Superperson yardstick

Sir,

Firstly, following various readers’ letters on the subject of the Ford Capri 3.0S, I purchased in March this year a nice new shiny black one and have been agreeably surprised by this performance and value-for-money package. It would be interesting to see a road test on this car within your pages as I would guess it to be the cheapest performance car available today.

Secondly, having been a reader of Motor Sport for some years, I feel that excellent as the race reports are, they lack one vital ingredient for me and that is a yardstick by which to judge the expertise of the racing driver. Is he a superman (sorry, superperson) who would lap the likes of you and I in the first lap of the race, or would the competent enthusiast, after some practice, be within 5-1 o seconds per lap? In other words, what margin exists between them and us?

I for one just do not know but feel that this knowledge would give me greater insight into the state of the art of motor racing as it exists today.

I would find a report in Motor Sport on, say, the day’s activities in letting average “Joe” loose in a Formula One car absolutely riveting.

Would this be a tall order or could Motor Sport arrange such a test? If so, I would happily volunteer to be in the driving seat, as if you hadn’t guessed!

Staunton-on-Wye A. E. EVANS

(Unfortunately, Formula One cars don’t grow on trees and insurers aren’t quite so daft as recent correspondence has suggested, Mr. Evans! -Ed.)