I am sitting here watching the last race of the year, the WEC in Bahrain. While it is still 11:00AM here, the 6 hour race still has 2 hours to go! Yes, I love the racing. Why?
It’s the cars! and there are a lot of them. The GT’s are real cars but the Prototypes look like something from the Jetson’s. And there is so much variety. This year in GT alone there will be at least 7 makes At Daytona: Porsche, Audi, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette, BMW and Viper. In Europe, Bentley can be added to that list too. In the mix and match world of the prototypes, we’ll have engines from Ford, BMW, Acura, Nissan and Mazda (a diesel, by the way) in chassis’ by Riley, Lola, Oak, Oreca and Acura. And this is just in the US. The WEC has kept the P1 top level prototype class with the hybrid Porsche’s, Audi’s Toyota’s as well as the gas powered Lotus’s, Oaks and Morgans.
It’s the teamwork! Yes, I said teamwork. During most races, each car has at least 2 drivers. For the long races, the 24 hour and 12 hour races, there can be as many as 4 drivers. They have to set the car up so not only are they comfortable for 2+ hours of seat time, but so the other drivers are comfortable too. And if all goes well, the engine is never shut off. The tires, brakes and any other wear part are changed during pit stops by a crew of mechanics that have to deal with the long hours and potentially inclement weather. These are the hardcore guys who keep the cars on the track and are usually up for the entire race!
This years IMSA has the Tudor Championship, the “normal” 13 race schedule. Four races, the Rolex24 at Daytona, the Sebring 12 hours, The 6 Hours of the Glen and the Petit Le Mans, are also the North American Endurance Championship (NAEC). With these, several European based teams are planning on coming over to race just these marque events.
So, my plan for this year is to attend The Rolex24 and Sebring with the possibility of Petit Le Mans at the end of the season. I will have many pictures and some reports of the happenings at those races.