As director of Radio Show Limited, ‘Hindy’ and his team are renowned for world-class, live online streaming of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to millions across the globe, IMSA radio in America, the Nürburgring 24 Hours and Hankook 24 Hours Series, to name a few flagship championships and events.
Hindhaugh has dabbled in the odd GT and sportscar outing amid his hectic broadcasting schedule, and Donington Park won’t be his first foray competing on Hankook tyres, having ranked an outstanding second in the 2017 Hankook 24H CoTA SP3 class for Aston Martin Lagonda alongside Andy Palmer, Peter Cate and Paul Hollywood. However, John’s Radical Challenge debut will be his first opportunity to master a prototype sportscar with downforce.
Emerging for his first test day in the SR3 on Thursday (4 April), complete with one-to-one tuition with Radical genius Roger Bromiley, Hindy had this to say:
“I can now understand why people buy them (SR3) and just want to do laps and laps. It’s intoxicating. I think it was Danny O’Sullivan who said, ‘adrenalin is the drug you can’t buy’. Well, you can, and you spell it ‘Radical’!
“I thought I wouldn’t be quick enough for the SR3, I didn’t think I’d be good enough for it and everything would happen too fast. My preconception, having not done any amount (of driving a car with downforce) or competed in a single seater, I thought I’d be too old for this, I won’t be able to keep up with the car, but the way Roger has taken me through the day has allowed me to build up my confidence very quickly.
“What I’ve come away with is how forgiving the car is, how it transmits all the right feelings and the noise is outstanding, particularly as you’re about to change gear at nearly 10,000 revs. Have I dropped it a couple of times? Yes, I have, but even making those mistakes has helped the learning process. I can’t think of another car like this that I would have had the confidence to come and do this in.
“When you guys asked me to do it, I had a big long think about it because I don’t have any of this type of downforce experience. So I asked a few drivers that I know in the States and over here, had a word with Alex Kapadia (a former Radical champ) and everybody said, ‘no you must do it because you’ll love it’. We had Patrick Dempsey (ALMS/Le Mans stalwart and team co-owner) on the show last night and I told him I was driving the SR3, and Patrick said, ‘tell me it’s an SR3, you’ll love it.’ So, the reputation of the car goes before it and those comments gave me the confidence to come here.
“It's about driving it properly, not taking liberties, getting yourself set up before you get the car turned in, getting the gear shifts done and on the brakes hard, getting off the brake not trailing, basically it’s proper driving technique. In a world where electronics has taken over everything, isn’t it nice to go back to an analogue car?
“Honestly, you could spend four, five, ten times as much money, not have as much fun and not feel as though you’ve learned something. The SR3 is a thoroughly enjoyable, proper, accessible racing car that you can be a bit scared of when you get in to it, but it will allow you to go along at your own pace. I think it’s a great product. And the fact that you guys run the race series for it as well is absolutely the best way to do it. I don’t want this day to end. We all work in this business that’s sometimes hard work, you’re away a lot, you don’t see your home, it’s another hotel, and once in a while something comes along that brightens up your life and you go ‘that was a great day today’.
“So thank you very much!”
John will join the Radical Challenge action at Donington Park, with qualifying at 09.05 on Saturday morning. The first of two 50-minute endurance races will take place at 11:15 ahead of a 20-minute sprint battle at 13.20. Hindhaugh will tackle the weekend’s final endurance race at 11.00 on Sunday (all timings remain provisional). Live timing is available via www.tsl-timing.com. Race highlights will also be available from the Radical Sportscars Facebook page, and via the new Radical TV YouTube channel.
You can enjoy John's full interview below.