How to smash the Goodwood circuit record

So odd is the fact that this has been the first event at the Motor Circuit of the year, for over a year, but Nick has never been too far from Goodwood. “I’ve been here on and off for testing,” he opens calmly. Preparation for the events that didn’t take place will have seen Nick here preparing the cars he would have driven. That’s not even to mention the multiple drives he had at SpeedWeek alone – the Arrows in the Shootout, a Cobra in the TT, a Mini in the St. Mary’s, a NASCAR in the Shootout, a BMW 530i in the Gerry Marshall Trophy and a Porsche 935 demonstrator. Yes, two Shootout drives.

“It has been a funny year and it’s lovely to be back, though it’s a bit different with no crowds.”

So how on Earth do you get to being in the hot seat of the car that will dominate SpeedWeek’s Shootout? Not by design, according to Nick. “It’s typical me, really. I bet a lot of people think this is all planned. It isn’t. We built the car, and did a demo day at Brands Hatch. Goodwood were there, and sent a message asking if we’d like to bring it here.”

This car, along with a second A11 chassis, was purchased by Jean Lou Rihon in preparation for a rumoured 3.5-litre F1 race series. Though the chassis was good, new suspension needed to be made. Padmore has been involved with their restoration from the start. “We had to get everything that hung off the carbon chassis remade,” he said. “We had the specs and we’ve been in touch with Derek Warwick, which is so cool, and he’s over the moon with it. It didn’t take a lot of time really, about seven months.”

Though the planned series has gone quiet in the obvious circumstances, they still had SpeedWeek at which to stretch the A11’s legs. With Nick in the driver’s seat, there were obvious expectations given his history as a lap record-setter at Goodwood, but he’s respectful of that original career-defining performance.

“The lap record in the T.70 was a very special moment. It was unplanned, a ‘do you fancy driving this this weekend?’ situation and it changed my career. I’ve got so many drives off the back of that.”

As for SpeedWeek and the Arrows, it was uncharted territory. A new drive format in the Shootout (single-car, standing start, single-lap), much faster cars, the added element of downforce as well as tyres to manage and of course any gremlins you come across with what is a more modern, complicated and sensitive car. With so many unknowns, he was understandably trepidant but excited all the same. Truthfully it’s not unlike the ‘fly-by-the-seat’ nature of that situation behind the record-breaking drive in the T.70.

So what’s it like to drive a full-on, full downforce carbon-tubbed F1 car flat-out around Goodwood?

“Oh my God. It’s so good. It’s so, so good,” he said. A fairly decisive verdict, then. Not that we expected any different.

“The problem was getting it off the line. It’s getting it off the line, and then going into Madgwick with cold tyres and then getting the tyres up to temperature quickly. We’d had a few issues with fuel vapour but we got it sorted. When I first took it out with the F1 demo it was so good.

“I really went for it but it’s not too serious. I’ve been very lucky to do this. Every time I get in the car I love and thoroughly enjoy it. I had to be on it, but I had fun.”

You can tell he wasn’t far off being called up for his record-breaking drive when he was chatting to us. He needn’t have worried about managing expectations, though. Two solid 1 minute 9-second runs, in spite of fears about getting turned in for Madgwick. In spite of worrying about launching. The thing about Nick is he gets his eye in quickly and leans in to the car. You can see by his run, he’s putting the pressure on but keeping smooth.

“To drive the Arrows A11 and smash the outright lap record was mind blowing,” he said in a later social media post. “What an incredible weekend!”

The only question now is whether he’ll be back for another go and if ever that will even be possible. Never say never…

Photography by Joe Harding and Nick Dungan.