Chris Goodwin is at the wheel of a sleek sports car. I am in the passenger seat as we growl menacingly through the English Home counties. Suddenly the houses fall away, the road opens up and Goodwin puts his foot down.
I am pinned to the seat, shocked at the utter violence of the acceleration. My feet seem to be more affected than my brain as momentarily they lose all feeling. As quickly as he opens up the five-litre engine, he's using the carbon ceramic brakes to bring us back into a stable orbit.
Welcome to Goodwin's other job. The cockpit of this sleek Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is more often than not his office. He may well be known across Asia as the voice of Formula One, but back in his native England he's better known for his skills behind the wheel.
Goodwin, who commentates for ESPN/STAR Sports, proudly tells me he was the first person to drive the SLR and he's still connected to the project. 'I've driven it in the most bizarre, surreal circumstances, doing 210mph tests in the middle of the night in the south of Italy while looking at thunder storms going off to one side of the circuit. I've driven the car in the Artic Circle on frozen lakes.'
It?s not surprising that Goodwin has made a career out of fast cars. His father, Tony, has spent a lifetime racing. He competed in races in Asia when stationed in Singapore as a doctor with the RAF. It's something that continued when the family returned to England.
'Most people would have rubbish in their garage, but we would have a race car, and every night a bunch of helpers would arrive and work on the car all night. It was an interesting thing to grow up with really.'
