What happens when you combine science, passion, dedication, and a desire to seemingly bend the laws of physics in the pursuit of lap time? Most recently, I was fortunate enough to find out…
Entering Donington Park on a sunny spring morning, I had the excitement of a spring lamb first out of the shed. It was my first time at a racetrack since the British GT season finale at Silverstone last December. Simply being at the track was exciting enough, and the smell of burning rubber and race fuel really got my heart pumping. I had a different experience lined up for the day and it was one I was thoroughly looking forward to.
For the whole of 2020, I had heard that the Praga R1 had been destroying the opposition in the Britcar Championship, beating competition like fully fledged GT3 cars similar to the McLaren 720S GT3 I’d raced last season, and even a £1m Brabham BT62. Today was the day I’d finally get to see what all the fuss was about!
In its appearance, the R1 looked like it had come straight from a sci-fi movie set. Big wings, ultra-low ride height; aesthetically the Praga R1 in the base carbon it was running on the day looked like the lovechild of a Le Mans Prototype and the Star Wars X-wing. I’d never driven a single seater car and it was a very different experience climbing into a much more Formula-esque seating position. Sitting so low to the ground definitely took a few laps of familiarisation.
The Praga R1 was first launched in 2011, where it raced in the Dutch Supercar challenge series. Since then, the car has had top to bottom improvements including engine, aero and chassis updates which makes this car feel out of this world to drive. The corner entry speed you can carry simply redefines the sense of connection between you and the car. No electronic driver aids here. This is raw, simple, and astonishing. In my 12 years of racing, nothing has given me the confidence that the R1 gave me out of the box. Its 320bhp 4-cylinder engine, though powerful, wasn’t scary and the chassis gave me the confidence to really lean on the limit of grip out of corners. Cars as light as this can sometimes have a tendency to be twitchy when you push the limits but the R1s chassis gave me a great understanding of where the limit was and as a result this car is a truly incredible experience. Every other car on this test day at Donington was unable to hold a candle to the R1s; Group C Jaguars and Sauber-Mercedes, an ex IMSA LMP900 Reynard and old GT1 cars from the late 2000s, nothing could keep up!
If you’re looking for a fast car, it’s easy to look at big brands, and I can name many who sell great drivers cars. However, what I can guarantee is that none of them will be like the Praga R1. The R1 is simply on another level in terms of performance and driver engagement. When it comes to racing, you could spend 10 times the cost of the R1 and end up still being lapped endlessly by this car. It’s a machine for the purest of racing enthusiasts and for that reason I cannot wait to race this car on occasions this season.
