(with the Zen Masters of Speed)

By Elle McKenzie

When Angela, our Editor at Large, suggested we write a story about a Formula 1 race track I was a little apprehensive. One, I know nothing about cars except whether I find their shape and colour aesthetically pleasing. I’ve flicked through enough car magazines (my brother is a car bore) to know that motor journalists write a lot about engine size, bhp, torque and handling, all things I know nothing about. Two, unlike Angela, who bungee jumps and is bouncing around the room at the thought of hurtling around a track at high speed, I’m of a more nervous disposition: 120 kmh on the E15 has me holding my breath and covering my eyes. And what is this G force she keeps talking about? I’m more familiar with the G spot. Anyway, before I can think of any reasons to back out she has arranged it. I’m just grateful it isn’t bungee jumping or parachuting. At least I’ll be staying on the ground.

The Ascari Race Resort is outside Ronda, about 10km along the Campillos road. The road to Ronda itself is something even Angela isn’t looking forward to, but off we go, ears popping on the way as I remind myself to keep looking up. It’s a relief to get to the top and my eyes can relax on a straight road. Immediately I am captivated by the scenery along this road. As we get closer to Ascari my eyes frame a scene that is typical of a landscape by Cezanne. When Klaas Zwart, the man whose baby Ascari is, flew over the area in his helicopter looking for a suitable location, he picked his site with the eye of an artist as much as that of a businessman and experienced racing driver. 

We reach the discreet sign for Ascari and turn into the entrance where we check in before being allowed to enter. Security is very tight at Ascari, which is unsurprising given the value of the Resort’s own cars and those that its members bring with them, yet at the same time it is unobtrusive and blends in with the overall ambiance of the place, which is warm, friendly and relaxed with the type of attention to detail that one expects at a club of this class.

Rolling down the drive to the restored cortijo where members can relax at the bar after a day’s driving, swim in the pool or sample the excellent cuisine, we can see the track on our right. Without the usual garish advertising that surrounds every other F1 circuit, the track curves in and out of the landscape like a sleek snake sliding through the grass, naturally at one with its surroundings. As we would find out during our tour, a lot of thought has been given to preserving the natural beauty of the landscape, and 5000 trees have already been planted to enhance what is already a stunning location.

To give you some idea of the size of the place, it covers two million square metres, and apart from the centrepiece, i.e. the F1 track, there is a track for 4x4 vehicles, a skidpan, and a track for quads and speed buggies. So, you don’t just have to settle for driving the Gerhard Berger F1 Benetton, that is, if you have the driving ability and can fit in it: one thing I learnt about the drivers I imagined were tall sex symbols is that in fact they are small ones. 



We are greeted by Petra , who gives us the kind of welcome that immediately makes you feel that it is her privilege that you are there and that she has known you for some time: I feel it is my privilege to meet a woman with such great people skills. Indeed, all the staff at Ascari deserve a special mention. If people make a business, then Ascari have got it absolutely right. They are also justifiably proud of the employment they provide for local people, another example of their aim to be an asset to the area.

Having settled us down beside the pool with coffee and toast, Petra , laughing, asks us to sign a waiver form that effectively says we know we’re doing something dangerous and we’re responsible for ourselves. I’m not sure all my friends would agree with that, but I sign it anyway. At this point, as I’m biting into a piece of toast, Angela reminds me that the G force might make me sick, so I shouldn’t eat too much. So now I have to not only get over my nerves about speed, I have to try not to be sick as well. I feel confident that everything will be alright, although I don’t know why.

Perhaps it is the confidence of Ascari’s Chief Executive, Geoffrey Finlay, who has just joined us, that brings on this sudden sense of ‘I can do this.’ A car enthusiast with some 30 years of racing experience behind him, he is also Ascari’s first member. A bit like the man who bought Remington, Geoffrey liked Ascari so much he decided to work where his passion is. He certainly has a talent for talking about cars in a way that catches my attention, and, as you might guess, I’m the type who usually zones out of any car conversation.

Following a tour around the perimeter of the site in a 4x4, where we see the quad and speed buggy tracks as well as landscaping and planned picnic and play areas for families with children, we return to go out on the F1 track. Geoffrey shows us all the cars that are available for members to use: eight F3000 cars, six BMW race prepared touring cars, and six Radical SR3s. But we’re not going out in any of those: we’re going out in the beautiful Ascari KZ-1R. And, if you haven’t guessed it already, KZ stands for Klaas Zwart. A super car of stunning beauty, it almost asks you to stroke it.

Angela tells me I’m going first. We get helmets on and I’m strapped into the passenger seat. “Have you ever done this before?” Geoffrey asks me. “No, never,” is my response and I restrain myself from asking him to go easy. I actually want the whole experience.

Waiting in the pit lane, the flag goes down and we take off like a bullet. I know there are gears in this car but it feels like we just went through all of them in one revolution of the wheels.

Immediately I’m facing my worst nightmare: corners. I take a breath, at least I think I do, and go through the first. There are 26 corners on this track modeled on some of the most famous bends in motor racing. In one lap I have visited Silverstone, Spa, and Daytona to name three. There is nowhere else in the world that you can encounter this unique driving experience. As we fly round the track I feel myself becoming calmer by the second. I have meditated for years and know when that moment of alignment with inner stillness has been reached: the alignment that makes you feel at one with everything and yourself. Now, here I am, experiencing it at 160 mph. When we finally pull into the pit lane and I get out of the car, I feel as if I have broken through a barrier and there is nothing that I can’t do. Thank you, Geoffrey; you are the Zen Master of speed.

Sex is always associated with fast cars. Why? The answer to this eludes me as much as the answer as to why Carrie Bradshaw in ‘Sex in the City’ only writes one line per episode and still gets paid enough to shop at Prada. Is it the shape of the cars? Geoffrey shows us the Gerhard Berger F1 Benetton. Black and shiny, its long, slim lines taper almost to a point. There is very little car behind the driver’s seat, it’s all at the front. “Horny, isn’t it?” Geoffrey remarks. So are the drivers, I reflect, as we watch one member step out of one of the rather cute Radicals. Angela and I exchange a look simultaneously. Oh yes, there it is, we’ve just witnessed the mysterious ‘it’ factor. 

After so much excitement we return to the cortijo where I meet Kathy, who has bought an Experience Day for her boyfriend’s birthday. It is, I think, a great gift for the man in your life. While her boyfriend has been getting hot and sweaty on the track, she has been having a massage and is now lying by the pool with a glass of cava. I asked her what made her choose this as a present. “I wanted something we could do together, which would also be truly memorable.” She also confides in me that she likes men in uniform and wanted to see him in the fireproof suit the drivers wear. In fact Kathy is so happy with her day here and the fun her boyfriend is having that she is bubbling like her drink. As we both enthuse about our experience at Ascari, she says, “I can honestly say it’s been worth every penny.” Then she shows me a magazine article about dreams: driving a fast car figures very prominently in men’s dreams. “So, you’ve made his dream come true,” I tell her. “Oh, I really hope so,” she giggled. It must be love. I leave Kathy feeling delighted by her happiness and knowing that everyone at Ascari would do everything to make sure that Kathy and her boyfriend left with a memory to treasure.

So, do women only dream of the men that drive fast cars? Some, maybe, but, not all women. Talking to Geoffrey and to instructor Niel Riddeford I am now aware that racing is becoming an increasingly popular sport with women and while there have been no F1 women drivers since Lella Lombardi in the 1970s, it can only be a matter of time before they are on an F1 starting grid again. Meanwhile, women who want to experience the thrill of an F1 track and hone their skills will find Ascari the perfect place for them. Although the testosterone is hanging in the air there’s no sense that this is a ‘boy’s club’.

Indeed, with the opening of an exclusive 40 suite hotel and spa in 2007, Ascari will be a female heaven, whether they want to drive or not. They are also keen to emphasise that they want the Resort to be a family experience. This is yet another example of the sound thinking that underpins the Ascari philosophy. With women and children included and enjoying themselves, men are less likely to encounter resistance to their love of racing. Plus, frankly, there really aren’t that many places for the whole family around the coast. Also, as several people there point out to me, racing tracks are usually dirty places that are unattractive to women. That certainly couldn’t be said of Ascari Race Resort.

Reluctantly, Angela and I wend our way down the Ronda road, which strangely seems to have lost all its power to frighten me. I’ve certainly been to the top of the mountain today and come down a different person. I can’t recommend this place enough. ++

** But, before you all leap in your cars and cause a tailback on the Ronda road, I have to tell you that you cannot just turn up at Ascari for a day out. It is a private resort for members who either drive Ascari’s selection of cars or bring their own super cars. If you don’t want to be a full member, don’t let that stop you from considering treating yourself to a day out here. Ascari run a variety of Experience days through their Racing Academy, which is staffed by instructors who are well-qualified and have had their own racing career.

To find out about membership and Experience days:

Email: events@raceresortascari.com
Tel. (+34) 952 18 71 71 or 952 18 72 72

www.raceresortascari.com