop is no ordinary circuit – especially when you’re in an extraordinary car.