ABU DHABI // I sat in my white Nissan Tiida hatchback, its tyres squealing under braking as it dived into a tight right turn, clipped the kerbing and then powered away at full throttle as it passed under the Yas Marina Hotel. The little car was capable of only 160kph on the straights but was still keeping up with the Mustang GT ahead of me, through the turns, thanks to superb handling by the driver.
Then my driving instructor, Saeed al Mehairi, pulled the car into the pit lane and swapped seats with me. It was my turn to take on the track. Mr al Mehairi, 22, an Emirati and UAE touring car driver, was at the track to teach drivers who had booked a session with an experienced instructor. Most of those in my group who had signed up for the morning "novice" session were out on their own, trying to learn the racing lines behind a track pace car.
"You need to be very smooth," Mr al Mehairi had said as he hit the brakes and timed his turns to hit the apex of corners. "You have to be very close to the apex and go full throttle out of the turn. Racing is all about the smoothness of your hand." It was sound advice, but advice that, for the most part, I could not follow. My previous driving experiences had not prepared me for negotiating a racetrack's chicanes and hairpin turns.
Straight-line speed, slow as it was compared with the Porsches on the track, was not a problem; controlling the car under braking was. Yellow cones had been placed around the circuit to signal when a driver should begin making a turn. But despite constant encouragement from Mr al Mehairi, I repeatedly cut the car too sharply and found myself struggling and sometimes failing to stay on the paved track as I exited the turns.
The night before, I had watched a clip of former Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton's pole-winning lap during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He flew around the circuit in 1min40.948sec. A colleague watching from the stands had clocked me on his stopwatch - I came in at 3min46sec. There were times when I felt I was being "smooth" and executing my turns. But, for the most part, I found myself apologising, through a huge grin, for not driving close enough to the centre of the turn.
"Don't worry, just enjoy driving," Mr al Mehairi said. "You can bring any car and enjoy it around here." That was one piece of advice I had no trouble following. mchung@thenational.ae
