- 34,630
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
4 Hours Of Hell
Pre-Race
"Well, there it is" I thought to myself. One of the most difficult tracks I've ever had the displeasure of driving on was in front of me. All my memories of this place were in struggles, frustration and nearly a accident. And now I was to blast around it for 4 Hours straight. I began to wonder if this is what driver's hell looks like as somehow these five corners were far more infuriating then the One Hundred Forty three corners in Germany. Nevertheless, I had a task ahead of me. Thankfully, I brought along a machine that would ease the pain and Suffering I was about to undertake. I continued forward knowing I would not be restricted to tortoise speed like my competitors but for the next four Hours, I'd be confined...deep inside these walls.
Start/Hour 1
As the other cars formed up, I kept trying to dislodge the fact that I was now about to attempt Hell on earth for four straight hours and even worse, to get approval from the GTA to participate in the 9 Hour event later on down the road. I never asked for any of this but if I was to climb up the Licensing latter, that was the only way. With the Lights on, I was about to have my Sanity tested and my patience. The lights went green and I was off, slicing my way through the pack and into the lead. In less then a lap I was ahead by at least a minute. Anyone would be happy with that start, anyone but me that is. I pushed on knowing I only had Four hours to go and as the first hour was crawling by, my body was already feeling the strain. "damn, this place is already trying to kill me" I quickly thought to myself, the traffic only began to add to my aggrivation. Thankfully, the first pit stop was just around the corner.
Hour 2
Into the pits I went for the race's first stop. All I wanted was tires so it made for a very quick stop and I was away. Within just my outlap, I had multiple instances of traffic to navigate through and multiple groups of two or three. As about 15 Minutes went by, the strain of this course was beginning to take its toll on me as pain was beginning to accumilate in my shoulders. This course only has one place to rest, which is the backstrech leading into the final corner. I would tough it out for the next 45 minutes along with the traffic continually giving me unnecessary spikes in heart rate.
Hour 3
Onto the second stop, this time with fuel and Tires and a Drink. This was the smallest break I've had and at this place, its abit too short for me. "I'll be lucky to be alive if I make it" I thought to myself. The strain turned from just my shoulders now to my arms and wrists and I was driving with no Air Condition. It seemed like an eternity was beginning to set in for the next Hour. It didn't make it any better that the lapped cars now felt compelled to block and hold me down in certain corners as if to make things more unpleasant. I soldiered on , knowing at some point in time the end would be near.
Hour 4/Finish
My tiredness was setting in as I entered the pits. I nearly made contact with the wall and almost spun. One in though, it would be only tires. As I set off, I suddenly found renewed vigor knowing I only had an Hour left of this dreaded place. All the pains I had before had actually toned down alot as I now pushed towards the end. With 30 minutes to go, I dug deep. it seemed the close calls I had earlier now paled in comparison to the ones I had in these final minutes. Cars were sideways, aggressively pushing others off track and with only five munutes remaining, there was even a spin directly in front of me. The tires were now wearing out faster then they did earlier due to my new found speed. I was far done with conserving and it was showing in how sideways I got. Once the clock stopped, I knew the time I reached the finish line was gonna be the time it would be over and when I did, all the pain and aching came back in no time, but I was able to muscle back to the pits and to the podium. "Its over" I said to myself and I was immediately on the way to get rest.
Reflection and looking forward
It was late at night and there was still just a tad bit of cramps from that race. It had taken that much of a toll on me. Thankfully, the next race is somewhere more of my liking: Laguna Seca. It is a 200 Mile, 90 lap race that used American cars. I'll be looking forward to that a month from now, by then I will have not the pains left over from today's cruel Marathon and well, its California.
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