“The first thing you notice when you climb into the cab of the FH16 is the luxurious surroundings,” said Mat. “I guess it is a requirement, because my BTCC car isn’t the sort of place that you want to spend any more than 40 minutes in it at a time, but truck drivers have to sit in their cabs for hours at a time driving all around Europe. In the back, there was a bed which was bigger than the one I have at home. There was a fridge, a TV, a microwave, everything—it was better kitted out than my house!”

Mat was surprised by the plush cab, which he said “felt like a big, comfortable luxury car—the only difference is that I was about 15ft off the ground!”

He was also impressed by the huge torque and four reverse gears—although he didn’t try any racing manoeuvres. He added: “The truck is limited like all UK lorries to 56mph and you can see why.

“When you have 44 tonnes on the back, you simply can’t stop in a few metres.”

Although he enjoyed giving it some welly, Mat was full of admiration for the blokes who drive trucks day in day out. “Driving something like the FH16 gives you a huge new level of respect for the people who drive these things because you really have to concentrate,” he commented.

“I thought there were lots of technical tricks to get on top of with my two-litre turbocharged Ford Focus British touring car, but there is as much, if not more, technology inside the FH16.”