Brands Hatch hosts the FIA World Touring Car and Formula Two championships this weekend. Reporter MICHAEL PURTON went head to head with some of the drivers in a pre-race warm up.

TO prepare for their race at Brands Hatch this weekend, five F2 drivers each led a team of journalists on the go-kart track in a hour-long endurance race on Thursday (July 8).

Current F2 championship leader Jolyon Palmer and his rivals Dean Stoneman, Jack Clarke, Benjamin Bailly and Parthiva Sureshwaren led the teams in the challenge to complete the most laps in 60 minutes.

I was in Indian speed-merchant Parthiva Sureshwaren’s three-man squad, and with a minimum of six driver changes during the race, I had plenty of time on the track.

At first this was not to the benefit of my team, with some dodgy cornering seeing me almost veer off the track twice, but after a few laps I began to master the track, and managed to overtake a couple of cars - driven by fellow journalists, of course.

Although the karts have a maximum speed of just 35mph, when you’re sitting so close to the ground and trying to navigate sharp bends, this feels fast.

But overall Team Sureshwaren was not fast enough to claim first place, but we were quick enough to come third and get our hands on a trophy.

It was Bailly's squad who sped to victory, with the trio of drivers completing 166 laps during the hour-long race, and the team leader will no doubt be hoping for the same result this weekend. Stoneman's squad was just two laps behind in second place, and Palmer’s team finished fourth, with Clarke and co in fifth, partly due to early kart troubles.

As I raced alongside the professionals with the track zipping beneath me, it was easy to imagine myself spraying champagne over an adoring crowd from the top of the podium this weekend.

But seeing the same professionals, and some fellow journalists, overtake me with ease reminded me that I belong stuck in traffic on the M25, not zooming around Brands Hatch.

To see the professionals in action, head to the track this weekend.

Tickets for the FIA World Touring Car and Formula Two Championships at Brands Hatch on July 16, 17 and 18 are now available from £24 for adults, with free entry for children aged 12 and under.

For more information call 0870 950 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk