When it comes to a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, driving a 203mph McLaren GT across a frozen lake in Lapland takes some beating…
Words Nigel Russell Photography McLaren Automotive Ltd
CARS
If there’s one place on earth where a supercar would be an unexpected sight, it’s Ivalo in Finland, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle and just 30 miles from the Russian border — much closer than feels comfortable right now. Here, amid fresh snow piled high, magnificent pine trees and seemingly endless horizons is Jávri Lodge, my accommodation for the next few days and once home to Finland’s longest-serving president.
I have come to enjoy McLaren’s Arctic Experience — one of several amazing trips McLaren offer as part of their Pure McLaren programme — which challenges drivers to learn to drift the £165,000, 203mph McLaren GT around a number of circuits carved onto one of Finland’s famous frozen lakes, safe in the knowledge that there is very little to hit if it all goes wrong. With a set of studded ice tyres, a perfectly balanced chassis, a low centre of gravity and awesome performance, the 612bhp mid-engined supercar is surprisingly right at home tearing across a frozen lake in the Arctic.
I’m allocated a McLaren Driver Coach who will guide me on my driving, giving advice and techniques when needed, first demonstrating how to tackle each circuit, then sitting calmly in the passenger seat while I attempt to replicate the feat. Former FIA Formula Two champion and film stunt driver Luciano Bacheta is my coach. He’s seemingly cool and unflappable as we make our way to the first circuit, a simple circle designed to teach drivers how to hold a slide.
For starters, you must forget almost everything you’ve ever been taught about driving on the road. Though it seems like it should be easy, the biggest challenge is getting the rear of the car to slide while stopping the front from sliding. The trick is to accelerate hard to gather some speed and get the rear wheels spinning, then by applying a dab to the brakes and with a flick of the steering wheel to unbalance the car, you should find yourself sideways. From there, it’s all about the small, balanced adjustments between the throttle to keep the rear wheels spinning and counter-steering into the slide, keeping traction through the front wheels and the car sideways.
After a while and only a few minor spins — if you don’t spin, you’re really not trying hard enough — I progress from the simpler oval circuits to more complicated race-track configurations with a mixture of hairpins and long, sweeping bends where the
