The most promising young drivers in the country were put through 24 hours of arduous endurance training last week as the MSA Team UK took part in a military toughness exercise, designed to explore the national squad’s physical and mental limits.

Filmed by BBC TV for inclusion in its Formula One coverage later this year, the rigorous test was run by VOTwo Events and Adventure at Pippingford Estate in East Sussex – a location that is regularly used for training by the armed forces.

National Race Coach David Brabham and National Rally Coach Mark Higgins joined the Team UK members for the duration of the event, which comprised a series of strenuous tasks including river crossing, both on foot and on hand-built rafts, shelter building, night navigation and casualty evacuation.

The elite drivers, working together in teams and individually, also tackled an assault course and engaged in close target reconnaissance, experiencing at various times such stresses as exhaustion, sleep deprivation and exposure to exploding pyrotechnics.

Brabham said: “The last 24 hours have tested us all to our absolute limits of endurance. This is all about taking the guys out of their comfort zones and putting them under enormous pressure.  In the future they will be better able to deal with the physical and mental demands of being elite drivers and can draw on those extra reserves of willpower and determination.”