Christian Bale aced race car driving in a Chandler school
Race car drivers and Hollywood greats alike have trained at Bondurant High Performance Driving School in Chandler for 29 years. This Friday, Nov. 15, the results of their training with a certain high-profile trainee will be in theaters across the nation.
Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale, who plays the late racing legend Ken Miles in “Ford v Ferrari,” received lessons on race car driving and its history at the driving school this summer.
Over the course of four days, Bale took the driver’s seat in a 700-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat and spent afternoons talking with founder and former Formula One driver Bob Bondurant, said lead instructor Rob Knipe.
Bondurant, who was friends with Miles, counts among his victories winning in the GT class at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1964.
“Ford v Ferrari” depicts the true story of how, two years later, Miles drove the Ford GT40 Mk II to settle a rivalry between Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II at the 1966 Le Mans race.
Christian Bale as a student
“He listened to everything I had to say, to the T,” Knipe said. “He was super involved, asking questions, making sure he understood every little detail. (Bale) was definitely like a sponge.”
After driving the Dodge for four days, Bale — who is known for his ability to get in character through method acting — impressed Knipe with his handling of a Formula Mazda race car. Bondurant also allowed Bale to drive older GT40 model cars, more similar to what he would be driving during filming.
Knipe, who has been an instructor for 21 years, said though handling a race car is unnatural for most people, Bale was a fast learner.
“Sometimes you could easily overthink,” Knipe said. “You’d ask (Bale) to change one thing and he would change it and he’d feel the difference.”
Working with greats, past and present
The 450-acre training facility has been in Chandler since 1990, but its roots trace back to Southern California in 1968. Everyone from NASCAR hopefuls to Paul Newman and Robert Downey Jr. has hit their four racetracks.
Bondurant first got the idea to open the facility after working with James Garner in the 1966 film “Grand Prix,” Knipe said.
That was the last great racing film, he said, but he’s willing to give “Ford” a shot: He planned to see an early screening of the film on Thursday, Nov. 14. and already has tickets to watch the film Thursday night, ahead of its wide release on Friday.
“I’m excited to see if they can capitalize on what racing is all about. As far as racing, you know the outcome of the story but to see it in film will be really cool,” Knipe said.
“It was a pleasure working with Christian Bale. It was one of those things where if you have a small part in the backstory of a movie, it’s pretty cool.”