14H Road Atlanta: Post-Race

We did it... Our car crossed the finish line after 14 hours of racing at Road Atlanta, completing 360 laps and finishing 4th in class and 21st overall. A strong result to be proud of.

14 hours of racing.... Seems pretty simple, right? You just drive a car around the same 12 corners for 14 hours, et voila! The reality is far from simple. Completing a race of this length takes a lot of preparation, skills, and teamwork – let’s dig into what it took for us to cross that finish line!

Race preparation

Although it may seem like motorsports isn't a team sport (after all, there can only be one person driving the car at a time), it actually very much is and the teamwork starts days or weeks before the green flag waves.

Cars compete in a specific class. The class defines the set of rules, regulations and limitations a car must adhere to such as engine size, allowed modifications to the engine or suspension, the maximum amount of fuel it can carry, etc. Each race series has its own set of rules to classify cars and each of these rule books are…well…to be quite frank, long and tedious to read and understand – but this is where it all begins. The chief mechanic for the race will spend time going over all the rules to ensure the car meets the class regulations, while also searching for any gray area or any area that can allow for modifications to the car to improve its performance.?

Once the rules are understood, it’s up to a team of mechanics to make the necessary changes, additions, or modifications to the car to ensure it is as competitive as possible within the given ruleset as determined by the chief mechanic. ?Additionally, it’s likely that the car has competed in a race recently, so any maintenance needs to be done on the car to ensure safe operation.

Simultaneously, the drivers are spending their time training. Training for such a race event comes in multiple forms. First, there’s physical training; each driver will be on track anywhere from 1:30 hours to 2:00 hours at a time (we call those stints in racing) which is quite demanding on the mind and body. Second, there’s studying; each driver will study the track ahead of time, learn all of the corner numbers or names, understand the topography of the track and examine every detail that can be utilized to seek out that last tenth of a second.

Additionally, the driver must study the car, understand the data being shown on the dash and why it matters, where are all of the buttons/switches they need to access to turn lights on are, as well as the location of the motor fans, fire suppression system and more. Third, there’s simulator training; not everyone has the luxury to do this, but it's becoming more and more accessible for drivers to spend time virtually on the track in a car that handles similarly to the real thing. Simulators reinforce the learnings from drivers’ studies and help them apply their driving techniques and skills to turn the fastest lap possible. You’d be amazed at how close a racing simulator is to the real deal. ?Drivers often have driving coaches just like you would in soccer or volleyball to help guide and better their skills so that they can perform at their best during the race.

Finally, in this team sport, there’s a lot of work to be done to coordinate the logistics of getting a race car, spare parts, multiple tool boxes, 4-5 drivers and 2 or more mechanics to a race track for a weekend! Flights, hotels, truck driving, packing/unpacking, meals, race registration etc - someone has to take care of coordinating all of this and it’s not a small task.

Thankfully, for most of this prep, we had the help and expertise of TWOth Autosport Inc to bring the team together and allow us to race at Road Atlanta!

Finally, onto the race weekend!

Race weekend

The race begins at 8 am on Saturday and goes until 10 pm that same day, but the weekend starts on Thursday - that’s the day the trucks are allowed to roll into the track paddock and start getting set up. And so that’s what our team did, the truck was driven down from Ottawa, Canada all the way to Atlanta arriving on Thursday in time to park in the paddock, unload the race car, tool boxes, tents etc. and start getting a work area setup. Drivers started arriving on Thursday as well. Some drove down with the truck while others, such as myself, flew in.

Friday was a practice day! Each driver had some time to take the race car on track. This was quite nerve wracking for me as it was the first time I was driving this specific race car and the first time on this race track, which is a lot of information to take in at once. The focus was on learning, not lap time, put all my learnings from the preparation I did into action all the while getting a sense for how the car handled. It went very well. I got comfortable quickly and started picking up pace while making sure not to take too much risk as the race itself hadn’t started yet – wouldn’t want to crash the car before the green flag!

Before we knew it, it was race day. The day started with a 5 am wake up call, followed by some coffee in the veins and off to the track we went. As soon as I got to the track, my adrenaline and a touch of nervousness set in and you could feel the same energy from all competitors and teams in the paddock.

We got to the car and it had a layer of frost on it because it was so cold out that morning. While the mechanics fueled the car, we looked over the various bits and pieces to ensure everything was still ready to race and then the drivers all headed to the drivers meeting. The drivers meeting is a gathering of all of the drivers which are about to compete. At this meeting, any specific rules and safety processes for the race are explained and of course, we receive a word from the race sponsors!?

After the drivers meeting, we headed back to the car - our first driver started to get ready and you could hear all the cars fire up and start making their way down to the pit lane where they would be lined up and ready to roll out on track. I was the third driver, so my role was one of support (and picture taking, of course!), helping to ensure that our starting driver was calm and collected for the race.

Once everyone was lined up, the cars went out on track - this was a rolling start, meaning all cars would get on track in a predetermined order and would do a couple of laps behind a safety car, after which the safety car would pull back into the pits and the green flag is waved. This moment is exhilarating – 89 cars at full throttle come flying down the front straight while all team members anxiously watch to see if their car and driver make it through the first corner without any incidents. And incidents there are. Many. The first couple hours of racing is filled with poor decision making, genuine mistakes and some mechanical failures causing quite a few teams to retire from the race early.

The first stint went well and thankfully, we were not involved in any incidents. The car came down the pit lane for our first pit stop. During the pit spot we must put fuel in the car, change the drivers, clean the windshield, check the tire pressures, check the oil level and torque the wheels - all within a short amount of time. It requires quite a bit of orchestration and organization to get it all happening without people tripping over each other. A well-executed pit stop is a piece of art.

The second driver left pit and joined back the race…

The oopsie moment

About 30 minutes in, there it was, our first incident of the race: our driver lost control of the car and hit the wall at the exit of Turn 5. He was in a good flow and decided to try that corner juuust a little faster this time (sometimes you need to try), well, it worked until it didn’t… very quickly.

The rear of the car became loose and the car spun towards the left into a wall of tires. We were watching the in-car live stream when it happened, I was sure the race was over for us.

To our relief, the driver radioed in, reporting he was okay. He was able to back the car out of the wall and returned to the pit lane, where our mechanic assessed the damage. We all stood still, waiting for the bad news, but the verdict was surprisingly good - our mechanic reported: "Guys, we just need to change the front left tire, re-attach the transponder, and we should be good to go." We were overjoyed and sprang into action, changing the tire quickly. The same driver remained in the car, with his confidence intact, and finished his stint with a strong pace.

My stints

Then it was time for me to take over. I got geared up, my teammates gave me a pat on the helmet and as the car rolled into the pit I helped the previous driver out and took the seat. For the first time in my racing experience, I actually wasn’t feeling that nervous, my hands and feet were relaxed, my head clear and I was ready to go. It took me about 5 laps to get into the zone and reach the team's pace, but once I got there, I had a steady and consistent run. My second stint was particularly fun as I lapped with no interruptions (from yellow flags) for a full hour, allowing me to push more, focus on my technique, and hit my best lap time: 1:48.3. I brought the car back to the next driver and we continued at a steady pace for the next 7 hours.

Video clips of my stint:

• Some in-car action here.
• Almost lost the car here.

Crossing the finish line

Our team leader took the wheel for the final stint of the race. It was completely dark by then and he skillfully brought the car home and set the fastest team lap time in the process – because why stop pushing during the last hour?

The sight of the car crossing the finish line in an endurance race is an unforgettable experience, or maybe it's the triumphant team hug that follows. The high from race weekend last for at least a few days for me, then, all my attention shifts to the next race, the next high! And what a race that is going to be: the 14 hours of Daytona, yes Daytona :D