The emotional roller coaster of motorsports can work on both long and short timescales. Sometimes a team’s transition from the back of the field to the podium can take months or years. Sometimes the transition back can take hours. The weekend that just passed was certainly one that had its ups and downs.
The team entered the weekend with its three drivers in the top 5 of the championship, and one, currently leading it. Confidence in the car was at an all-time high and reliability has been improving throughout the season. The track, one of the fastest in the country, should favor rear-wheel drive BMWs, and the weather looked good. This should be a good weekend. The lead rider was carrying as much ballast as required, which wasn’t going to improve his chances, but it shouldn’t cause too much of a problem. He is a talented driver who has been ballast before, it is not a problem.
The roller coaster reached its peak.
Free practice one was dedicated to scrubbing tires. No actual testing was done as such until the end of the session, but a brake bias error meant a spin under the break entering a hairpin heavily trapped in gravel. Lost time due to the recovery red flag and the clearing of the massive amount of gravel, meant that there was no time for any setup changes or refinements during the session.
The roller coaster was at the top now.
During free practice two, various setup changes of varying success and impact were tested, but there was very little marked improvement in lap times. The problem was simply that our driver only had two laps to test each setup change before going into the pits and trying the next thing on the list. These changes are generally spread over two sessions. This weekend we had one. Not every change you make will improve the car and unfortunately when FP2 closed the car was not at the pace we expected at this stage of the season.
Down we go.
Next was classification. Given the natural advantage of rear-wheel drive in wet conditions, the ominous rain clouds were actually a welcome sight. The rain would match the package a bit more and give the BMWs a chance to make up for any performance deficits. The first few laps were dry but the pace was not there. Then the rain came, and boy, did it come! The rain was so torrential that, in fact, the session received a red flag due to security concerns. When the session restarted, the cars were experiencing water ingress in the electronic components and ended up at the rear of the grid for race 1. The rear of the grid, in 28th place, with 75kg of ballast on it. Car.
Where is the bottom?
After the disappointing qualifying session, the weather took a turn for the worse. Something not often seen in Blightly, but a tornado (yes, a TORNADO) tore through the meadow. This abnormal weather caused terminal damage to the hospitality awnings and the entire team was out in the pouring rain (now back), angle grinding, cutting, hammering and wrench to retrieve the remains of the awning safely. The entire team, still rebounding from qualifying, was now drenched, not to mention the damage done to team property or relationships with sponsors and VIPs.
It is this?
The engineers and drivers sat down and discussed a plan of action. What could be done to recover the weekend? Was everything lost? Absolutely not! Decisions were made and changes were made to the car late into the night. Everything adjustable was adjusted. Gear ratios were changed. Engine maps were modified. Like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, the car was transformed. Without testing, yes, but transformed.
When do we go back up?
Race one started under glorious sunshine. The team and cars had dried up overnight, but the long walk to the back of the grid wasn’t something the team had to do often. It untested because it looked solid on the grid overlay, but that’s never a real test of performance. Final checks carried out, 75 kg of ballast on board, 28ยบ on the grid. The race began.
Finally, let’s go upstairs!
Our driver finished 10th. He got 18 places, an incredible result and better than anyone expected. The overnight transformation had worked wonderfully and the speed in the car was back. The tenth also meant no more drag, apart from starting in the tenth for the second race. An excellent result!
Things are improving!
The second race started with a much shorter walk around the grid. No ballast on board, and only minor adjustments to compensate for the 75kg lighter weight. And you know what? He just went and won it! He drove like the pro that he is and put the car in front of the pack, winning by almost 3 seconds. Who would have thought after the sad Saturday that race day would include a victory. In addition, another of our pilots was third, for a double podium. An excellent result!
I can see the end now.
All that was left was race three. Ballast on the car again due to winning Race 2, and a reverse grid meant starting in the middle of the pack. The disadvantaged hard tires were also necessary for this race. The result was a solid finish in the middle of the pack. Not terrible, but not on the scale of success for races one and two.
Time to get down.
So the drivers leave the round with all three still in the top 10, two still in the top 5 and one still leading the championship. A result that, although expected for Friday, seemed to fade on Saturday.
The value of persevering, not giving up in the face of difficulties, and striving to win, regardless of the odds against you cannot be underestimated. A bad practice or qualifying session doesn’t have to ruin your career. It doesn’t have to ruin your championship hopes. It doesn’t even have to ruin your day.
Keep your chin up, your head on the game and your determination on overdrive, and as a team, great things will happen.
Remain seated until travel comes to a complete stop.
