EVERYONE chooses their coolest photo for their Facebook or Instagram profile.
It’s almost law.
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As they top their last achievement, so too do they upgrade their thumbnail image.
They start with their marathon time, then in three months they’re jumping out a of plane. Then a year later they’re in a supercar.
Makes me wish I’d kept my eyes on George Russell’s profile.
He starts today’s Bahrain Formula 1 GP in the same machinery as team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Check out his social media channels and you’ll see him top to toe in Mercedes-AMG Petronas teamwear.
But exactly eight years ago Russell’s ride was a Citroen 2CV.
I s**t you not.
From that, he graduated to a Peugeot 206 GTI as he contested a string of one-off races to upgrade his motorsport licence.
Now we all know you have about the same odds of being an astronaut as you have of being an F1 driver.
But Russell is proof it can happen. And even if it doesn’t, what’s the harm in finding your thrills in a cheap-as-chips racing series?
My mate Matt Anderson was spending a few quid on track days when he realised for not much more he could be racing in the 206 GTI Cup, like Russell did in 2014.
‘We share the buzz’
He bought a T-reg (1999) 206 GTI on Facebook for £800, spent about £2,700 making it race-ready, and now he sleeps in the back of his Transit towing it to places like Brands Hatch and Silverstone.
In fact, he’ll be racing at Silverstone in July, two weeks after the British F1 Grand Prix.
Matt, 36, an electrical contractor, said: “It’s good, cheap, fun, adrenaline.
“One set of tyres should last the season. I bought a set of alloys for £50 and painted them. Then you’ve got your race entry costs, race fuel, van fuel and maybe a set of brake pads.
“There’s not much else towards the upkeep of the car during the season. Everything else you do over the winter.”
Matt has watched F1 from the grandstands at Silverstone, after his dad Ian (and chief mechanic) won VIP tickets in an Air Ambulance raffle.
Now he’s bursting to race there himself — and hopefully make it to the top step of that famous podium. His best result was second at Mallory Park last year.
Matt said: “It’s going to be mega racing on the same bit of tarmac as Hamilton and Verstappen and Mansell and Schumacher and all of those legends.
“And I’ll be doing it in a car that costs less than the side pods on an F1 car. There’s all sorts of drivers in the 206 GTI Cup, from 18-year-olds up to people in their late 50s. We all share the same passion and buzz for it.
“One guy used to race in the Porsche Carrera GT Cup. He didn’t want the intensity of that any more but he still had the itch to go racing.
“Others use it as a stepping stone to progress. The BMW 116 Trophy has caught my eye. I might look at that next year or the year after but obviously the costs will go up.”
Yeah, but your Facebook photo will look way cooler.
- For more on the 206 GTI Cup go to trackattackraceclub.com. Thank you to Blyton Park for giving us track time for the photoshoot.
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