Racing lines: A ride in the Aston Martin Valkyrie

The run was everything you would expect and more: a blur of violent punk-rock insanity. The explosion of acceleration, the ‘we’re never gonna stop; oh yes we are’ braking, the increasing grip from the Michelin road tyres as they began to generate some heat… In a world of grey banality and sensible dullness, thank goodness there’s still a sliver of space for such lunacy as the Valkyrie. Good work, Aston Martin – and chapeau, Mr Newey.

I was in safe hands, of course. True to his breed, Dumbreck was unflappable even when the tail snapped out (the traction control kicked in, much to the annoyance of his natural instincts). All in a day’s work, then – although Dumbreck takes nothing for granted in his privileged position of living with such a car.

“I’m used to building up speed around a circuit,” he says, “but I’m gradually getting quicker. I want to put on a show. I want people to say: ‘Did you see the Valkyrie go up the hill?’ I don’t want this car to be seen going slowly, so I am trying. We’re on an undulating driveway to a country house in a car that has 1160bhp on road tyres. I’m struggling to get that power down – and there is so much of it.”

Dumbreck’s Valkyrie experience has been confined to race tracks, although those who have driven one on the public highway insist that it’s docile in a mundane setting.

“You get used to it,” says Dumbreck. “At the end of the day, it is just a car, and you have to remember that. At the same time, you have got to give it respect, because it has so much power – more than the competition cars I’ve raced – and it’s worth so much money.

“It’s arguably the most technically advanced car in the world, and you have a lot of responsibility with it. I get all the fun stuff, but I have that pressure not to make mistakes and to show the best of the car.”

From where I was sitting, it was mission accomplished.

Porsche 963 arrives

The Porsche 963 was unveiled at Goodwood, which became the first of the new LMDh hypercars to run in public, up the hill at the end of Friday.

First impressions are striking. In the metal, like in the images we’ve seen of the new Acura, BMW and Cadillac cars, this generation looks the part. Based on well-proportioned LMP2 chassis, a 20-plus grid also including LMH hypercars from Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot and Toyota will be something to behold next June. I can’t wait.

However, can Balance of Performance (BoP) racing work for the overall win? All of those car makers will expect victory, and the fear is that most of them won’t stick around for long when they don’t get what they want.