I Survived the Heat at the Circuit of the Americas!
Unless you were living under a rock, this past weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) at Austin Texas was extremely hot! It might be cooler under the rock, so stay there.If you followed the racing weekend on any social media outlet, I am sure the temperature and heat received much attention.
Okay, let’s start with the part of my article I know you all look forward to, my interview with a driver. If you have read my prior articles or follow me on Twitter, you know I have been very fortunate to walk through the paddock at many circuits and chat with such legends as Mark Webber, Allan McNish, and on a regular basis, Neel Jani.
Secretly, I have followed a driver for a few years whom I have not tweeted, not discussed and not openly connected with because I have been too nervous! Yes, one driver has made me speechless until this weekend. My “no longer secret” fan crush is on Dominik Kraihamer, in the #13 LMP1 Rebellion Racing
A big thank you to Dominik who met me and chatted in the cool of the media center on Thursday. Here is just part of my interview.
Q: What is your favorite music/artist?
He listens to a lot of hip hop and Drake. Music is very important to Dominik and his family. From a very young age, he started playing guitar, drums, and piano.
Q: Since you grew up karting, do you still race karts?
Time is the big issue, and just not having enough due to his tight schedule. He suffered broken ribs karting and wants to be careful not to reinjure.
Q: What track is on your bucket list to race?
An LMP1 car racing at Singapore due to the “super tight” configuration of the course.
Q: What turn at what circuit gives you a smile when you hit it just right?
Sort of a tie between Porsche Curves at Le Mans and Eau Rouge at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Q: How is your college education progressing?
Dominik is studying International Economics at the most demanding college in Austria, the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He has one more year of studies to graduate. Dominik is a very focused and driven person and wants to perform over 100% at everything.
It is very difficult to have full-focus at the race track when he knows college is in session and he has studies and assignments to complete. He mentioned “I want to do everything properly.” And when at school, focus on school, and when at circuit, focus on racing.
Q: If you were not racing cars, what would be your occupation?
He would still finish college and would pursue a career in Marketing on the creative side.
Even before I chatted with Dominik, I realized he was a very driven person. Yes, he enjoys laughing around the paddock but he knows when to apply the “focus” and perform. I was very impressed and not surprised to learn of his strong commitment to family, music, and education.
If you are at the WEC race, please attend the autograph session and meet Dominik and his team. I know you will enjoy your chat with him as much as I did. Dominik mentioned one personal sponsor, “Eat the Ball” which is a very interesting bread product. On Twitter, I had seen Dominik mention or include @EattheBall and I was intrigued.
You can read more about “Eat the Ball” here and follow the ball on Twitter! https://www.eattheball.com/
Please give Dominik a follow on Twitter @DodoKraihamer
And meet him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjE0Wo6p0t0
Rebellion Racing is considered a “privateer” or private team sometimes bringing two cars to race #12 and #13. For COTA, only car #13 raced with drivers Mathéo Tuscher, Dominik Kraihamer, and Alexandre Imperatori. What does this mean? From the http://www.fiawec.com/presentation/classes.html website
“The LMP1 Private Teams category is reserved exclusively for independent private teams. A team that is independent of a manufacturer means a team that does not benefit from any support from a manufacturer other than for the single supply of engines, services relating to these engines or commercial support. Any support from a manufacturer relating to the chassis or to chassis systems is prohibited. It is understood that traction control is considered as a chassis system.”
Learn more about the team here: http://www.rebellion-racing.com/en/
The race weekend was full of action with FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with four classes: LMP1, LMP2, LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am; IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) with four classes: P, PC, GTLM, GTD; IMSA Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge (CTSC) with two classes: GS, ST; Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo (Lambo), and Porsche GT3 Cup.
With all the cars on track for either practice, qualifying, racing, hot laps, etc., this means the track marshals rarely received a break from the heat. I wish I had an egg to fry on the pavement in the paddock area.
Many drivers I spoke to did not have cool suits or air conditioning in their race car. The practice of putting bags of ice down the front of their fire suits made me nervous. Is it a hazard to put something so cold directly on your heart since your body is already at an extremely high temperature?
Other than the EMS ambulance helping people from the shuttle bus which tried to spear itself with the end of the Mazda trailer ramp, I did not hear of any fans or crew needing medical attention due to the heat. The drivers, on the other hand, were a different story.
I was standing on pit lane at the end of Lambo race Friday morning when one of the Lambo cars pulled into the first pit box at pit in. The car approached at an unusual angle and it was not that teams pit box. The crew at that pit, opened the door only to see the driver basically faint and fall out of the car. The EMS team was there to take the driver to infield medical care center.
I learned later the driver’s responses on the car radio had gone from “tired” sounding to pretty much gibberish, and the team had called for EMS to be ready when the driver pulled into the pit area. Very scary sight to see. I talked to the teams PR representative and the driver was okay after receiving IV’s and fluids.
With IMSA and WEC racing the same weekend, many drivers took this opportunity to do the “double” and race both. Given the heat, I wonder how many drivers would have changed their minds on this idea. I am absolutely amazed at Ricky Taylor who, along with his brother, won the IMSA race and went on to podium at the WEC race. Jordan Taylor raced the last stint in the IMSA race for Wayne Taylor Racing #10 Chevrolet Corvette DP, so maybe that helped Ricky a little by having a break before hoping in the WEC #50 LMGTE Am Chevrolet Corvette C7.
The heat also made the track surface much slicker than desired and during the CTSC race, many cars could be seen slip slidin’ and almost away. Each day started with either Porsche GT3 Cup or Lambo cars taking to the track. The only time I saw the track blowers was right after the CTSC race and before IMSA qualifying. Maybe all the tire pieces left from the prior series provided for a little grip.
The WEC autograph session on Saturday at 3pm was the same format as last year with the drivers walking the gauntlet under the direct sun out on the track with fans waiting for a glimpse of their favorite driver to pass by. I watched from afar. I attended last year and I think it was hotter this year, so I passed on that.
For 2017, IMSA will move their race weekend at COTA to May 4 -6 and race with Continental tire Challenge CTSC where the weather and temperatures should be more comfortable.
With WEC returning to Mexico City and keeping the Labor Day weekend for the scheduled event, I look for WEC to return to COTA mid-September since the cars will already be on this side of the world.
Also with WEC joining partnership with Formula V8 for Mexico City, I look for this series to also join WEC at COTA. http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/fia-wec-and-formula-v8-35-to-join-forces-in-2017_4291.html
On a personal note, I kept one eye on the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) event at Sonoma Raceway watching GTA class for a good result for my friend Cooper MacNeil who moved to PWC from IMSA with the WeatherTech sponsored car, where he was on the podium both races.
Thank you all for reading and I welcome your comments. I have no affiliation with WEC, COTA, IMSA, etc. just a fan. There are many blogs and websites where you will find statistics, results, and scoring from the race; this is “just the way I see it”.
Got a response? Let me hear it! Please Follow and tweet me @viclovesracing
And look for future “Vickie’s Trackside Report” coming to a track near you!
