A day on track

19 February 2015 Redazione Alex Marrone

ACM – BEHIND THE SCENES

When as a child I used to read car magazines, I imagined the moment of a test-drive as something magical, almost a ritual. Observing the car, analyzing it in detail, driving it and then repeat all over again. But reality is a little bit different, in fact, when you have to test a car, there is always a short time, a photographer which tells you how to position the car and hours of endless waiting for various reasons. Sometimes, all this frenzy makes you completely forget to observe certain details and you find yourself only on concentrating on driving. There is a situation in which everything is different: if you’re on track. I do not mean Sunday’s track-days, where you just pay a ticket to enter and slalom between Puntos and Ibizas, with the involvement easily comparable to the one you have, when you are watching an apparently uninhabited tank at the aquarium. Days that are dedicated to the press, are almost exclusively booked during the week and allow you to enjoy an almost completely empty circuit, with one or more cars, technical staff and pr available for any questions that go through your mind . You just have to arrive early in the morning, wait until the cars are ready and then you can do what you want, as long as you listen to the demands of your photographers. At that point, it’s you and the car itself, with all the brochures and your report sheet, where you can write down every sensation, every little detail, that could help you evaluating the car you’re driving. Moreover, in addition to the security of having a racing track and a rescue team, you finally have the opportunity to put the car to the limit, in order to fully understand its performance and obviously your very limits. Every day at the track, makes you grow so much. And then, the priceless feeling of absolute silence, when you stop the car in the middle of the circuit and watch it, in a habitat that is usually noisy and extremely crowded. Maybe you won’t realize how a car can be livable in everyday life: no parking, no maneuvers, you certainly do not mind about fuel consumption, but you are able to establish a more intimate relationship. If a car is really up to it, you will leave satisfied, while hours will pass too quickly.

Alessandro Marrone