Life, especially in this region, is a continuous race. Racing with time, work, knowledge, fashion and yourself. But unlike real races, in life you don’t feel like pushing the gas and feeling flying past everything and everyone. And on the track - why not.
I somehow never thought about how a real racer feels, so I was really delighted to have the opportunity to talk with them when I saw a team of professional F1 pilots during a specially designed press test drive for Bentley cars. But perhaps it’s better about everything in order ....
Yas Circuit Track Welcomes Guests
Just a little bit left before the start of the main races of the year - at the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which will be held in the emirate capital of Abu Dhabi in mid-November. Experts say that the racing track on the island of Yas (Yas Island) is one of the best in the world. However, we had the opportunity to check it before the race cars of the most famous racers of the world leave for the famous tracks. Really lucky!
So, the first surprise that met the press on Yas Island was the Bentley Blower - one of the first legendary Bentley cars made in 1929. Museum exhibit, of course. Moreover, specially brought to the UAE in order to demonstrate their best qualities. Of course, doubts immediately arise - whether the "old man" will let you down! I put on a helmet, sit in a tall open car and ... go to the past! The first Bentley, who, along with his "brothers" at the beginning of the last century, won races in England, as if he flew 90 years ahead and now famously traveled along the modern highway of the abu Dhab island of Yas! And not just a walking step, but at 150 km / h. That's what a machine made for ages means!
After such a journey into the past, I was transferred back to today's day, where the last five Bentley models from the Continental Flying Spur Speed and Continental Supersports lines were waiting for their driver. Trying to make a difficult choice in favor of this or that car, I involuntarily thought that it was not by chance that Bentley is one of the most expensive brands in the British automobile market. So, a professional racer was assigned to each of the journalists and sent to study racing skills. Steep turns at a speed, evasion from conditional obstacles, acceleration to 200 km / h and an immediate sharp stop, "eights" on the track ...
Yes, yes, all this “do-it-yourself” driving a cool Bently.
What does the rider feel?
Do you know how a rider feels when he presses on the gas pedal and makes the car fly faster than its creator intended? When there is a sharp turn ahead, and you have to fit into it at this crazy speed? “I want to drive faster, then even faster, and sharp turns are just a fun game,” my mentor, an extra-class racer, sitting behind the wheel next to me, tells me. The spirit of his driving is definitely breathtaking. This is how a true professional perceives speed and a sense of flying. Then we change places, and I'm driving.
The most difficult thing for a beginner is to forget and not think about what driving instructors once taught, as well as traffic rules and generally accepted social norms, when a pro sitting in the passenger seat tells you: “Add gas”, right in front of a steep by turning. And again we change places, and here, watching from the passenger seat, how the car enters into such a turn when a professional is driving, you know - you absolutely do not know how to drive! This was the general impression of all journalists after the adventures on the race track.
Speed is nothing, flight is everything
The tests do not end there, and the representatives of the writing fraternity are invited to fly to the sky by helicopter in order to see from above the track they have just conquered by the island of Yas. Right are those who believe that everything is relative. The scope of the Yas Circuit is impressive when you look at this grandiose building from under the clouds. Lucky birds! They will be able to watch the F1 Grand Prix races without thinking about entry tickets. We are not birds, but we also managed to admire the high-class sports facility, which has already become one of the sights of the emirate capital.
It's time to go down from heaven ... No! Not to the ground. This time - to the water. The crown of the evening was a pleasant and relaxing boat trip on the Art Marine company around the same island of Yas. Everyone shared their impressions, discussed the past day, and somehow, unnoticed, came to the general opinion that Bentley is not just a luxury, it is really the lifestyle of those who choose this brand for themselves.
And, as if to summarize, Chris Buxton, Bentley Motors Middle East Regional Director and the hospitable host of the holiday, noted: “Our customers do not just buy a luxury car, they discover the Bentley brand and everything connected with it, one way or another, Your current unique experience of “communicating” with the Bentley family, I hope, made it possible to feel what this brand really is and to understand what life style is for those who decide to become the owners of a Bentley car. you can afford a helicopter th outing, a short cruise on a luxury yacht, and high-speed races on the track, which allows you to accelerate to 300 km / h! ".
It is hard to disagree. I will not dissemble - up to 300 km / h I personally did not accelerate, and 200 km / h was more than enough for me. But how interesting it was to drive a rare and modern racing car, on board a helicopter and a snow-white yacht. And all this - in one evening. It remains to seriously think about the lifestyle of Bentley. There is something in it that makes us perceive the surrounding reality as big races .... But where?
