Taking to the Hillclimb with McLaren at FoS

The process begins long before you’re holding on for dear life as you’re slingshotting off the start line. I was down at the McLaren stand for 9am sharp for formalities and admin. After some waiting, we meander down to the Supercar Paddock to get ready for the run. Cars needed to be warmed, last minute checks done and helmets allocated. Strolling in as everyone else was being ushered out compounded the building anticipation. The eerie silence of the near-abandoned paddock was broken by the sound of the 650S Can-Am spluttering into life. The growl of the exhaust and the chirp of the turbochargers echoed throughout the makeshift displays. One by one, 675LT, P1 GTR, 570 Sprint and 570S woke from their slumbers. Time to clamber in.

For our journey out and down the famous Hillclimb to the startline we would be in the capable hands of British GT driver Joe Osborne, but he wouldn’t be properly peddling for another 40 minutes. As we trundled out of the paddocks in the queue of exotica on our way to the start, the cars were belching out heat with the revving and burnouts. It was all rather juvenile, and therefore excellent. The further down the trail we moved, the thinner the tree cover got, and the crowds began to materialise. Out we drove onto the starting straight of the Goodwood Hillclimb, and the machines we previously saw disappearing off into the queue were lined up on the other side of the road, patiently waiting their turn. A bit of skidding and loitering in the turning circle, but before long we were on the start line. Off we thrashed with the twin-turbo V8 surging us forward. A twitch of sideways around the first turn indicates Joe isn’t holding back.

The 570 is rapid and tractable, rifling through the gears and moulding like putty in the palm of Joe’s hands. Though the ‘entry’ Sports Series model, the 570 is no less serious a performance car than its esteemed siblings. The V8 absolutely screams and the MSO gold heat-shielding in the engine is working overtime. Molecomb creeps up like it always does and the McLaren hangs on. The Chicane and the Flint Wall are surprisingly less intimidating – you’re through them before you have time to be scared. Just like that, you’re on the long straight hammering up towards the fast left and the finish. You won’t be surprised to read fifty to sixty seconds goes quite quickly.

The collecting area is surreal. Performance cars swarming like hornets, ready to plunge back down the hill. A few quick squirts, waves to all the fans and a trundle back down into the Supercar Paddock completed our run. So what’s it like on the other side of the bales? Needless to say it’s an absolute and unequivocal rush.

Photography by Tom Shaxson and Tim Brown