Pit & Polish

Claire Keeton and Marianne Schwankhart hit the track at Zwartkops, on a hot afternoon with racing driver Thomas Falkiner

The driver

You think you have an idea of what someone's like when you work with them. Sunday Times motoring writer Thomas Falkiner sits at a computer near me at work and comes across as professional and polite, with a great sense of humour. (Even if this sounds like a dating profile, it's true. And yes, 29-year-old Thomas is single.) But behind a wheel he's transformed. His fearlessness and calm under pressure come out, and his passion for racing is as tangible as the heat of a Mustang's engine after a few laps.

Marianne and I were excited then when Thomas - 2010 Midas Historic Tour Class ZA Champion - promised to take us racing.

The rush

The whine of racing cars guided us to Zwartkops, west of Pretoria, on a quiet weekday more efficiently than any GPS. Marianne and I followed the sound to the track and the office, where we had to sign indemnity forms.

Then we met Thomas, dressed in his flame-resistant Nomex suit and ballet-like drivers' shoes, and were introduced to the Mustang he drives. After we admired it and met the Race Prep team - who ensure the car is mechanically perfect and safe - Marianne was strapped into the car next to Thomas.

His briefing to us was short: to get his attention during a lap, we'd have to bang on his helmet or chest. Then they were off, easing into the pit lane and waiting for a flag to signal that the session for saloon cars had begun.

With that signal, they were gone in a flash. I went to a raised platform to watch the car shooting through hairpin bends and gaining speed on the straight.

The 15-minute session flew past and then they were back.

While the single-seater cars and bikes raced around the track for their sessions, Marianne and I swopped places. I strapped on a heart-rate monitor to see how much my pulse accelerated with the speed. My heartbeat hardly accelerated above its normal rate as I trusted Thomas and had fun hurtling around the corners with him. The only time my heart picked up the pace was when we overtook other cars.

I find being a passenger - whether it's racing or skydiving - is easy if I know the person in charge is experienced.

"I've always had a passion for motor sports and try my hardest," says Thomas, who has the reflexes of a competitive athlete. If he knocks a toothbrush off the sink, he'll catch it.

The risk

Of course, motor racing is a life-threatening sport as drivers push their cars to the limit and can lose control at high speed, roll or collide with others on the track. Thomas, who is in his third season of racing the Midas Historic Tour, was in his first massive smash last year in Midvaal.

He was in third place when he spun and hit another car that had also spun on the exact same spot.

"I was wearing a neckbrace system (HANS Device) to prevent whiplash. If I hadn't had that I would've been badly hurt. I will never race without one again," he says.

Thomas also wears an OMP helmet and harness device to keep him tightly strapped inside the rigid roll cage and he wears a Nomex suit to protect against burns. He has a lever on the boot outside that will activate a fire extinguisher in the interior. His car also has a rigid roll cage and, when we got into it, we were strapped into the passenger seat. This made our rides smoother as it kept us stable during turns.

The car

I've got to write about the car - the 1965 Shelby Mustang Replica - or Thomas will wonder why he took us out. Besides its dazzling looks, this sleek, white machine with a blue stripe and sponsor branding has a powerful roar. I found the noise level at the racetrack deafening, but I liked the sound of the Mustang engine. The car is worth about R1-million.

Now for the nuts and bolts: the left-hand drive Mustang (categorised as a saloon car) has a 5.7-litre V8 engine, a race suspension system and the interior has been stripped down to its bones.

On the driver's right side is a control panel, with everything from the ignition to the lights. After the accident last year, the right-hand panels of the car and the rear fuel tank had to be replaced, but now it's as good as new, according to the race prep owner, Rod Hering. By January this year, the revamped Mustang was ready to compete.

Want to test the track?

Motor racing is expensive and inaccessible to most of us. Thomas got a lucky break with his godfather, who owns the Mustang, and his talent earned him sponsorship from the Sunday Times and Castrol.

You need to pay entry fees to meets, pay for maintenance and for the crew to race.

On the positive side, anyone can sign up for the Driver Training Centre and hone their skills at Zwartkops. Plus, the club has races every month. Last weekend was the Pro Tour Series and the WesBank Super Series is on May 26, followed by Inland Cars & Bikes on June 16.

Contact: Call Melanie Spurr on 0123842291 or 0794697511. For e-mail contacts or info, visit www.zwartkops.co.za.

Directions: From Jo'burg, take the N14 highway travelling east. Take the R55/Pretoria West off-ramp and turn left. Travel in a northerly direction on the R55 and you will find Zwartkops Raceway on your left.