Crash course

Driving the track where Norris's F1 career began

- Sammy Gecsoyler

Monaco, Las Vegas, Singapore. The list of pit stops on Lando Norris’s road to the top of Formula One is like a luxury travel agent’s catalogue.

So when I was asked to trace the young man’s journey, as he stands just one race away from potentially becoming the first British champion driver since Lewis Hamilton, my hopes were high.

As the taxi pulled up outside the Clay Pigeon Raceway in Dorchester, however, my excitement was taken down a few gears.

It may seem an inauspicious place to nurture the talent of those who will become some of the most glamorous, fiery competitors in sport, but here, in the shadow of an industrial estate 10 miles from Yeovil, is where a growing number of Formula One stars are made.

As well as Norris, Phil Hanson and Jenson Button sped and skidded around the track as children.