Pedals to the metal

‘I’ve done around 20,000 miles in it, and the majority of those have been on track,’ says Sir Chris Hoy. The 11-time world champion and six-time gold-winning Olympic track cyclist is talking about his Porsche Type 991.2 911 GT3 RS equipped with the Weissach package. It’s perhaps unsurprising that someone who, by his own admission, has spent most of his life going around in circles finds track driving so enjoyable. Not just track days, either, as in the years following his retirement from track cycling, Hoy took up motor racing, and not without some notable success. 

‘There are so many parts of the circuit that really test the bravery and skill of a driver. It really is special; it’s beautiful, and it is a place I’d urge anyone to come to, even if they’re not driving it. There’s something truly spectacular about it.’ 

Over the next two days, he will be driving around this famous circuit. He drove down in his RS, while photographer Richard Pardon and I tailed that big wing in a Type 992 911 Carrera GTS as we convoyed through the Channel Tunnel and across Belgium. We arrive at a local hotel for a mandatory steak the evening before the track opens, Hoy’s good friend and fellow Olympic gold-winning cyclist Jason Queally having filled the passenger seat on the trip. Not just on the journey over, either, as Queally admits to being a willing passenger on track, too. So, as Hoy repeatedly laps the famous, undulating circuit, Queally will enjoy the ride. 

The GT3 RS, Hoy admits, is the perfect car for such a trip: ‘What other brand would allow you to drive all the way to Belgium, thrash it on track for two days and drive home, without ever considering if it may (or may not) make it back?’ 

Chris’s love for the 911 came from an opportunity to drive a Type 991 GT3 RS – Porsche Cars GB’s Lava Orange press demonstrator – while shooting a driving film. The gold medallist can still recall the registration plate. He explains: ‘We were filming that car at the Millbrook test track, and it was an eye-opener. It really was a revelation as to what these cars could do. I’d read it and heard it many times before, but when you experience it for yourself, the first time, that is the moment you think, “There’s nothing else I’ve driven that’s quite like it.”’ He was hooked. 

His early interest in Le Mans was piqued by a childhood Scalextric Le Mans set, the two cars for the slot car track being a pair of silver and gold Porsche 934s with working headlights. It’s a familiar story for many Porsche-addicted people of Chris’s generation. But as a young man he could never have foreseen that one day he would compete in the famous French race. Nor that track driving would become not just something to enjoy in retirement, but would provide escapism and distraction following his 2023 diagnosis of stage four prostate cancer. 

‘When you’re on a track, you’re so focused that you can’t think about anything other than driving. I don’t have the spare mental capacity to muse over other things – it’s different to being out on my bike, when you’ve time to think.’ 

His joy of driving on track now has an added therapeutic dimension, and one that he takes every opportunity to enjoy. That’s not to say he’s pushing his diagnosis to one side. Quite the opposite, in fact. Hoy’s determination to get the message to men to be regularly tested is very clear, giving the simple advice to search online for ‘prostate cancer risk checker’ and answer the three questions to check your risk. 

He manages all this despite a busy family life and a diary that includes his charity work with his Tour De 4 fundraising bike ride (spotlighting stage four cancer diagnosis), his cycling commentary, the Sporting Misadventures podcast he co-presents with journalist Matt Majendie, and making stage and television appearances throughout the UK and abroad in support of his recent autobiography. 

Add to that the relaunch of the Hoy Bikes children’s bike brand – which creates beautiful, right-sized and light children’s bikes – and it’s a wonder how he manages to sustain such a substantial Michelin Cup 2 tyre bill. He does so, though, rather convincingly, as following this visit to Spa, there are diary dates for Donington Park, then the Nürburgring, Anglesey and Oulton Park, among others. Indeed, Hoy seemingly does more laps around tracks than many racers, proving to be the very definition of what Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger would describe as a ‘track rat’. 

A fast one, too. Hoy’s motor racing experience is evident: he’s certainly not holding anyone up around Spa, enjoying the RS as it’s meant to be driven, Queally happy to be alongside – though kindly giving up the passenger seat for some journalist ballast for a lap or two. 

Sitting alongside Hoy, it's clear that there’s huge commitment from the Olympian, working the RS hard, but doing so with the deftness of touch of someone who’s got some serious talent behind the wheel. The joy it brings is evident too. Hoy is happy – though conflicted, as there’s a Type 992 911 GT3 RS available now, and his competitive spirit means he wants the best equipment possible to do the thing he so clearly loves. 

Patience is required, as his build slot is later this year. Once Hoy’s taken delivery, though, he’ll head to Scotland for a running-in trip – and, after that, it won’t be long before he’s back on a race circuit, driving his new 992 with the same passion and skill as he showed on our day at Spa. 

Many thanks to the team at Circuit Days and the marshalling staff and circuit control room at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for assisting with photography.