Check out the “teaser” mood reel here:

For more info on project Fast Lane, contact:

Tim Fung
tim.fung@amaysim.com.au

Tristan Drummond
tris.drummond@gmail.com

A big thanks to Jerry Yam at Hot 4s and Narada and the boys from Circuit Club - an awesome training ground to learn how to race your street car!

You can download the article now or buy a copy of the June issue of Top Gear Australia (or New Zealand). Check it out!

L: In front of the Mclaren pit garage, from pit lane!!
R: Me and Lowndesy - thanks mate!

After flying in from a shoot with Top Gear in Sydney on Friday, we were greeted at the entrance to the F1 paddock and given special VIP paddock passes by some of the staff from Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes F1 Team. We then walked through the paddock and arrived at the entrance to the Mclaren garage where we were told not to take any photos inside and especially no photos of the rear end of the car, which the Mclaren guy said was a “sensitive” issue at the moment. Sorry guys, absolutely no sneaky ones either!!

After going past a bunch of offices and workshop rooms full of Mclaren engineers, mechanics and alot of equipment (40 tonnes apprently!!), we arrived in the front part of the garage where the cars are parked (that’s the only bit of the huge garage that you get to see on TV). The mechanics were putting the final touches on Jenson and Lewis’ cars and talking to the engineers who work all night back at the Mclaren factory in England to make sure the car is ready for the race on Sunday. The car’s look super quick and the aero parts look like sharp blades!!

In the pit lane we were given some time to chat with the staff from Mclaren which was a really awesome experience!!! I definitely want to be driving those cars one day=)

We then met with Craig Lowndes from the Team Vodafone V8 Supercar team. He was really nice and gave me some great advice for racing, fitness and even some sponsorship. Good luck Craig for the season and all of your racing!!

Awesome weekend and now its off to Puckapunyal for the 2010 National Karting Championship…wish me luck!!!

Some more photos from the F1 paddock=)))

L: The very precious paddock pass=)
R: Entering the paddock…

L: Walking through the paddock to the Mclaren garage…
R: Ferrari team members (I think that’s the team principle, Stefan Domenicalli!!

L: The Red Bull pit garage…Go Mark!!!
R: The Mercedes GP it garage and some scary looking bouncers outside

…Spare tyres behind the Mclaren pit entry into the paddock

…The Pit Wall where the team bosses make the race decisions

…Jenson’s No. 1 car and the mechanics doing final preparations for the race

…Team equipment - 40 tonnes for Mclaren apparently!!

MET WITH MARK WEBBER: Met with Mark’s dad Alan last week and had a great chat about my career. Mark really has an awesome story about how hard he had to push to get all the way to F1…the road ahead for me is going to be tough but to drive those insane cars is going to be worth it=) Met with Mark again today at a local Queanbeyan event which was awesome and was even on Channel 9 news=)) Good luck to Mark this weekend in Melbourne! I will be there to watch=))

TOP GEAR KARTING SHOOT: Doing a head-to-head kart race with Andrew Chesterton, one of the guys from Top Gear Australia this Friday…more details to come=) Bring it on guys!! Chesto - here are some pics of your mega fast kart above=)) Good luck!!

FORMULA FORD TESTING: So last Thursday I did my third day of testing with the Anglo Motorsport Team…picked up 4 tenths off my previous best lap time and now on old tyres are down to the 1′03″8 which the team was quite pleased with=) Now its time to bolt on new tyres and really try and find out what the car can do this Thursday at my fourth test! I am testing alongside the team’s other driver, Spike, so I will let you know how I go!!

Me: How did the day go?
Warren: The day was great – I learnt a lot more about managing the gearbox and creating the mechanical grip of the car through the corners. Also, being the first time in the race car (compared to the practice car), the car was a lot smoother, faster and more balanced. In terms of times, I am still learning a lot about the differences between karting and formula racing. My times are about 0.4 seconds off the ultimate pace, which isn’t bad for my second day in the car=) The team has been happy with my performance because I am managing the car without any incidents and they know exactly where I can improve to be right on the pace – mainly just in using more trail braking to shift the weight on to the front tyres on turn in. So…a lot more to do but everything has been awesome so far=)

Me: What are the main differences between karting and Formula Ford?
Warren: The main difference is that a kart has just one speed and A LOT more grip and I can actually use my body weight and position to work more out of the kart. In the (formula) Ford its all about controlling the braking and using it to make the grip.

Me: So what do you do differently in the car compared to the kart?
Warren: In a car you sit much lower and are strapped in so you can’t move. The main step for me is that you need to “heel and toe” in a car (to match revs on the downshift) whereas in a go kart it’s all about being aggressive on the pedals and steering inputs.

Me: How is it working with a team of engineers, instead of you or your dad being the mechanic?
Warren: On all occasions there’s no difference because its critical to always work as a team!

Me: What were the main lessons that you learnt today?
Warren: Mmmmmm…today, I would say I learnt most about the gears and creating mechanical grip from the hard tyres!

Me: What are the main areas that you can improve on to find time?
Warren: The Formula Ford car has much softer suspension and a lot more weight to throw around versus a go kart. So the aim for me is to continue to brake deeper into the corner and use the weight of the car to push the nose down and get the load on to the front tyres to create middle corner grip.

Me: Did the track change much throughout the day?
Warren: In the morning, the track was slippery and cold but as the day got hotter, the grip levels improved.

Me: Do you do anything special to prepare yourself before you drive each session?
Warren: I plan out your lap and then eat something! Usually I spend about five minutes sitting by myself to think about how to improve the lap in terms of technique and driving line.

I wasn’t 100% comfortable in the previous seat so Tim Beale and the team are making me a custom seat for the new Spirit Formula Ford race car. They create the shape of the seat by pouring a wet plastic goo into a plastic bag down my back. I sat in the car for about 20 minutes to let the goo dry and set around my body shape in the position that I want to be seated in. Then once the goo had set and dried, we cut it down to size and spent some time adjusting the exact final position so that I will be ultra comfortable in the car for the next big test on Tuesday! Looking forward to my first run in the quicker car=)

So on 30 Jan, I did my first test with the Anglo Motorsport Formula Ford Team…

We headed out early to Wakefield Park and as usual, the weather looked like it would rain again, which, whilst fun, is not ideal for a first test with a new car and a new team!

We started the day with a briefing with my engineer, Aaron and Tim Beale, the team owner. They have data sensors all over the car that I am using (which isn’t the fully specced race car) so will keep track of my progress throughout the day. My seat was a little big and way too low, so that was the first thing to fix which we did by adding some padding around my back and hips and adjusting the pedals which can be moved back and forth to get the most comfortable position in the car.

I did a stint of laps around the full Wakefield Park circuit and started very cautiously to get a feel for the circuit. My first lap was in the 1m13 seconds but after about 3 laps I was able to get the time down to 1m5.9 secs, which is about 1s off what the car can do. Not bad considering that I wasn’t using the full revs of the engine=) After 35 laps though, my engine caught an oil leak which the team will need to take back to the workshop to have repaired. Next time, the team will be putting me up into the car that I will be driving this year which is a Spectrum RF01 and that car can go quite a bit quicker, probably right down into the low 1m4seconds!! Bring it on!!!

Also, just want to thank the guys at Circuit Club (www.circuitclub.com.au) who gave me a test in their Yokohama shod Honda S2000 last week. Testing in a road car at Circuit Club trackdays has really been awesome practice for making the move up from karts to race cars. Even though the Formula Ford car is quite alot quicker around the corners, the road car testing is really helping me learn to manage the extra weight and suspension on the road car, plus the much longer braking distances compared to karting… I’ll be testing the Circuit Club S2000 again to practice for my first time at a new track - Eastern Creek (at night!!! on 17 February) Hope to see you all there=)

Well here it is, the other side to being a race driver…fashion shoots!! Last week, I did a shoot for a wicked brand called Found who are supporting my racing program in 2010. Here are some behind-the-scenes and raw pre-touched photos…

Found makes awesome organic tees and jeans which you can buy at General Pants Co. Sweet!

Thanks also to Matt Mead Photography (www.mattmead.net) who did all the shooting on the day!!

Now it’s back to the track!!