Sandown Diaries: My first hot lap

As a kid I always loved fast cars. From a young age I played Daytona USA on my Sega Saturn (yes, I was around in those days), Need for Speed 2 on my computer, and eventually graduated up to the Gran Turismo series on PlayStation.

Once I could read I buried my nose in every motoring publication and website I could, supplemented by a TV diet of Top Gear every Monday night.

Then, after getting my license at 18, I got a taste of what it's actually like to get behind the wheel of a real car... An old 2000 Honda CR-V – hardly what you'd call a performance vehicle.

But none of that could have ever prepared me for what it's like to go around a racetrack at full tilt. Let alone with a V8 Supercar driver, Luke Youlden, at the wheel.

I was fortunate enough to join the motoring.com.au crew at Sandown Raceway for the performance comparison between the new Chrysler 300 SRT and HSV ClubSport R8 recently. Little did I know that I'd be stepping into the SRT for a hot lap with Luke Youlden at the end of play.

Slipping on a bright white helmet in the pits I felt a bit like a bobble head, those things are heavy! I hopped into the big red Chrysler (cue the Wiggles) and the guys fastened a GoPro to the windscreen in the hope that they'd record my horrified facial expressions, and possible squeals of fear.

Luke jumped into the driver's seat and says "Hey mate, you excited?"

"Yeah," I reply. Although I'm secretly thinking "Please, don't kill me."

That probably wasn't the best way to start a hot lap, but after seeing how he'd just put both cars through their paces I knew I was in good hands.

The 6.4-litre Hemi roars to life at the push of a button, and we slowly (if noisily) make our way out of the pits. Here I was thinking that we'd do some sort of a warm up lap or something, but no, Luke got straight on the loud pedal the moment we hit the straight.

He floored the Chrysler's throttle once we escaped the speed-limit zone, and we rocketed towards the first corner. At this point I'm sitting in the very comfortable leather/alcantara front passenger seat, helpless as we hurtle towards the first bend. As the braking markers appeared I was convinced Luke wasn't stepping off the throttle.

Just as we were about to enter the corner I'm pushing my foot into the passenger carpet (there should really have a brake pedal there!) as Luke steps hard on the picks – nearly sending me through the windscreen. Before I've had time to adjust myself back in the seat we're shooting out of the first bend, the V8's howl – to put it simply – sounding freaking awesome.

Combine that with some pretty impressive g-forces, the protest of the tyres and my body being thrown about like a rag doll and you get the idea that the first 10 seconds was quite the initiation!

Then, as a chicane appeared, Luke again waited to the very last moment before hitting the brakes. A sharp right, then a sharp left, and two tonnes of metal, leather and precious cargo (me), was defying the laws of physics.

Another quick corner and we shot down the back straight, and I was starting to feel much more enthusiastic. I was starting to get a feel for the speed and g-forces by this point, I could almost feel when Luke was about to brake and anticipate the line he was going to take through the bends. Looks like all those years of Gran Turismo have started to pay off!

Heading in the final stages of the lap – another chicane followed by a hard left – I was nearly shot out the window, but Luke's control of the car is nothing short of incredible. We hit the main straight sideways and stormed towards the first corner again, passing 200km/h on the way...

What an experience that was! Luke backs off the pace for a cool down lap, and starts explaining the differences between the 300 SRT and a V8 Supercar. I'm too excited to give his explanation the attention it deserves, and before I know it Luke has the car sideways again, as if to recapture my full attention.

Drifting seems so elegant when you see it on the Fast and Furious. They lied. Between the hard braking and the sudden acceleration, it's really quite forceful. As is the unnatural sensation of seeing the track coming towards you from the side glass, and not the windscreen!

Luke then turned into pit lane, and I was almost like a child coming off a rollercoaster at Movie World. "Let's do that again!" I enthused. But Luke just laughed at me. It was time to go home. My hot lap was over, but I was hooked. Let's hope there's a job for me once the internship is over.