Britian's best driver's car 2021: and the winner is...

With its huge power-to-weight ratio advantage and being the only car on Michelin Cup 2 R tyres for its timed laps, the SF90 Stradale did exactly what it should have done by going almost four seconds quicker than its next-quickest challenger around the Anglesey Coastal circuit. It was the fastest car on test, and we didn’t need timing gear to know it. Having that gear, however, meant we knew where it was quickest: under power, pulling an enormous 10mph advantage into braking for Rocket. It was beaten for apex speed only once, and then only narrowly, at the Bus Stop. 

The battle for second quickest was closely fought, and probably went the way of the GT3 only because of the Atom’s tendency to lock its front wheels on the downhill run towards Corkscrew. All of our cars had the same five to eight laps to set a time, but the Atom really demanded more – and would have given a quicker lap time if we’d adjusted and indulged it. 

The Lamborghini would probably have been involved at the sharp end were it not for Sant’Agata asking us not to time the car because it could send neither proper track tyres nor technicians to Anglesey. 

Meanwhile, the intervention of rain made the times of the Mini Oselli and the Peugeot 508 slightly slower than they might have been. Elsewhere, worthy mention goes to the Caterham for the fourth-quickest apex speed around Church bend, and to the Mini for beating the heavier, more electronically governed Peugeot at both of our mid-corner speed traps. Even in 2021, light continues to be right when it comes to changing direction, although it’s clearly no longer the only way to win.