The six hours from 5am on August 15, 2019. I’d like to tell you about them, although my reasoning is hardly honorable. You see, I chiefly want to tell myself about them, so when I get older and more decrepit, I can search for this story online and simply remember.
Because I can’t believe how lucky I was. Every day since, I have picked up my phone and watched two clips: one showing Hyundai’s World Rally Championship car doing a full stage launch, the other of it pinned and pivoting through a pair of corners. And I’m driving. And I have to pinch myself. Normally, every story we do involves compromise: It rarely pans out exactly how we want and almost never exceeds our expectations, because we set them so high. But on this occasion...
It started back in March with a phone call to Hyundai WRC. Would the team be up for sending a WRC car to us in Portimão? Yes, it would. There’s a catch: Although it’s a track test, we want it in full gravel trim, because it’s just funnier. Race teams don’t usually understand funnier, only faster, but Hyundai has a sense of humor. “No problem,” came the reply. Oh, and can we have it with all the trimmings—awning, jacks, mechanics, and so on? “Of course—do you want a driver, too?” Uh, we’d rather not.