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11:30am A clutch of excited boys cleverly disguised as middle-aged writers take turns sampling assorted sensations of speed at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The reason were here: its nearly time for Torontos Honda Indy and Honda Canada is gearing up for the big race with this event featuring Indy racing rock star James Hinchcliffe. The event features track time in three different cars: a Formula F race car; a 2014 Honda Civic Coupe Si, a zippy street monster whose 2.4L 4-cylinder engine emits 205hp and 174lb.-ft. torque; and some dangerous-looking go karts that speed up to 70 km/h mere centimeters from the ground. Hinchcliffe is just the big draw for our editors. Its driving the cars that were here for! To be fair, Hinchcliffe is a draw. Not only are his racing credentials impeccable—Hinch managed three Indy victories last year and took home 2011s ‘Rookie of the Year title—but hes a rare Canadian who has made a name for himself as a professional racer. Calling my own experience on the track “racing” is something akin to sitting in a 25-cent grocery store ride-on space-ship and calling that a trip to the moon. But, let me try to explain what it felt like anyway, because its about as close as most of us normals will get to the moon—or to being a professional race car driver. 9:00am Appropriately Lightening Crashes and rains falls until just minutes ago. So, despite the rising heat, the three tracks are patchily damp and puddled. My group is driving the go karts first. 24 year-old Daniel Morad, already a Canadian racing legend (he won the 2007 American Formula BMW championship and 2010 World Championship in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy), warns us of oversteer. We have rear brakes only on this wet, yet wonderfully challenging track. In spite of Morads warnings, for a half hour, we all spin 360 degrees in turns tighter than LIVE performing a third encore after a four-month tour. 10:30am ‘Use the whole track. The peppy Civic Si is my flying classroom. Voice crackling instructions via walkie-talkie, pro driver Jeff Boyce coaches us. We take turns flying through the circuit behind Boyce, observing where he floats, brakes, begins and completes turning. Pylons at corner apexes beckon the eye (briefly) into turns. Other series of cones, grouped into threes, twos and ones inform when to brake, then turn. Theres a lot to know and years of poor habits to overcome. It occurs to me how fortunate my group is. We began with fun go karting to quell nerves, then this technically challenging and massively educational hands-on schooling in Civics to heighten awareness — saving the best for last. Then we see the Formula F racer up close. ‘Will we even fit in that? 11:20am Im a sausage, zipped inside a Honda suit that restricts breathing, shimmying into the Formula F ‘casing. They remove the steering wheel for driver access. My small Caucasian keister and broadish shoulders barely fit. Its uncomfortably tiny, like the suit. Then they say, “Go!” Suddenly, this restrictive cylinder magically expands to an angelic extension of my consciousness — a roaring vengeful angel! The steering is too precise; it feels unreal. Marking then finding apex and braking cones becomes almost second nature. The shifter is the width of a pencil and tempting to shift with pinky extended as though drinking tea. Power? The uninitiated may scoff at the 2013 Honda Fit engine, outputting 110 hp. But this speedster weighs just 1,125 lbs with driver (keep in mind that a driverless Smart car weighs 1,650). Then theres the speed sensation. Consider: why does sliding prone on a skateboard, face near the ground, trump 900 km/h at 20,000 ft? Perspective. The VanDiemens view is about as high as the go kart — but 17 times more powerful. Imagine driving a really fast and stiff sleeping bag. And the feeling? Like a sunny Friday June afternoon when you got a raise and your boss was fired. 11:40am Im shotgun as Hinchcliffe rips out a hot lap. Weirdly, its nothing compared to the crack hit I was riding just minutes back. The car is so much higher up, it feels more normal, and when youre just a passenger youre not the one with all that power at your disposal. For Hinch doing these hot laps must be about as thrilling as an unintended afternoon nap. Leading up to lunch, I poll the events professional drivers for tips on driving better. * James Hinchcliffe: “Safety is the most important thing for people who want to drive better. For young people interested in racing, theres a whole other side to your career — the marketing.” * Chris Bye: Three-day racing courses re-teach important basics. They cost thousands but nobody ever told him it wasnt worth it, even if they never raced afterwards. * Jeff Boyce: Take his race-school training. * Daniel Morad: Using a different language, he said the same. What acute irony that Hinch emphasized marketings importance just before his colleagues shilled for their driving schools. Yet they werent wrong. If dangerous idiots were forced to buy track lessons and learn the essentials of speed and motion, our roads would be far safer. Noon Aglow from driving the light speed Formula F, I spy a pretty woman grilling meat and accept the rawest steak she has. Steven Bochenek is a freelance contributor forAutofocus.ca, Canadas pit stop for auto enthusiasts and car buyers alike. Albert Almora Jr Jersey . The football club recently announced an increase in season ticket prices in five of the seven categories at Investors Group Field for 2014. While most increases are in the two to three per cent range, the clubs most affordable season tickets will jump from $199 to $250 — a 26 per cent leap. Ryne Sandberg Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Greg-Maddux-Kids-Jersey/. Messis 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the clubs all-time leading scorer had received for his lacklustre performances in the teams recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final. David Ross Jersey . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . But luckily for the Canadian squad, one goal was all it needed. Winnipegs Sophie Schmidt scored the winner off a Diana Matheson corner kick to seal Canadas third-place spot in the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brazil on Sunday.TORONTO -- The expansion Ottawa Redblacks will make their official return to the CFL on the road. The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. Back in the league for the first time since the Renegades folded in 2006, Ottawa will make its home debut in its new stadium, TD Place, on July 18 against the Toronto Argonauts. The 2014 season will kick off June 26 with Toronto in Winnipeg before the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a Grey Cup rematch June 29. Both Ottawa and Hamilton will play in new facilities this year. The Ticats will open Tim Hortons Field against the Redblacks on July 26. Hamilton will also host arch-rival Toronto on Sept. 1 to re-establish their annual Labour Day showdown. Also that weekend, Ottawa will visit Montreal on Aug.dddddddddddd 29, Saskatchewan will host Winnipeg on Aug. 31, while the Calgary Stampeders will welcome Edmonton Eskimos on Sept. 1. The 2014 season will conclude with the Grey Cup at B.C. Place in Vancouver on Nov. 30. The CFL pre-season will begin June 9 and wrap up on June 20. "This is a big year for us, the start of a new era for our league," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement. "This schedule captures that excitement. "It features the launch of the new Ottawa Redblacks and the opening of TD Place in the national capital and Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, alongside some of our most cherished traditions and rivalries, including classic Labour Day matchups and the Grey Cup." All CFL games will be broadcast on TSN, while all Montreal Alouettes contests and select league games will be carried on RDS and RDS2. 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