“The big thing was the gears,” says Searle. “My ordinary car is automatic. So it took a bit of getting used to. Now, it’s second nature.”
As he watches his drivers take turns to roar out of the garage in the team’s two Beetles, Player explains why it was important for Brit to be a business proposition rather than simply rely on donations.
“In the real world you can’t go racing for free,” he insists. “If you really want to make it happen, you have to work for it.” The drivers, he says, relish the process, mixing with sponsors on race days, liaising with the mechanics, constantly trying to diminish their lap times. The fact their future is determined by performance, he adds, is a hugely beneficial thing.
“If we just threw money at them, they wouldn’t have to improve as drivers. And as human beings.”
For Warren McKinley the improvement has been stark. He was serving in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers when, 12 years ago, he had a motorcycle accident, hitting a tree at 60mph. The physical toll was so severe – a broken pelvis, broken leg, most of his ribs shattered – initially the damage to his brain went undetected. But he was suffering badly: for 15 months he was convinced he had died in the crash and was in purgatory, awaiting his final destination.