Driven by passion: The Aston Martin way

I would hardly call myself a speed freak. But then it is not every day you get a chance to go for a spin in an Aston Martin DBR9. And I figured that since I wasn't doing the driving, all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride.

But those five minutes or so that I was out on the 5.39km track at the Dubai Autodrome were easily the closest I have come to undergoing an out-of-body experience.

Half an hour prior to the ride, I felt the need to brace myself for what lay in store by talking to team driver Darren Turner, who won the GT1 class at the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race earlier this year.

"Even before you move out, you'll be amazed at all the different feelings you'll get from the car," he told me fervently. "Once [the driver] lets the speed limit go, it will be a shock to the system. There won't be anything on the road that can match this car for acceleration. The biggest thing for people who don't race is the braking and corner speed because it takes place in such a short distance."

I had heard enough, now it was time to live it all. And after having the sheer pleasure of driving the Aston Martin V8 Vantage around the circuit, my appetite had been whetted.

A crew member ensured I was securely strapped in the passenger seat and driver Rickard Rydell shot me a "you ready mate?" look which I acknowledged with a grin. Then we were off.

As Rydell frantically went through the cycle of shifting gears, stepping on the gas and hitting the brakes all in a matter of seconds, his excited passenger was holding on for dear life and failing miserably in combating the G-forces at each kerb. The only time my body eluded the discomfort of being stretched in all directions was along the start-finish straight.

That lasted only till Rydell braked from 250km/h to 80km/h to make the first corner at which point I tugged at the belt even harder for fear of going straight through the windshield.

A couple of laps later, Rydell pulled into the pit lane and I found myself half-sad, half-relieved.

As I stepped out of the gleaming GT race car and back into the normal world, one thing in particular struck me, that grin had never left my face.

*What supercar would you like to take for a spin around the Autodrome? Vote in our poll.