MY heart was beating in time to the miles on the clock - 145 and counting as I sped around Thruxton circuit.

Forget Silverstone. This week I sat in one of the most beautiful cars in the universe, next to one of the most talented racing drivers on the planet.

No, I wasn't dreaming, it was real. I did pinch myself, but only because I was gripping the handle on the inside of the door too hard.

The car was a £68,000 Chrysler Viper and the driver was Britain's only reigning world motor racing champion, Justin Bell - son of equally famous racing driver, Derek.

The day, organised by Oxford Chrysler and Jeep dealer, Varsity, was called Girls on Speed and the whole point of the day was to prove that boy racers don't have a monopoly on fast cars.

In fact women can be speed merchants, have loads of fun and be safe on the roads - and the race track - too.

All this and in a week when a national survey revealed that women really ARE better drivers than men.

"Women are inherently more cautious and that pays dividends," explained Justin, 30, who won the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hour Race GT2 Class in a Chrysler Viper.

"Far too many men take an aggressive attitude towards driving and this is easiest to see when you compare the typical approach of women and men to learning new skills on the race track. "Most women are eager to think a task through before tackling it methodically, while most men will, at some time or other, engage gear before engaging their brain."

With these words in mind, I tackled the slalom course with caution the first time, then determination on the timed circuit. I did well, coming joint first in my group.

Once out on the track, in a Chrysler Neon, my confidence was put away as a professional racing instructor drove me around the track, pointing out the cones and what each meant.

Then it was my turn. The first circuit was done at about 60mph and, oh did it feel fast.

By the fourth, I'd abandoned the skidding, jerky turns and screams and was doing a respectable 90mph on the straight. What a thrill. What an adrenalin rush. What a way to earn a living!

Then it was into the Viper as a passenger. Justin roared off, showing me how the track should be driven. It gave me a healthy respect for speed. At 140mph, he still managed to chat, telling me he reaches 200mph in a proper race.

The thought behind the day wasn't just to give a load of female journalists a chance to drool over one of motor racing's best-looking drivers.

It was to teach us a healthy respect for cars and speed. Justin and his team are running a series of these events around the country to prove to women that safe speed can be theirs.

"I have no doubts that when it comes to driving skills, women leave men in their tracks," said Justin.

"The event isn't aimed at making women drive faster or more aggressively but more perceptively, safely and judiciously.

"Experimenting on the race track is a way of doing that which isn't possible on public roads," he added.

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