Dubai 24Hrs 2011. Driver Diary. The 24hr Rollercoaster, Part One

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13 January, 11:30: Practice

The driving environment is so different to the road car from which our racer has been modified – I’m sitting low, craning over the top of the wheel, and the wing mirrors are hard to see through the window nets.

The brakes are sensitive and heavily over-servoed.  I smash them late and hard, trail braking like my Porsche Cup car, when instead I should be tapping them, carrying momentum.  The engine is barely audible, and there’s no change up light, so I’m constantly glancing at the rev counter to stay in the sweet spot, from 2500 to 4500rpm.  The motorsport clutch has an awkward biting point and the gearbox is surprisingly balky.

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But the turn-in is the sweetest thing you could imagine.  Beautifully composed, utterly neutral, not a hint of understeer, the car tacks in with exceptional accuracy.  And the pedals are perfectly spaced for heeling and toeing.

Chris recognises the challenge of overwhelming sensations that I’m feeling, doing my first 24 hour race amongst 90 cars.  “This race is all about managing the cars around you,” he says.  “You’re doing fine.” He pats me on the back as I come in from practice, equal fastest with Paul.

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We are still several seconds off the quickest cars in class D1, though our competitors are running higher powered engines, wider tracks and bigger aero kits.  We should be able to shave off a couple more seconds with practice, though it may not be enough to match our brawnier neighbours.

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I take a break and stand in the midday sun, observing each car making its stop and slowly driving through the pit lane.  SLSs mingle with Golfs, mechanics yell and sling tools across the floor, families offer moral support from deck chairs around the pit garages.

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Noise is the overriding sensation.  A staccato popping of machine gun fire from the exhaust of a Ferrari 430GT, a baritone chop-chop-chop like helicopter blades from the SLS on its pit lane speed limiter, a low resonance boom from an evil looking low-slung Renault Megane like a gangster on a drive-by, the familiar flat six bag of nails from a Porsche Cup.