Friday, June 20, 2014 NewsLeader A13
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Visit DrivewayCanada.ca to view video of Keith’s ride with Sebastian Vettel
Hot laps with F1 World Champ Sebastian Vettel BOWMANVILLE, Ontario. commentator David Four-time Formula One Coulthard on an auto world champion Secross track, laid out in the bastian Vettel has been shape of the Infiniti logo. driving since 1991 – 20 As I finished my turn at years less than yours the wheel of the Infiniti truly. Q50, the Scot sent me off The Infiniti-Red Bull to Seb with the words: Racing Team lead man “No cones were hurt in was only three-and-half this filming . . . ”I’ll take Seb’s seat time years old when he took that as a compliment for with us clearly the wheel on a kart in my error-free drive. his native Germany. He Buckled up in anothpaid off as he began racing four years er Q50S ($47,450), I went on to take later at the ripe old age wondered if Seb would his fourth straight of eight. He has a few demonstrate an improved years under his safety cornering technique as championship. harness but he’s always we did a hot lap together Keith Morgan up to learn from his around the reputedly fast elders. 3.95-kilometre track. He Last year, the 26-year-old wunderkind greeted me warmly, I thanked him for a showed off his driving skills to me and hat he had kindly autographed, which I buddy Brian Makse – a man also with recently auctioned off. He was pleased racing pedigree – in an Infiniti FX50 to hear it had raised hundreds of dolVettel Edition FX on the Paul Ricard lars to help send local leukemia-strickCircuit in the south of France. We both en teen Ryan Fagnan and his family on figured his cornering needed work. a last vacation, shortly before he died. Seb’s seat time with us clearly paid off We roared out of the pit lane through as thereafter he won his fourth straight the first turn and continued to accelF1 championship. erate downhill – close to 170 km/h It came as no surprise then that he – towards the second turn. Locals told would jump at the opportunity to take me the stretch to the turn features a the wheel again alongside me. Brian number of camber changes down to wasn’t available but I headed here to the second turn, scene of most of the the Canadian Tire Motorsport in Ontartrack’s fatal crashes. Gulp. Obviously, nobody had cautioned io to work the magic again. The affable him as he whipped the family sedan young guy has had a tough start to the effortlessly round, talking about how F1 season, battling with the new hybrid he relaxed as we drove. Movies with technology. happy endings apparently. Ah, the same I put in some time first with retired conclusions he likes to F1 races. F1 driver and now ace BBC TV F1
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“There haven’t been too many of those lately,” he joked, pressing harder on the metal, perhaps to make a point. As Infiniti Director of Performance, Vettel is truly playing a role in the development of future road products, rather than merely offering his name as a celebrity endorsement. He talked enthusiastically about the new compact, performance-oriented Q30, which should see the light late next year in Europe and a little later in Canada. The 328-horsepower 3.7-litre V6 Q50S we were riding in also benefitted from a little of his input. He’s clearly looking forward to Infiniti giving the go-ahead to the Q50 Eau Rouge concept, which features the Nissan GT-R’s growling 560-horsepower twin-turbo V6. Another corner loomed and I leaned into the door, as he barely slowed from the rapid pace we had zipped along the straight. “Your cornering has improved since last year,” I offered cheekily.
“Thank you, I think I’ve got the apexes about right,” he grinned. Hours earlier, it’s doubtful he had even heard of the tricky track, nevermind driven it. Harkening back to his references to happy endings, I reminded him that after driving with me last year he had enjoyed nothing but success. “That’s right . . . it’s all down to you,” he said with what I believed was a thoroughly genuine smile of appreciation. The end was nigh. Time flies when you are having fun: our hot lap and friendly chat took less than four minutes. Last Sunday, he enjoyed only his second podium finish of the year taking third place at the Montreal Grand Prix. You’re welcome, Seb. Same time next year, in the Eau Rouge? Videos of my day with Sebastian Vettel and David Coulthard can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/1ujR58W keith.morgan@drivewaybc.ca
As Infiniti’s Director of Performance, Vettel is truly playing a role in the development of future road products.
Question of the Week Four-time F1 champ Sebastian Vettel got behind the wheel of a kart when he was just three-and-a-half years old and was racing at age eight. Should we encourage teens to follow that example, as a way of learning about vehicle speed and control before getting their first license at 16? Go to DrivewayCanada.ca to submit your answer. QUESTION
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OF THE WEEK!
Safety Tip: As schools begin their summer break, there will be more children around the roads. Road safety is not always top of mind for kids, so make sure you pay extra attention, especially around playgrounds where speed limits remain in effect year-round.
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