Freya Bullen

Dream Porsche

Hello! My name is Freya and I’m 10 years old. This is my first time writing in a magazine. I love Porsche cars. They are the best in the world and I have been to many Porsche events and races, so I am really excited to write for Total 911.

At weekends I play sports and go to car events with my dad, James Bullen, who also writes in this magazine. This issue, he has kindly passed his ‘LTL’ column to me. We spend a lot of time working on Porsche cars together – my job is to clean the interiors.

In December I had a driving day experience at Car Chase Heroes in Abingdon, where I drove two Porsche cars: a Boxster and a 911. I received this experience as a gift for my birthday and apart from karting, it was the first time I had driven a car.

When I arrived at the track I first had to register, then did a few laps as a passenger to see the track. Next it was time to meet my instructors, Robin and Adam, who showed me the car controls and gave me a cushion to sit on so I could see more easily. They showed me what to do and explained the instructions they would be giving me on the track. I drove the Boxster first, and my first lap was a bit scary but awesome as I had never driven a car like this before. Adam told me to drive slowly around the cones and corners, but said that I could go faster on the straight and so I pressed the throttle down more.

After six laps I came back into the pits for a talk about what I had done well and what I needed to improve. This was helpful, and made me more confident for the second car, which was already waiting for me. 911s are my favourite cars, so I had been really excited about driving this one! The engine sound was much louder than the Boxster and the throttle pedal felt different, too. Robin told me to concentrate hard on the track and stay close to the cones around the corner sections. It was really fast compared to the Boxster and after my laps, the instructor told me that we hit 56mph and I scored 89/100!

He talked to me more about what I did well and what mistakes I had made, and then dad and I were passengers in a high-speed lap of the track with one of the racing drivers, which was really fast.

I recommend this driving day to all kids who love Porsche and other cars. It’s a cool place, the people are nice and helpful, and the cars are really good to drive. I hope to come back again and to have a Porsche of my own one day…