Hot laps

If you are going to be chauffeured around a race circuit, it might as well be by someone who really knows what they are doing. Nobody would argue about whether this man does. Any motorsport fan will instantly recognise the great DC - former Formula One driver turned television F1 pundit David Coulthard, winner of 13 Grands Prix.

For four hot laps of Goodwood, DC was at the wheel of a fabulous £244,000 Mercedes SLS AMG Coupe Black Series, with upward-opening gullwing doors, a 6.2 litre V8 engine, 196 mph top speed and 0-62 mph sprint time of just 3.2 seconds. Tightly strapped into the passenger seat, with a permanent smile from the sheer exhilaration of being driven at such scorching pace by a maestro, was ... well, you've guessed it.

When I say hot laps, I mean literally. By the time we returned to the pitlane of the Sussex race track, there were flames licking out from the brakes. So DC had to cool his heels, as well as the car, before heading out to impress his next passenger.

For the rest of the day, along with other invited motoring writers, I was behind the wheel of various AMG Mercedes with race instructors alongside us to talk us through getting the best out of the cars and the circuit. This could well be the most memorable day of 2014.