   2014 Radical SR3. Click image to enlarge |
Despite the car being built in the UK there is a very large Radical dealer situated in Pahrump, Nevada. Many phone calls and emails later and they were able to find me a car that suited me perfectly for a reasonable price. The import process was surprisingly painless and the dealer, Radical West, took care of preparing and shipping the car to the US border for me. It must be noted that since my purchase Radical has opened up shop in Canada in the Greater Toronto Area, making parts and vehicle availability even more palatable.
In fact, since my purchase Radical Canada has started a series, the Radical Cup Canada, which is run as part of the CASC-OR racing series in Ontario. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints and location (all but one of their races are held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park formerly Mosport), I’ll only be participating in one of those races this year.
So far I’ve only been behind the wheel of my SR3 a few times and there is no question that each time it is a learning experience as I condition my brain and body to deal with the massive g forces that the Radical can generate. The first time out in the SR3 was September last year, a week after I picked up the car – after driving the Radical for the first time slowly around the paddock I got nervous and perhaps wet my pants a little. What had I gotten myself into? Am I capable of driving this thing? Perhaps it’s a little more hard-core than I had imagined.
I strapped myself in tightly for a Formula Libre qualifying session, I told all the drivers in the driver’s meeting that they should expect me in the back of the pack figuring out the car and wetting my pants a little more.
I got on track and was very hesitant, keeping the revs down – the redline of the Suzuki Hayabusa 1340cc engine is 10,500 rpm, but I was shifting at 7,000 rpm, and that was just fine by me. But then a problem arose – the water temps started to drop, the oil temps started to drop and warning lights illuminated on the dash. Oh great – I guess I have to drive faster!
A few laps later and I was easily doing laps faster than I had ever done in any car before, but still 10 to 15 seconds off the car’s ultimate pace, but at least it wasn’t running too cold now. I came into the pits and stepped out of the car, a grin ear to ear adorned my face and everyone noticed – without any words, my face said: “Wow, what a machine!”
Turns out I qualified fifth in that race and finished fourth – not bad! Honestly I didn’t really care, I left the track that evening the happiest man alive and couldn’t wipe that grin off my face for days.
The visceral feel of the wind pushing your head back, the engine screaming in your ear as the intake sucks in air right behind your head, the braking and cornering potential and the direct steering feel are all absolutely spot on perfect. This car is built by drivers for drivers and there is no compromise, yet it is easy to drive. I even had the car sliding the first time out in the slow corners.
The Radical SR3 is a dream come true for a driving nut and track enthusiast. Bonus: it’s a very competitive racecar as well. The one-make series (for those that have the means) makes this vehicle even more exciting as the racing is close and fair.
There are certainly some downsides to this vehicle over a sedan. No roof means I get wet when it rains, I needed an enclosed trailer and truck to tow it to the racetrack (although some just rent garages at the track to avoid that hassle) and you can’t just pop into the car and drive away (there is maintenance and care that is required). But giving this car a little love is the least one can do to ensure that you have the most fun you can with your clothes on, race in and race out.
