IN THIS FEATURE Pleasure and pain Unique supercars Melting trainers Accessible motorsport Adrenaline junkies

Oh Lord. I'm strapped so tightly into the passenger seat of a 560bhp Ford Escort that I can barely breathe. Before I can register any protest, the driver dials in five thousand rpm and pushes the launch control button. The exhaust pops out sporadic bursts of hellfire. Bangbangbangbang!! Waarrrp!! Bangbangbang!!! We hurtle from zero to 60mph in under two seconds and my kidneys feel as though they belong to a prizefighter, but a losing one. Welcome to Rallycross.

Imagine a race series that combines all of the speed and drama of a tarmac circuit saloon car event with the sideways, flying-through-the-air mud-splattered thrills of a Welsh rally. Well, that's Rallycross, a hybrid that brings us the best of both worlds. It's a motorsport that pits cars like the legendary Ford RS200 - which packs 840bhp - against ex-WRC (World Rally Championship) Ford Focuses and Escorts. The racing takes place at circuits around the country with a combination of tarmac and mud sections to test the cars to the limit on both surfaces. A full day's racing takes place with qualifying heats and finals to keep the crowds happy.

Rallycross cars race head-to-head

This weekend sees the final round of the British Rallycross Championship take place at Brands Hatch. You'll know what the circuit looks like if you've ever watched Touring Cars on the TV, but with Rallycross they divert from the traditional route. After powering down the long start/finish straight, the cars hang a right across the grassy infield and then career down a g-force-inducing hill, round a tight hairpin and then onto the Knife Edge, a long gravel-track sweeper on which the cars regularly top 120mph. They then rejoin the main tarmac track with a tight right-hander before going back onto the straight.