to a race track during their lunch hour?"
Well, the answer is, we don't need to.
The race track is already here.
JAMES: Yes, go to any business park anywhere,
and you'll find long straights, flowing roundabouts,
sharp bends, the lot.
There's a circuit to rival Silverstone or Laguna Seca
right outside your office window.
Today we've chosen Houghton Hall Business Park near Dunstable.
So, let's see what kind of track it can provide.
This is the Kia Picanto GT line,
the hottest ship in the Picanto range.
-Is it? -80 horsepower from 1.25 litres.
Yes, just get in the bloody thing.
-I'm saying a lot, cos it takes him so long to get in. -Shut up!
So, what are we doing?
We're going down the straight towards the first roundabout, which is Froughton's Haulage.
I like the braking-distance markers. That's a nice touch. Very professional.
This is the Whitbread, extremely tight left-hander, and into Car Park A.
Now, there's a speed hump, and then the soon-to-be immortalised
Smokers' Shelter complex.
-Nice. -Which is what we're in now.
Dab of brakes. Apex it there, and we're into Car Park B.
This is Office Chair Bend. This is the chicane...
-Very nice. -...before we go
back onto the beginning and ending straight
and head towards Mannington Plastics Roundabout.
Leaders in injection-moulding technology solutions.
Excellent. Quite the landmark.
Keep it wide. Half-throttle.
Look for the exit, and there we are... across the line.
Once you're across the line, you can slow down.
No point in continuing to go fast, cos you could have an accident doing that.
Funny.
RICHARD: With the track signed off, we selected two firms
to go head-to-head during their lunch hours.
Today, the competitors are Storage King,
"Self-storage made simple",
and Cura Technical, "Leading providers of IT support solutions".
And once their contenders had been selected,
it was time for the driver briefing.
"Each entrant from each firm does one timed lap.
Using those lap times, we'll whittle down our entrants,
until we have the best driver from each of the two firms."
Hammond, everybody in the room can read.
Shut up. "They'll then go head-to-head in the grand final,
to decide the ultimate winner of today's round."
JAMES: With Hammond's presentation over,
it was time to begin the qualifying laps that would decide
which employees would represent their firms in the shoot-out grand finale.
What we have first is Pete from Cura Technical.
He is the regional manager for Bedfordshire and the Midlands,
in his Vauxhall SRI Astra.
In three, two, one... go!
RICHARD: As the regional manager scorched away,
I commandeered the security hut,
so that I could use its CCTV feed to commentate on the action.
There's a complex of turns through here, really more than just one,
and that speed hump to deal with, as well. He's done that. He is through.
(TYRES SQUEALING)
He's on his way through the Office Chair complex. I can't see him on that camera.
Here he is. He's coming back up the straight.
200 brake horsepower. Useful now.
Going to make his way towards Froughton Haulage,
which is soon to become the ending line.
Huge amount of noise! And across the line.
(CHEERING)
After a cracking qualifying performance
from Pete of Cura Technical...
1:06.16.
...Storage King sent out their first driver,
hot-hatch enthusiast Darren from logistics.
Two, one... go!
I do like a Clio.
Oh, some sideways action.
(TYRES SQUEALING)
Oh, lovely work!
By ragging his Clio for all it was worth...
(LAUGHING)
...Storage King's Darren banged in a scorcher of a qualifier.
Oh!
-1:05.97. -Oh, ho-ho!
And now, ladies and gentlemen, from Cura Technical,
it's Nick from Accounts,
who will be looking to... balance the books.
Oh, God. He's making puns.
In three, two, one! And he's off!
RICHARD: Despite being at the wheel of a motorway cruiser,
Nick seemed determined to top the timing charts.
Oh, this looks fast to me, towards Smokers' Corner.
However...
And he's... Yeah, that's looking...
No, that's not under control, because he's binned it!
And he's binned it.
He's binned it at Bin Corner, appropriately enough.
It is a DNF for Nick from Accounts.
The fleet manager is not going to be pleased.
There are going to be words when he gets back after lunch, I suspect.