Keep Me In | DR3 | BOOK 1

77 - The Festival of Speed - Part 1

"I thought I could wait for you forever too, Lex. But a guy in love can only hold on for so long before it starts to hurt more than it's worth."

--

- July 2021 📍 Chichester, West Sussex -

Logistically, I was as prepared as I could have been, and then some, for the infamous four-day garden party.

After plenty of practice sessions in the 992 Cup-car under the watchful eye of James and the Porsche GB team, I was feeling quite comfortable with how it ran with me at its helm. I had become familiar with how it cornered, its responsiveness in a straight line, and even how it drove in the rain, which was good as that was always a possibility even in the height of summer.

Granted, Silverstone was a very different track from the Hillclimb course in many ways. However, I would take as much time in the car as I could get, on any road. The weight of the race clutch as my left foot switched between beating down on it and standing on the brake into corners, the length of the shift linkages and how to precisely rev-match as I downshifted, the beastly exhaust belting under my touch. I knew it now like I knew my own name. The partnership was effortless.

James nearly had to forcefully remove me from the car at the end of any given day. It was a drug, and I was it's highly dependent user. As long as I was in the car, my spirits were high and nothing else mattered.

Emotionally, now that the weekend had finally arrived and it had been at least two weeks since my last practice session, however - you would have thought I was racing to save my own life with how much pressure I was feeling. And this wasn't even a race! I didn't quite recall this being a huge part of motorsport, the nerves. Maybe having to do it almost every weekend gave me a watered-down view. Maybe I was still trying to live up to some unrealistic expectation I had for myself to perform as I would have if I was given this opportunity back in 2018. Back before I retired.

But retirement or not, world champion or not, Formula One driver or not - I wanted to show James he made the right choice putting me in the car for a day up the hill, instead of giving them both to Harry King, their young star driver that could easily drive circles around me.

Harry told me he was feeling the heat just as badly; the pre-weekend jitters. That Goodwood always brought out the most passionate of fans, the fanatics that came from around the country, around the world, to see the latest and greatest that supercars had to offer.

We both wanted to put in a good time. I wasn't looking to break any records, or turn any heads in my direction, but of course I wanted to see my name as high up the ranks as I could get it. I'd push for that for sure. All the better if I could beat Harry, to stroke my own ego, if anything.

Rory and Molly rode passenger with me for the two hour drive from London to Chichester mid-week. We made an early morning pit stop at the Hangar to oversee that our pristinely detailed GT3 was safely placed on the shipping truck before we loaded the two's luggage into the back of my SUV and leaving just behind the truck. James and Porsche had their team set-up at Goodwood House, preparing the final touches on their extensive 'Porsche Experience' stand in the glistening green garden, with the historic country house itself the distant focal point of the whole event.

My car, along with similarly impressive examples, would be set up in their Supercar Paddock, a covered and secure spot where I wouldn't have to worry about it. Where I could leave it to be appreciated.