I downshifted without thinking.
Several squad cars followed me, and as I downshifted and pinned the accelerator they responded in kind.
I downshifted to first gear, slowed down to about 15 miles an hour and limped back to the starting line.
I downshifted to a glass of the hearty local red wine to accompany a meal of fragrant garlic soup and creamy turkey paprikash.
I downshifted to Bohol time on Alona beach, an idyllic stretch of white sand and coral reefs that has become a haven for divers.
Mike manned the phones and passed on the party details, and I would blow up the balloons, put on the gorilla suit and head out to my car, a silver Pinto that frequently stalled when I downshifted and had to be restarted on the roll.
But approach the 8,000rpm redline, and the sound turns to a sharp bark, one that actually froze a Doberman in its tracks when I downshifted at an intersection.
Alonso said the steering "locked to the right" as he rounded Turn Three at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. "I approached the wall, I braked in the last moment, I downshifted," he said.
I downshifted into first and put the pedal to the floor, turning the roadside brush and scrub into a beige blur for the next several seconds.
I had to downshift all the way to second gear before my front wheels reached the orange cone marking the "turn-in" point.
