Ah, hadn’t planned on that. My next challenger is a Nissan GTR, with (let’s not ignore this) select carbon fibre components. As ferocious as the power may be in the Lexus, it surely won’t stand a chance against Godzilla, which can launch from standstill to 100kph in just 3 seconds. Visor down, I await the inevitable.
Fortunately, my new friend in the GTR stuffs his start completely and I am well away down the straight by the time he’s slotted second gear. The Nissan may haul me in down the straight, but the warning shot has been fired by the Lexus. Suddenly interest from the crowd is piqued, and the Liquid Platinum-coloured brute is soon taking requests.
One of my encounters is against a gentleman in a Lexus LX, who’s taken a particular fancy to the IS F. Rapidly-growing cockiness means I can’t help but crack a wry smile at this assured victory. It’s once we’ve set off though (0.34s, not bad!) that I understand his eagerness. There’s a 5.7-litre supercharged V8 under the bonnet, and it’s only the weight of the SUV that keeps the encounter neck-and-neck. We can’t split it at the line.
There’s time for a couple more runs…