Alan Gow was given the opportunity to drive NGTC machinery for the first time this week when Rob Austin and HMS Racing invited the Series Director to sample their Alfa Romeo Giulietta during Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship testing at Snetterton.
In a thirty minute session, Gow enjoyed the performance of modern BTCC machinery during the tyre test where he was running soft Dunlop tyres for his experience.
His time driving the Alfa Romeo will be detailed with features in Autosport and Motorsport News in August.
A former racer himself in his native Australia, Alan has since competed as a guest in certain races. His last competitive outing happened earlier this year when he took part in the Citroen C1 24Hours at Rockingham.
Speaking of his experience. Gow told Autosport, “The speed on the straights is something that you can get used to quite easily.
“The most impressive part of the car is the turn-in and the braking, which is phenomenal, but I was nowhere near the limit of the car.
“I was cautious in the high-speed corners like Riches and Coram – especially as it wasn’t my car – but was able to get a good feel for the ability of the car.”
As well as getting a feel of the car, he also found out what the drivers have to go through in order to be competitive in his series.
“It was a great insight into how the cars work and the amount of effort the drivers have to put in – boy, it was hot inside the cockpit and I wasn’t anywhere near the limit that you would need to be physically to get a really good lap time from the car,
“Having said that, I think I will stick to my day job of running the series.
“I am just glad I managed to bring the HMS Alfa Romeo back in one piece – and thanks to team boss Simon Belcher and Rob Austin for letting me loose.”