Australian science author and commentator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has explored the world of V8 Supercars after being treated to a hot lap behind the Orrcon Steel Ford of Mark Winterbottom.
Having never experienced the thrill of a high-speed lap inside the cockpit of a V8 Supercar, Dr Karl was immediately impressed on completion of his hot lap with the man currently second in the V8 Supercars Championship.
“I used to do a bit of rally driving back in my day but I’ve never experienced something like that before,” Dr Karl said.
“It’s really impressive what he’s [Winterbottom] doing in his office to make everything work.
“The ride was physical but intimate and you’re really feeling it through the body as you’re getting thrown from side to side.
“The amazing part is Frosty is other side changing gears without using the clutch as the engine switches off for 45 milliseconds every time he touches the gear stick – the whole thing is just an incredible work of art.” Dr Karl added.
As a special guest of Orrcon Steel Racing, Kruszelnicki spent the day inside the garage of Ford Performance Racing where he was given in-depth insight into the engineering side of the sport thanks to several key members of Ford’s factory squad.
“We listen to Dr Karl’s show on Triple J every Thursday in the workshop so it was great to have such a technically minded guy as a guest of FPR for the day and be able to to teach him a couple of things,” commented FPR engine performance and event supervisor Justin Way.
“He was very intrigued by every aspect of the car and team and by the end of the day was quite astonished by how much engineering goes into building one of our FPR V8 Supercars.”
