~ by Daniel Demaras ~
After 8 hours of racing on Saturday, and a P5 finish, the DriveTeq team were back at it the next day for more Enduro Elite racing.
The No. 822 DriveTeq BMW started well, piloted by Adam Ali, who fought from a starting position near the tail end of the field and raced up to the top 3.
After a brief red flag period, I began getting ready for my shift, when the car came into the pits with a punctured tire. The team quickly swapped and sent Adam back out, but with a big loss of time having occurred.
I hopped in the car to begin my stint and head off for my out-lap. After turn five, I felt a massive vibration and a pulling to the left. I frantically radioed the team to inform them of the issue, and as they asked what the severity of the issue was, the flat front left nearly caused me to veer off track in turn eight.
I came into the pits where the team changed the (once again) punctured tire, then I headed back out on track with a newfound caution after the two blowouts and gearbox issues of Saturday. The name of the game would be mechanical sympathy.
After many laps parked behind the No. 2 BMW, we came across a group of cars running close to one another, laps down. I put my faith in the car and sent it around the outside of turn 8, over the bump, passing two cars in one corner.
From then on, the No. 822 was singing, fast, stable, and the laps flew by until I got the message to pit.
After my stint, both drivers would suffer a puncture each, clearly not helped by the length of the race or the high temperatures.
Watching my own race as a spectator was a strange experience, but as Daniel Ali made moves on a late-race restart I couldn’t help but get excited. This was a true team effort, despite any setbacks, we shared the wish to keep improving.
I had a blast, undoubtedly some of the most fun I’ve had in a race car, thanks to DriveTeq and their crew. I can’t wait for my next opportunity to get behind the wheel for hours and go for victory.
Where did you guys place? Looks like you had a good time.
It was a race kf attrition, Dawg. Finished P7 but ran as high as P2! We had four (4!!) blown tires during the race. Front left three times, rear left once. Not popped tires either… de-laminated. Treads ripped away from the tire carcas.
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Team was a shoe-in for a podium, and a shot at the win. But gosh those tire troubles!
Sad to hear the rubber let you down, the video was cool to watch. Hoping for the best next time around.
It was a learning experience for drivers and the team. Two 8-hour races in 2 days puts a lot of stress on the equipment, and the drivers had to learn not to go 10 tenths every lap. More like driving to a target number and not using up the brakes, ties, etc.
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The weather was 35C (or 95F) and the air pressures in the tires may have been a little high for those temps.