I learned a new skill and brushed up on road safety with my trip to Mondello Park.

I love the thrill of driving around a racetrack at speed in a single-seater racing car, just inches off the ground. It may sound scary and reckless — but it’s less dangerous than driving on the road. It’s the closest you’ll get to emulating Formula One heroes.

I went to Formula Race Thrill at Mondello Park, Ireland’s premier racetrack, to drive fast and pick up some important safety tips. If you’re looking for a new skill to learn in 2024, you might want to get behind the wheel.

Mondello Park in Co Kildare is Ireland’s only international motorsport venue. Since the circuit opened in 1968, famous drivers including Ayrton Senna, Tommy Byrne, Damon Hill and Eddie Irvine have driven there.

I hadn’t been to Mondello since 1997, when I drove Formula V engine single-seater cars at the former racing school. Single-seater cars are open-wheeled formula racing cars, similar to Formula One cars. I wanted to be a racing driver in the 1990s, and entered competitions in the UK and France.

Sadly I gave up on the dream of being the next Ayrton Senna due to lack of ability and money. But it was exciting to be back again. The racing school became Mondello Park’s Formula Race Thrill. It boasts neon green Formula Sheane cars and a slick racing school.

It was raining heavily when I made my way down to the circuit. On the M50 a truck was right up the back of me, reminding me how dangerous our roads can be. I was glad when I was met by the professional instructors at the school who showed me the ropes.

My instructor, Noel Roddy from Dundalk, is an experienced racing driver who raced in many different formulas in Ireland, the UK and Europe and he explained that road users can learn a lot from racing. Noel said: “The difference between the racetrack and the road is that people follow the rules on the racetrack. On the roads, drivers often don’t keep to their lanes. They weave in and out of traffic. They can be reckless. There’s a culture of it here. You also have pedestrians who just walk out onto the road not looking.”

In response to all the road deaths and terrible accidents that have already happened this year, Noel said slowing down won’t help. “Accidents are often down to people not abiding by the rules and lack of awareness. People can have accidents at low speeds too,” he said.

In motor racing, people are highly concentrated, while on the road they can be distracted by other drivers, passengers, phones or the radio. Learning to be focused can save lives. I was highly concentrated and a little nervous when I joined my group of five other drivers to fulfil our driving slot.

After the saloon round, the single-seater beckoned. Noel helped me in as I recalled the flags of motor racing I was taught earlier. Caution, danger ahead is yellow, oil on track is red and yellow vertical stripes, must call in at pit is black, race must stop is red, let a faster person overtake is blue and the ‘chequered flag’ as many people will know from Formula One means the race is over.

We were racing against the clock, not each other, so it was important to obey the rules. We did two safety laps, followed by ten timed laps. Sadly, I was a little too cautious in the first few laps. I even saw the blue flag go up and let other drivers overtake. Old me would have been appalled.

Thankfully my adrenaline returned by the last lap to give it socks. I wanted more. After a debrief, we got our lap times and access to a video for our driving. I learnt so much about safety during the drive — namely, speed isn’t the enemy.

Motorsport, in any form, requires the best psychological skills: focus, concentration, confidence and stress management. Practical skills like handling corners, assessing weather and learning how to react also are vital for day-to-day driving.

“We have on offer team building, corporate days and more where we teach awareness and reaction,” Noel said as he insisted: “We need to educate young people in driving safely.”