Even a 476hp 911 won’t drop the CBR1000RR under hard acceleration. » More Photos

But I was worried about how much understeer it was suffering in the quick corners and about the lack of front-end bite generally. This car, I was certain, was not as quick as the 996 GT2 Clubsport I'd driven round this same track a few years back. It was moving around too much – at the front and at the rear – to set a really rapid time.

And so it was. After five laps the data logger said 1min 20.9sec – over a second slower than the GT2 we timed all those years ago. Even a snarling old Lamborghini Diablo had done a 1min 21sec dead around this same circuit back then. The Honda would therefore surely have a chance today.

Not, it would seem, with Goodwin riding it. Col has raced and ridden classic bikes for years, but the CBR1000RR is an entirely different prospect. This thing can get from zero to 100mph in five seconds flat – about the same time it takes a Formula 1 car, in other words. To get the most out of it, apparently, you need to have balls the size of Birmingham. And kneepads as hard as stone. After a couple of sessions, Goodwin got his time down to 1min 32sec, after which he climbed off sweating, eyeballs bulging, legs shaking, in need of a well-earned lie down.

Next up was Dan in the 911, and after his first stint he got down to a 1min 40sec lap. Not bad considering he'd never driven around Rockingham before or even driven a 911 Turbo, period. A little later Stevens went out again and got down to 1min 37sec – five seconds slower than Goodwin on the bike. Which meant one-nil to the bike team, with one to go.