I found an event encompassing public road runs and Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, utilising your usual road car for less strenuous exercise than such a hardcore motor sports venue suggests. Far from costing a Grand Prix fortune, I paid £99 and used a 21-year old BMW worth under £7,000. That event was the 2008 Silverstone Classic Retro Run, and it covered interesting road routes and sites, arriving at Silverstone’s exclusive infield parking.

The organisers, Motion Works UK Ltd., supplied three-day admission tickets, which covered driver and passenger/navigator. An uncharacteristic long weekend of solid sunshine rewarded over 50,000 spectators celebrating classic motor sports and vehicles.
We started from the old Aston Martin works site at Newport Pagnell—now refurbished as a service and restoration centre of excellence.

Our magnificent weekend culminated by participating in a parade around the Silverstone Grand Prix track, but there was also a hectic 18-race bill to watch. One that embraced every kind of retro racer back to pre-war Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and the primitively effective ‘Chain Gang’ Frazer Nash, plus 1980s Le Mans contenders, and 1970s Grand Prix cars.

I also attended the Goodwood Festival (July, hillclimb) and Revival [September, race circuit] meetings. Both offer unmatched quality mobile automotive and historic aeroplane displays. Goodwood admission prices in 2008 went from £30 (Friday) to £47 on Saturday and Sunday, plus optional Grandstand charges from a further £24 to £35 at both meetings. I do enjoy and respect Goodwood, but the queues outside and throngs of folk inside, despite the prepaid ticket-only admission format, are snags.

My driving laughter came on grass with Honda quads and a machine called the Demon Racer, courtesy of a Mazda-funded Extreme Sports day. I doubt if the Demon cost its creators over £2000, yet it was a ball to drive whilst waiting for the full adrenaline rush of riding with an aerobatics team at Gloucestershire’s Kemble airfield. This Demon was concocted around an old Formula First single seater racing car, packing a flyweight kick of a Yamaha 700cc motorcycle that buzzed raucously to 14,000 revs. When the peaky power arrives, it kicks the rear tyres into an immediate and violent skid. If you have spent much of your motoring life negotiating slippy surfaces, and like the sensation of sliding a car around its own axis, this Demon is for you.

More serious are the 4-wheelers known as quad bikes, although the makers dub them ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). These have grown into indispensable farmer’s friends, utilised as motorised horses from Australia to Aberdeen. They are functional and fun to operate, but too many operators have been injured, so I was happy to attend an intensive training session. This was similar to Honda’s public offer of a subsidised EASI £90 course to every customer who buys one of their ATVs through an official dealer.
Using the grass hinterlands behind Donington race circuit, plus experienced instructors leading and following us on 2/4-wheeldrive examples of Honda’s Fourtrax models, we learned to mix education and enjoyment. These 5-speed, 400-range models cost from £4800 upward. They are simple to operate through motorcycle type controls, which include an electric starter and handlebar controls, just the gear change and rear brake foot-operated. The automatic clutch take up is sharp, which may upset not just your balance, but also that of any companionable dog, because they love to ride pillion!
Learning to steer and hang off the machine to counterbalance cornering speed, or a slope, needed practice. As with a Land Rover or tractor, the hardest part is to accurately assess the angles of varying slopes, as rollover accidents are a constant threat.

If you are after speedy joy above 70 mph, best choose a proper motor racing track. You do not have to go through the tension and expense of lining up for a motor race, although I cannot remember a clothed thrill to equal racing.
Track days are an excellent alternative taster and today there are many more track days than motor races. So, you can take your car beyond the world of speed cameras. Or pay to use a racing school car. For £280 I drove four cars at the high speed Thruxton, Hampshire, venue. I steered two 140 mph Lotus Exiges, a dedicated racing single seater and a Mazda saloon for reconnaissance. Spend more and you can [briefly] drive exotic Lamborghinis, Ferraris or Porsches. They are much more powerful, but not so suited to track life as an agile Lotus.

Driving at a muddy 7 mph or a racetrack’s 107 mph, it’s your chance to prove that 4-wheeler frolics are accessible in our Nanny State.

USEFUL CONTACT ADDRESSES

Thruxton Motorsport Centre
E-mail: info@thruxton racing.co.uk
Tel: 01264 882222

Motion Works UK Ltd
Silverstone RetroRun/Classic racing weekend
E-mail: silverstoneclass@motionworks.co.uk
Tel: 01327 856024

How can a normal mortal enjoy fun on four wheels in the 21st century?
Answer: head for anywhere but a public road in search of automotive pleasures.