At a loss, racing against Ricciardo Ready to go: Australian Daniel Ricciardo inside his VW up! With a chirp of protest from the front tyres, Daniel Ricciardo guns the engine as the small white car accelerates towards the first corner. Moments later, the brake lights flash and the car leans hard to the right as Ricciardo throws it into the tight left turn, tyres scrabbling for grip as he powers towards the slight S-bend. As he continues to negotiate the serpentine course, marked by fluorescent orange cones, the sound of tortured rubber and a hard-working motor mixes with the roar of a helicopter coming into land. Just over half a minute after setting off, Ricciardo brings the tiny hatchback to a screeching halt and, thumb raised quizzically rather than triumphantly, looks across at the small group on onlookers. He wants to know if he's set a fast time and is visibly relieved when it's confirmed he has established a benchmark. Given the zeal with which he attacked the curling motorkhana course, you'd think it was a serious competition rather than a fun contest against a handful of hacks. But when it comes to driving against the clock and even the most unlikely rivals, the fierce competitive streak that has driven Ricciardo out of suburban Perth all the way to formula one ensures he can't bear the thought of losing. Imagine the indignity if he were to be beaten by a journalist in a media stunt. Not. Going. To. Happen. It must have been a comedown to go from posing with the Australian Grand Prix grid girls on the banks of the Yarra to putting his reputation at risk to garner some publicity for his Toro Rosso team's official vehicle partner, Volkswagen. Australia's future F1 star was put up against six members of the motoring and motor sport media, including your humble correspondent, in a motorkhana driving test in a VW up!, the German company's budget-priced city car. Its one-litre, three-cylinder engine produces just 55kW compared with his Toro Rosso-Ferrari F1 racer's 560kW from its screaming 2.4-litre V8, but Ricciardo still drove the car like he stole it. Motorkhanas are about skill and control rather than speed, and around the cone-lined course over a few hundred twisting metres on the apron outside a hangar at Essendon Airport, the up! never got out of first gear. Behind the cheerful demeanour that has charmed F1 is a ruthless will to win and Ricciardo was slightly concerned that one of the scribes might beat him. As he watched them practise after he had set his yardstick time, he admitted that losing would be unacceptable. "I wouldn't be happy, no," Ricciardo said. I'd give whoever did it a pat on the back, but I'd definitely ask for another run to make sure I beat them. He needn't have worried. While the chance to race Ricciardo produced some fancy wheelwork from a few of the journos, it was really no contest. In the race-off against the three quickest scribes, Ricciardo threw the little VW around with abandon and bettered our best efforts. To his relief - but nobody's surprise - Ricciardo won by just over a second. "It was good fun ..." he grinned. At one point a journalist was within a 10th of my time and I was worried I might get beaten, which would be embarrassing. But in the end I pulled out a second, so I reckon my Toro Rosso seat is safe for the weekend! For the record, your correspondent finished fourth - that is, last - in the final.