VX Racing Driver Give Cyclists a Masterclass

Matt Neal of Vauxhall’s motorsports division, VX Racing, gave Olympic cycling medallists a driving masterclass.

Matt Neal is currently British Touring Car Champion and drives for Vauxhall’s VX Racing team. Recently he took two of Britain’s Beijing medal winners for a motorsports masterclass around Cheshire’s Oulton park circuit. Ed Clancy, Beijing Gold medallist and 2008 World Champion, and Rob Hayles, triple Olympic medallist and double World Champion, were in for a treat.

The cyclists put down their bikes and got behind the wheel of a slightly more powerful Vauxhall Astra VXR 888 for an afternoon of high speed on four wheels. Neal showed them a perfect lap of the Oulton circuit, talking each through racing lines, braking points and gears.

Then the cyclists had their turn in the racing version of Britain’s most popular car the Vauxhall Astra. Clancy was Neal’s first candidate and onlookers were impressed with his speed, as the British Olympic hero took up the challenge to be a racing driver for the day,

“That was awesome!” exclaimed Clancy after the tuition laps.

“I really enjoy motorsport and driving fast, but you are always aware you have to be safe, so to be let loose on this track was a real privilege. I think all things considered it went really well, there were no crashing or any visible damage to the car! I picked up some great tips though: slow in, fast out, and make sure you don’t run out of road. It was great to just go for it.”

Ed Clancy was first into the driving seat and impressed onlookers with some good speed. Hayles went in second and really enjoyed the handling and dynamics of the Vauxhall Astra. Surprised that this was actually a standard road car Hayles wondered how he could get his hands on one, asking,

“Can I buy this car at my local dealership? It’s very tempting” After the master class the group compared the similarities of motorsports and cycling, discussing the tactics, skills and strategies they all use. Hayles contrasted them saying,

“The technical side of cycling is a bit similar to motor racing, when we’re doing the team pursuit on the track we are trying to hold the correct line and trying not to scrub off speed,” and Clancy added,

“I think there are quite a few similarities between the two sports to be honest, same sort of deal, race to be at the front, there is a grid starting system, same sort of mentality,”

“In terms of speed there is an awfully big gap, I think the top speed we can reach are on a descent, like the Pyrenees or the Alps where you can reach 100kph, if you were really going for it.” Neal commented of the cyclist’s skills,

“I think they are both naturally very able and competitive people, but they were very willing to listen and learn which is great when you’re out on track.”

“Ed, he is the youngest and was very gung-ho about it, it wasn’t for the faint hearted. Rob is older and more experienced with it as he’d done some track driving before.”

“By the end of the day, though, after some tips and tuition they had very similar performances.” The British Touring Car Championship is coming to Oulton Park in Cheshire this weekend on the 30/31st May where you can see Matt Neal in action.

E. Dooley