Britain is known for its unpredictable rainy climate, but it seems that at Santa Pod Raceway the atmosphere is really hot.
You might expect the tons of cool cars to get the temperature down but the engine bays, the exhaust systems and the tires, glowing bright yellow through the thermal lens, tells us otherwise.
The tarmac is hot and sticky and it helps the tires get to their optimum drag-racing temperature in no time. Mind you, an old-fashioned burnout is still required, even if it lays a thick strip of glowing rubber on the track. The tires just turn bright yellow during wheel-spin in a matter of seconds.
In contrast with the hood, or side exhausts, a nitrous shot seems cold as ice; just look at that R33 Skyline purging the laughing gas out its nostril. Judging by its dark-blue color, the juice is pretty lifeless – but that’s how N20 should be in order to squeeze some additional horses from the engine.
It’s all fun and games until the big boys roll out. A jet powered dragster almost resets the camcorder, giving it instant new high-temperature values to comprehend. When it unleashes its blast, all the readings quickly drop in hue just to indicate the contrast between what’s really hot and what’s scorching.
But I’ll let you discover more for yourselves. I call dibs on the Fiat Polski – I mean the 126p.