So slow in fact, that even on a trailing throttle we finally have to give the brakes a few dabs on the big pedal to get the speedo needle to slowly drift down to what seems like that ridiculously low 50/60 kilometres per hour crawl.

Good to know then even some of our iconic racing drivers often experience that similar sensation and a case in point is a personal favourite Allan Moffat… ok I’ll ‘fess up right now, I’ve always been a big fan.

In the heady days of really hairy Ford versus the general motor sport, Allan’s record is impressive.

Remember? Four time winner of the Australian Touring Car Championship, six time winner of the Sandown 500, and Bathurst 500/1000 winner four times and inducted into the V8 Supercars hall of fame in 1999.

Fair to say that Allan has had more than his share of ‘speed happy’ moments, most often at the wheels of some brutish steeds like the GTHOs and Trans Am Mustangs. So has the Mr Cool of 10/10ths driving ever had a scary moment.

In his book ‘Allan Moffat, Climbing the Mountain,’ Allan reveals that the first and only time he’d been truly frightened behind the wheel of a racing car was on the six kilometre long Mulsanne Straight at LeMans.

It’s 1980, and Allan is at the wheel of an 800hp Porsche for the very first time, competing in his first Le Mans.

With a couple of kinky bits making it hard to distinguish the 300,200,100 braking markers, his first lap is naturally a little tentative, but he has soon nailed it with some judgement and a little luck.

Back in the pits he casually asks the team how fast was he going through the kinks and is advised that he was doing 240.

Not bad Allan thinks to himself, but maybe I could have done better, after all I’ve gone faster at Bathurst!

Then the penny drops. They’re talking miles per hour and Allan was actually doing 390kph. The fastest he has ever been in a race car.

So it’s good to know we’re all in good company when we sometimes get lulled into a false sense of security/reality/confidence when behind the wheel.