Route 44, Cairns to Port Douglas, Australia

This was one of my most enjoyable drives – it’s totally a driver’s road, with barely more than 200 metres of straight at any one time. It’s beautiful, with the ocean on one side and the mountains of Kuranda National Park on the other. I did this trip in 1996 with my wife ahead of the Queen visiting the area, and they had resurfaced the road. We liked it so much we did it twice in one day.

Car of choice: Lancia Delta Integrale

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SS163, Sorrento to Salerno, Italy

This was a very recent coastal drive I did and we passed through the beautiful villages of Positano, Amalfi and Maiori. It’s 56km of pure beauty, and the longest straight was 450 metres. It’s the tight and twisty kind of road I love to drive on and took me back to my rally days. It was a lot of fun. The best way to do it would be on a motorcycle, enjoying the sunshine and the breeze as you ride alongside the glorious Mediterranean sea.

Motorcyle of choice: Jawa

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Nalumukku, Manjolai Hills, South India

I grew up on a tea plantation in one of the 17 designated areas for tiger protection on the southern tip of India. Here, there’s a road of 50km, private with no number. It goes uphill through the mountain in the middle of the tiger sanctuary, a narrow road on which you can only fit one-way traffic. I used to really enjoy driving here, especially at night. We had so much wildlife around you would see panthers, tigers, leopards and even elephants on the road. With 36 hairpin bends, it’s easy to pinpoint where my bug for rallying came from – you can do a Scandinavian flick (a rally technique to advance through tight turns) on every corner.

Car of choice: Subaru Impreza WRX

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B709 between Carlisle and Edinburgh, England

I was living in the UK in 2002 and did this drive in a rental car. It was one of the first times I’d experienced a rental car with all four wheels off the road. It was summertime, the sun was shining, the water either side of the road was sparkling and the hills looked beautiful. There wasn’t much traffic so we could have some fun. With my rally background, I like roads that are tight and twisty and this one had all that, plus epic scenery.

Car of choice: Automobili Pininfarina Battista

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Route 128, Napa to Calistoga, USA

One word: wine. This is one of the few drives that I really like as a road, but would rather be driven than drive – that way I can enjoy the stunning wineries along the route. It’s one of those super-scenic USA roads with great wine and good food, and I’m more than happy to be in the passenger seat. To match the sophistication of the scenery, this road needs to be done in a car that is elegant, fast and comfortable.

Car of choice: 1965 Aston Martin DB6

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