auto italia 45ALFAWORKS 4C
Visible Alfaworks mods
include carbon sills and
bumpers, plus lightweight
OZ Racing wheels
what seem like namby-pamby speeds, the squirming is
uncomfortable to say the least. It would have been
easier to run on a full-wet track than this
unpredictable, ice-like surface. What a shame the track
conditions are so atrocious, as I’m not getting the
experience I’d dearly wanted.
Luckily, the Alfa Romeo racing legend that is Ted
Pearson is with us, and he’s keen to try the 4C, too,
and I call shotgun. Ted sensibly switches the DNA
controller to ‘A’ for All-weather – and Brands Hatch is
certainly throwing all weathers at us today – but even
so the twitchiness is very much still there. Ted says he
prefers driving with no aids at all in conditions like
these, but on semi-slick rubber designed for dry
tarmac, there really isn’t much choice.
The lack of grip is most noticeable at Clearways,
which doesn’t dry out for the entire day. Here, as you
give the throttle full beans on to the main straight, the
back end moves – quick dab of opposite lock – then
moves again – more oppo – then again, and again. Yes,pattern delivers such epic grip in the dry, while
remaining road-legal. Simply drive the car to the track,
enjoy near-race levels of grip, and pootle home again.
That’s what’s happened today. The 4C has been
driven down to Brands Hatch from AlfaWorks HQ in
Royston – no trailers, thanks. Trouble is, that light rain I
mentioned earlier has resulted in a track surface that’s
on the treacherous side of slippery. The briefing
instructor tells us that one spin will be overlooked, but
a second will result in the day ending for the culprit.
(That rule is quickly revised, however, as droves of cars
start to pirouette and there are even a few ‘offs’.)
It’s my mission not to spin. As I head out on to the
track, ‘Race’ mode – where pretty much every
assistance aid is switched off – is obviously out of the
question. I engage ‘Dynamic’ mode on the Alfa’s DNA
knob, telling myself that will probably be OK. Mistake!
On its 215/45 ZR17 front and 235/40 ZR18 rear Toyo
R888Rs, things are much more ‘dynamic’ than I’d
expected. There appears to be zero grip, and even at