Chris Hoy: from two wheels to four
Decorated Olympic cyclist and 24 Hours of Le Mans driver, Sir Chris Hoy, was co-driving with Mike Furness at the Silverstone Classic in the Masters Endurance Legends race in a 2007 Courage LC75 2.0-litre. CCW’s James Sadlier (pictured) and Chris Hope spoke with Chris prior to his qualifying session.
James Sadlier How did practice go?
Chris Hoy It was my first time in the car, so it was spent just getting to grips with it – it went well. It’s a beautiful car; there were some issues with the brakes – we had them deglazed – but apart from that it was great. It’s such a fun car to drive, particularly on this kind of circuit. The downforce you get through the Maggotts/Becketts complex at high speed is quite incredible.
Chris Hope You’ve been doing quite a bit of historic motorsport for a number of years. What keeps you coming back to events like the Silverstone Classic?
Chris Hoy I think the atmosphere, the people, it’s different to other kinds of motorsport, and also the wide array of cars – I raced in a Mini a couple of years ago and now I’m racing an LMP2 car, so there’s something for everybody. The biggest thing, though, is the people – it’s just such a friendly atmosphere.
James Sadlier Which of the classic cars that you’ve driven has been your favourite?
Chris Hoy That’s a tough one. I’m a sucker for the Le Mans cars, but maybe the older ones, one of the old Porsches going back to the Seventies. I grew up with them; the first car I became aware of was a 911 – I got a Scalextric set for my fifth birthday and I remember asking my dad why the Porsche 911s had lights and he said it’s because they race at night. That was how I got into Le Mans, it’s what sparked that initial interest.
James Sadlier Are you looking forward to the actual race as well?
Chris Hoy Yeah. Obviously there’s quite a wide array of speeds and strengths of the different cars with the categories so hopefully we can find a couple of cars that are around about the same pace as ours that we can battle with and have a bit of fun with. Obviously the racing is why we’re here, but there’s still an element of just enjoying driving the cars. It’s not just about the end result but the process you go through.