Atherm 1000 Enduro 6th Feb 2011
Stefan Webling and I teamed up to drive a GT3 Porsche 996 in this year's enduro. We practiced on Friday and on the official test day on Saturday. We entered class 1 to compete on slicks with the fastest cars. We knew any 997 Porsche and a few exotics would likely have the measure of us.
During testing we were constantly 2nd or 3rd fastest but had to drive at sprint speed to achieve that result. The heat caught us by surprise and we took out the driver's window to aid cooling.
Sunday
Qualifying
We both drove and managed P3 behind a 430 Ferrari and a Porsche 997 driven by Peterson/Bagnel. We were circulating in 1 min 9 sec on average while occasionally dipping into the high 8s.
Race
I got a great launch from P3 and overtook the Ferrari by turn 1 managing to hold him off for 5 or 6 laps but eventually his relentless superior power on straights had me beat and I settled for 3rd working hard not to lose contact with the 2 leaders.
The heat became unbearable and concentration on car control became a mammoth effort. After an hour at the wheel I called in for an urgent driver change. I could barely walk and the first aid people took my pulse etc, and declared me ok to drive again once my temperature had stabilized.
I went up to our apartment and stood in a cold shower while Stefan was slowly cooked in the car.
An hour later the rare left tyre blew at the end of the front straight and Stefan did well to stay on track limping home completely drained of energy and suffering from heat exhaustion. As I had used up most of our chilled water he had to soak his feet and legs in red Power Aid which was in plentiful supply.
I jumped in and after a new wheel and plenty of race tape I was off to finish the race still in a good position to come 2nd overall after as the Ferrari developed a small glitch and had to pit for a few minutes.
One lap into it our clutch threw in the towel and that was that!
Conclusion.
So close to being the youngest ever driver to podium in a GT3 in a sanctioned event, but it wasn't to be. We learnt that we could drive consistently quick in the Porsche, a great experience in itself. Part of our problem was that we went out and drove at sprint speeds to keep up with faster cars, should have paced ourselves more. The heat took us by surprise and this will need to be seriously addressed if we were to contemplate another enduro in this car.
Overall, a valuable experience. Off to Manfeild on Wednesday for round 5 of the Formula Ford champs....must watch all those DVDs of past championship races at that track.
All the best;
Andre
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