In our last outing, Lachlan jumped into my Circuit Excel and had a crack at driving a tin-top. This time, we swapped roles. Lachlan entrusted me with his Formula Vee — the same car he’s been racing all year in the South Australian Championship — and lined up a test day at Mallala Motorsport Park.
It’s been about four years since I last drove a formula car, so this was a proper step outside my comfort zone. No race pressure, no stopwatch stress — just a test day — but there was still one big thing on my mind: this is Lachlan’s pride and joy. I needed to look after it.
Before we even turned a wheel, the first problem became obvious… I don’t fit.
I’m a bit taller than Lachlan, and his car runs a particularly narrow chassis. Getting in was a squeeze, and once strapped in, it suddenly felt very real. We loosened belts, shifted things around, and even questioned whether my helmet shape was wrong for the space. In the end, we made it work — but it was clear this wasn’t going to be a perfect ergonomic match.
To make it happen at all, Lachlan’s seat came out and I ended up sitting on a yoga mat against the firewall. Not ideal, but good enough to turn some laps.
Rolling out of pit lane for the first time, I took the out-laps nice and steady. Straight away, two things stood out:
First — the wind.
Having spent the whole season in a tin-top, I wasn’t ready for how hard the airflow pushes your head back in an open-wheel car.
Second — the pedals.
Everything is stiffer than the Excel. The clutch has real weight to it, and the brake pedal barely moves, but needs a lot more pressure than I’m used to.
The biggest challenge though? Space.
Every gear change meant shifting my leg out of the way just to fit my hand between my thigh and the chassis. At Turn 2, a left-hander, I could only keep one hand on the wheel because my left hand physically couldn’t get past my leg.
Coming onto my first proper flying lap, the thing that really hits you is just how quick this car feels. It’s incredibly light, and Lachlan reckons Turn 1 can be taken flat. I… did not have the confidence for that yet.
What I did love was being back in a rear-wheel-drive car. You can feel the balance through the throttle and really make it dance — something I’ve missed after a full year of front-wheel-drive racing.
Unfortunately, some drama up the road brought the session to an early end, cutting short any chance of a clean lap. Heading back into pit lane, you really notice just how low these cars sit — everything feels close to the ground.
The boys were incredibly supportive, but the truth was obvious: the lap times weren’t great. I wasn’t carrying enough corner speed, and this car has far more grip than I was trusting. That trust just wasn’t there yet.
And yes — cue the driver excuses — not fitting properly made it harder. Without proper seat support, I wasn’t getting clean feedback through my body. Instead of “bum feel,” I was just being thrown around inside the cockpit.
Still, it was time to keep going and try to make the most of the day.
As the laps went on, the solid rear axle started to make sense. It gets loose over bumps, but honestly, that just adds to the fun. This thing is an absolute blast to hustle around.
We worked through traffic, pieced together what felt like my best lap of the day (with no official timing, just Lachlan’s phone), and gradually built confidence. I was still a few seconds off Lachlan’s pace — no surprise there — but every lap was a learning experience.
At the end of the day, this car is everything you want a race car to be:
Light.
Raw.
Rear-engine.
Rear-wheel-drive.
And ridiculously fun.
Huge thanks to Lachlan for trusting me with his Formula Vee. That’s not something you take lightly, and I really appreciate it.
