Publicado em 5 de março de 2015
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'Caterham Supersport Powersliding: Autosolo - XCAR'
Very few things about "wake up at 05:00 on a Sunday and drive to a truckstop in Rugby" appeal. Firstly there's the hour, then the day, then the truckstop bit. If it were a palace of gold and rubies I'd be there before five, not just stirring. Still, I had good reason for an early start - Autosolo.
Autosolo is one of the newer grassroots motorsports doing the rounds and it's surprisingly simple. It's a simpler version of Autotesting, a sport which sees specially built cars driven to their limits around tricky courses, but there's no backwards stuff, no 360s and nothing too complicated. Unless you forget the course.
The idea is that you drive a fully road legal car around a gated course in as fast a time as possible. You're given a map of the track before the day starts so you can walk and memorise it.
Competitors rock up in two types of car - either front wheel drive superminis (easy to hustle) or rear wheel drive sports cars (easy to slide). In autotesting the cars of choice are either original Minis or Caterham/Lotus 7s - both have a mix of ace handling and quick turn of pace so are ideal. For our Autosolo adventures we took a SEAT Mii (for its handling prowess and buzzy 75bhp three-pot) and a Caterham Supersport (because it likes getting its arse out and enjoys going quickly).
The competitors are a hardy bunch, having been doing this kind of thing for years. There were teams of families, old guys, young guys, people trying it for the first time and... us. You may have an image of the type of person who takes part in grassroots motorsport (adenoids, beard, pot belly, MX-5 and small hands), but it's incorrect: the people we met at that meet were truly lovely and keen to help out if needs be.
The Mii is an incredibly versatile little car - while its 1.0-litre engine may seem tiny, it provides plenty of go. Dynamically it's leagues ahead of the likes of the Peugeot 107, Toyota Aygo or Citroen C1. Admittedly nearly a decade of development has occurred between the two being launched, but still.
Up next, the Caterham. A car first designed in the 1950s in a shed in Norfolk and 'refined' by Caterham in a shed in Dartford. 99% of the time I'm not a fan of Caterhams. Drive them on the road you feel overexposed, unprepared for a crash and, if you're in a quick one, a little like a spin is a blink away. However, stick one on a track and pretty much everything else is your bitch. Caterhams are lighter, faster and more fun than the competition. For Autosolo, though, the Supersport's wide turning circle was a bit of an issue. Some reversing had to happen. Ok, a lot of reversing had to happen.
Autosolo is a big 'ol bag of fun. It's fast, challenging and really competitive. I'd recommend it to anyone -- partly for the low entry fee, partly for the wonderful people and partly for the fact you'll end up addicted to it. Now, go forth and slide around a cone already.
Specs
SEAT Mii
Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl
Power: 75bhp
Torque: 70lb ft
0-62mph: 14.0seconds
Top speed: 106mph
Caterham Supersport
Engine: 1.6-litre 4cyl
Power: 140bhp
Torque: 120lb ft
0-62mph: 4.9seconds
Top speed: 120mph
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