ON
TRACK WITH RICK PEARSON No. 29:
By Rick Pearson
Apologies for the absence of any new articles over the past couple of weeks while we've been busy in Europe with the awesome Clio V6. Look out for tales of Monaco and Spa in the next few issues! In the meantime, I've once again handed my column over to my race engineer, Rob Friend for the final installment of "Why You Should Never Go To The Track Without Your Friend", aka "The Role Of The Race Engineer".
The Engineer's View. Welcome to my second column. Following on from Rick's last article about the driver's day, I'm going to look at the engineer's race weekend. The racecar transporter plus all of the equipment and tools needed for the weekend usually arrive at the track on Friday afternoon. Although the cars don't actually go out until qualifying on Saturday, this gives us enough time to put the awning up and lay down the plastic flooring that marks out our garage.
Saturday morning is a busy time for us as we prepare the cars for that day's qualifying session. At Mark Fish, we'll be working by 7.00am to ensure that there is enough time before qualifying to fuel the cars up, fit the tyres and make all the necessary final checks. Before we can get out onto the track in search of Pole position, the cars must be scrutineered to make sure they are safe to be on the circuit. A TOCA official will also check that the drivers' helmet and overalls conform to the championship's safety guidelines.
When our allocated qualifying slot arrives, it's the mechanics responsibility to take the TV Monitor, pit boards, spare tyres and tools into the pit lane while the driver gets ready to take to the track. The Clio qualifying session is always thirty minutes long so at some point, the driver will have to come into the pits for new tyres. It's here that lap times start to fall. As Mark Fish Motorsport runs more than one car, a lot of effort is put into getting the drivers to agree with us at which point they will come in. The aim of the game it to try and organise it so that there is no overlap, thus ensuring no time is lost waiting for tyres to be fitted. However, it's one thing getting the drivers to agree to times and another for them to remember what they've agreed. In the heat of the moment, prior arrangements are often forgotten. This nearly always ends in pit lane chaos as two drivers arrive at once and all hopes of an F1- style, clinical procedure turn into an afternoon at Billy Small's circus with tyres, wheels and arms all flying around trying to make the best of a bad situation.
It's at times like this when you wonder how it is that a driver can very easily remember when to brake for a corner, when to turn in and when to get back on the power but can't remember to wait for the IN signal on his pit board that indicates his turn for tyres! After the tyre drama is over with and the cars are back on circuit, the remainder of qualifying is spent watching the timing monitor and hanging out the pit board, showing the driver his last lap time and the gap to pole position. If we have pole (and we normally did during our Clio Cup championship year), the pit board shows the gap back to second place. During the later stages of last season, we found ourselves in the very privileged position of having two of our drivers qualify on the front row.
The only small drawback to this comes straight after qualifying when the fastest three cars are again scrutineered for eligibility. This is a process whereby the championship's chief scrutineer can ask to have absolutely anything taken off of the car and checked for legality. Although I don't have a problem with the concept of scrutineering- I think it is a very important deterrent for anyone considering trying to find an unfair advantage- I do have a problem with the choice of part the chief scrutineer will ask to look at, for instance a red hot exhaust catalyst or still smoldering, white-hot brake pads. At one stage of the season, I had quite a collection of small burns on my hands and arms, all of which varied in size and pain!
At the end of the year though, my threshold for withstanding pains from burns was quite considerable. The fact that two of our cars would be starting the race from the front of the grid also meant that I didn't really care! Once we get the cars back from post-qualifying scrutineering, they get another complete check-over. Here the tyres for the race are decided upon, the fuel is drained from the car and enough new fuel is measured into the petrol tank to cover the race and a possible safety car period.
Mark Fish (the team principal) will talk to the drivers after qualifying to confirm that they are happy with the car's set up. If one of the drivers thinks a change is needed, Mark will talk to the engineer dedicated to that car in order to decide upon the necessary modifications. Each engineer takes great pride in their work so the cars will also get a final polish before race day morning.
On race day, we again get up early to make sure that the awning is tidy and that we are fully prepared for the race. The drivers tend to arrive about four hours before the race. It's during this time that I get to watch Rick turn from a racing driver into a PR machine. Rick likes to have his car at the front of the awning, that way he can sit himself on his bonnet and ambush any passing spectators. When he has got himself a small crowd together, he will begin the stories of his testing and qualifying experiences and allow people to sit in his race seat and have photos taken. Over the course of the season, I've seen a lot of different people sitting in his car. It's also quite amusing watching Rick coax less enthusiastic spectators into the Clio!
About an hour before we have to get the cars to the collection area, the engines are run and checked for leaks. When we are told to go for our race, we take the cars to the collecting area and wait for the drivers to make their way over to us so that we can help to get them strapped in and ready to race. Once the driver is secure in the cockpit, it's the engineer's job to walk around the car checking that all bonnet and boot pins are shut and that wheel nuts are tight. This will already have been checked in the awning but a final check is made for peace of mind. At this point, I'll stand at Rick's door in case he needs anything before the race.
Different drivers deal with pre-race nerves in different ways. Some want to be left alone, some walk around and others have their doors shut and eyes pointed straight ahead. Rick however talks. and I mean talks! While we're waiting for the track to open, I will listen to all sorts of different things. Normally, we discuss Rick's starting strategy and where he hopes to be at the first corner but he can also quite happily chat away about people he got to sit in his car earlier that day or the new diet he has started to improve his race weight (which is always worth a giggle).
When the car is eventually released onto the circuit and I have started walking towards the pit lane, nerves kick in and I'll run through a mental checklist of jobs that I've carried out from fuel load to car set up. If I've missed anything, I will only get once last chance -while the cars are forming on the grid - to get it done. It is always worrying for nothing because each car has a checklist of things that must be done in the awning before it even gets to the collecting area. Nevertheless, I still worry.
My job is done when the cars start their warm up lap. All that remains is to hang out the pit board indicating position and laps to go before the end of the race. The rest is up to Rick.
Hopefully, the last few issues of 'On Track' have given you an insight into a typical race weekend for the driver and his team but if you have any comments or questions, you can email them to us: press@cliosport.com. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Rebecca for giving me the chance to write these articles and Rick for showing complete faith in me.