J ust 18 mph. The pace of a pygmy hippopotamus at full chat, a sidewinder snake late for a meeting, a badger sprinting for the bus or, apparently, a Tyrannosaurus Rex in pursuit of a YJ Jeep Wrangler. That's how fast, or rather slow, I'm trying to drive down this narrow lane in the heat of competition.

Yet, as the little red Alfa Romeo meticulously meanders its way through a calm corner of Cotswolds countryside, a drop of blood trickling along a grey artery between yellow sun-baked wheat fields, there is real tension inside the car. It might not be fast and furious, but this is not slow and soporific either. The concentration is palpable in the cabin. Sweat is forming on brows, and it's only partly because of a lack of air conditioning.

In the navigator's seat is Matt Dereve ( @SoulSpec ), who is doing a valiant job of juggling directional diagrams, distances, and a stopwatch, while I try to heed his instructions and match them to the needle on the Veglia dial.…