McLAREN'S RUNNING START

THE HYBRID ARTURA IS A BOLD NEW CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND'S FINEST SUPERCAR MAKER.

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On track at Ascari in Spain in McLaren's new hybrid supercar, the 2023 Artura.

EVER WONDER HOW real racers find that brake point? The best can push it by a hundredth of a second or even a thousandth. I’ve asked a few how they do it, and the answers vary. But the truth is, finding that precise brake point is as impossible to describe as entropy or string theory. The driver knows how much aero and grip his race car has and what angle and condition the tarmac is affording him. Then, and only then, the Chief Commander in the Sky tells the driver’s brain to tell his toe to press the brake now.

Right about now, the pro-driving coach is shouting, "Brake now! Now! Now!"

The Chief Commander in the Sky has no such discussions with me. And my sense of grip in a car is as rudimentary as just about any automotive journalist’s. That’s why the Chief Commander invented carbon-ceramic brakes, Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, and a racing coach with a loud voice that shouts “Brake now! Now! Now!”

I’m in Spain at Ascari, a club track that mashes up all your favorite corners into one 3.5-mile ride with two hairpins that I just can’t quite figure out. I’m feeling confident because I have just spent two hours on the area’s mountain roads in the new McLaren Artura.

Carbon-ceramic discs and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires can make a mere mortal driver feel superhuman.