Firman rides the 'Big One'.

After the ups and downs of his first British Grand Prix, in which he held off some of the pre-race favourites following the interruption caused by a track invasion before coming home outside the points, Jordan Ford's Ralph Firman found his week taking on more bizarre twists.

The rookie driver swapped Silverstone for Blackpool and the delights of the famous Pleasure Beach this week, as the team followed through on its idea to send one of its cars around the notorious 'Big One' rollercoaster. And the machinery was not alone, as Firman took to the cockpit to ride Europe's tallest and fastest roller coaster before opening the official Jordan Grand Prix ride, which allows racing fans young and old to climb into a Jordan-liveried car and do a 'lap of the track'.

The 2001-spec EJ-11 chassis - minus its engine - was bolted onto the metal plate that usually holds one of the ride's passenger carriages before the British driver settled in behind the 'wheel' for a unique view from the cockpit. He was the only person present to sample the ride on the day - and will remain so.

"It was a really strange sensation being in the car and not being in control," he told Jordan's website, "When I came up the first hill and started into the big drop, the car went almost vertical - which was quite a feeling! Obviously, nothing comes close to driving a Formula One car around a racetrack, but I have to say the minute I spent on the rollercoaster was pretty exhilarating."