PRO DIARIES: ANTHONY DUNN – RADICAL CHAMPION
We caught up with Anthony Dunn, one of the country’s best Performance Track Driving Instructors and an accomplished Racing Driver. In his 20 years of experience in the motorsport industry, Anthony has achieved many race victories including those in the Radical, which you can enjoy an experience for yourself with Anthony right here at Extreme Element.
Hi Anthony, thanks for talking to us today. So what makes the Radical so awesome, and what do the competitions consist of?
The great things about Radical Sports Cars are the aerodynamic grip, nimbleness and balance. It’s a terrific car to drive – easy to pick up, but hard to master. But mainly it’s just great fun! Racing in one depends on the level you compete in; either Club, National or European. Invariably each race or stint will be around 20 minutes – so if 2 drivers are sharing we would each do 20 mins of a 40 minute race.
How did you get into Racing?
Like many racing drivers, I started with Karting. But I was a bit older than the average, as I started when I was 18. Most racers nowadays start at 6…or even younger!
Has 2011 been a good year for you?
Any year of racing is a good year! But seriously, it’s been up & down. We have shown excellent pace but the final results haven’t shown it. My team mate (and ‘student’) Timothy is really improving though, so a good result won’t be far away.
What will the rest of the year hold for you?
More coaching & racing in the UK for a couple of months, then hopefully somewhere warm (or really icy) over the winter. In between enjoying time at home with my wife and new baby daughter.
Great stuff and congratulations on the new born! Where in the UK would you say are the best places for Track Driving & Radical Racing?
Well, Silverstone or the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit are personal favourites of mine. I also love Croft…but that’s mainly because it’s 25 mins from home and I hold the Radical SR3 lap record there!
How often do you practice, and what does your training involve?
To be honest, just driving and passengering in racing cars keeps you as fit as you need to be for the short stints that we do.
What has been your best memory in motor sport, and in the Radical?
Taking on the SR8’s and beating them in an SR3 at Croft in 2007 during our British Championship winning year. Plus, taking the lead of the SR3 class against the best fellow Pro’s in Europe at the Silverstone round was pretty special.
Have you ever been injured?
In a racing car thankfully not. I had a freak throttle stick open once into Stowe Corner & crashed at 140mph. But thankfully the car was so strong all I did was knock my head & get slightly blurred vision. It was fine though and I raced the next day. This was however only two weeks after breaking my collar bone on a motorbike at the same corner… but that’s a different story!
Have there been any big developments in Track Racing during your time, and do you see any coming in the future?
The ‘Pro-Amateur’ classes of racing like Radicals have really taken off in the last 20 years. And in the next 20 years I see 2 things coming: electric cars and female drivers!
What could somebody expect from a driving experience in the Radical with you?
The best car driving experience they could ever imagine! Hands-on driving at speeds you wouldn’t have thought possible, in a car that makes it possible to appreciate what motor sport is all about!
What tips would you advise for people looking to get started in competitions?
Firstly, do lots of research – don’t just jump at the first thing you see. Go and watch the events and talk to the people doing it. When possible, try before you buy – And finally; Don’t bite off more than you can chew – make sure you can dedicate the time to doing it properly and you can (at least just about) afford to do it!
If you’re interested in the ultimate track driving experience, why not try a Radical Experience with Anthony Dunn – they don’t come much faster!
We also caught up with Dave Tilley who runs the Radical Experiences at Unique Track Days, and he was excited to show us this video of Anthony demonstrating immense skill at Silverstone recently:
Dave Tilley of Unique Track Days:
“Firstly, Anthony was playing around with camera views and so the HD camera is in the small box on the left of the video… so the main video is not the normal quality, but good enough all the same to show you some pretty extreme driving indeed!
What makes this video special is that it was filmed on an Extreme Element’s customer experience day which followed the weekend of the Radical Race Series at Silverstone – so Anthony was thoroughly dialled in and knew the circuit extremely well. Besides this video almost looking like its running in fast forward, there are 3 areas of specific interest I think are worthy of highlighting:
1) The video starts as Anthony goes down the Wellington straight, coming out of the long right hander of Luffield and onto the pit straight – and now it gets interesting…. he takes Copse corner completely flat out! Running out of track on the exit and taking some & and greencrete to boot, pretty hairy stuff! At least Extereme Element’s customer J Blackwell thought so!
2) As Anthony passes the new pits on the right, the next corner is Abbey – which he takes at just short of 120mph. When Anthony set the fastest lap during the race weekend, he took it at 129mph, so as a customer experience; it doesn’t get any closer than this as to what it really feels like to be racing for real!
3) The 2nd attempt at Copse corner, showing it can be done flat out and this time Anthony nails the exit, only taking a lot of curb this time.
You may also notice as he breezes past a race prepared Ferrari during one of the laps. Even a car such as this would not get through copse anything like flat out, as Radicals have so much aero downforce, they are just not comparable to anything else out there.”
Many thanks for talking to us today Anthony & Dave, and the best of luck for future races!
