PH's Evo prepares to take on the 4.2-mile track
Last weekend, the Royal Armoured Corp's Bovington tank test track was opened for a charity track day in support of Help for Heroes. It was the first time that such a large section of the facility - 4.2 miles of track to be exact - had been opened to the public. And thanks to the hard work of all those involved, and the enthusiasm and generosity of the attendees, the day raised more than £10k.
The inspiration for the event came in 1995 when organiser Jim Cameron was piloting a tank - not a bad day job - around Bovington Camp's undulating concrete tank test track when he spotted a young lady in a soft-top MG driving alongside on a perimeter road. Being young and testosterone-filled, the tank crew decided to do a spot of showboating, keeping up with the MG driving on the road parallel to that part of the track.
Not your usual lunchtime entertainment...
All was going swimmingly until Jim approached a fairly sharp left hander - too fast. The tank got round the corner - at a slip angle of 45 degrees - just in time to see the camp commandant coming the other way in a Land Rover. Jim was on extras for a month, but the idea had been born and, with Jim now a major in the Royal Armoured Corps, his idea has finally come to fruition.
We took the PH long-term Evo X FQ-360 along to put it - and the track - through its paces. You'll be able to read more about the Evo's ability's in our next long-term report, but for now it will suffice to say that its grip, four-wheel drive traction and lag-free turbo power was enough to embarrass some quite exotic machinery.
Wide track, but not much run-off...
As for the track itself, Major Jim billed it as a cross between the Nurburgring, Cadwell Park and Donington. The undulating tree-lined concrete track with its odd cambers and blind crests certainly had echoes of the Green Hell, but the tricky low-speed cone chicanes placed at regular intervals (necessary to avoid very high speeds and the potential for a serious off-track excursion and quite fun to negotiate) lent the circuit a whiff of the M25 in roadworks season.
There was a huge variety of machinery in evidence, from the most humble of Mazda MX-5s (it was a Mazda on Track event, after all), to a Ford GT40 and a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Wacky track tool of the day definitely went to the 443bhp supercharged Ford F150 Harley Davidson, though.
Even some heavy rain after lunch didn't do too much to dampen spirits at this unique event, especially since we'd all just been treated to a spectacular display of the abilities of a Challenger 2 tank - now that's not something you get during the lunch break of a normal track day. Roll on the next one!
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