CHARLES LACARRE
Charles La carre
Race Report: LMV8 Oval Series at Venray - Episode 1
Starting last offers a couple of non-negligible advantages when racing… provided that you don’t get caught by the leaders.
I did not lose any positions during my first week-end of racing at Venray Raceway… Not without trouble as I have had to pick up the pace rather quickly… But that’s a fact!
New team : Bachor Racing Team, new car: Late Model Stock, new track: Venray Raceway half-mile oval and new drivers to race against. An accelerated training crash course…
I also discovered a new gearbox type… It confused me a bit, but after a couple of failures to get it started, I could quickly put the whole crew to work… Their first job: pushing me in the pits to avoid stalling… Who knew Gearboxes could bring you closer ??
As of now, I’m still repeating myself the whole process… To start the car, put it up to 4th, Charles… Don’t you dare touch the clutch pedal before you actually decide to leave the pits… Then be cautious. As you ease on the clutch, the machine starts rolling… Only now do you touch the gas pedal, rev the engine up to 4 000rpm… Release the clutch immediately as you proceed to get up to 2nd gear.
Note to self: Do not keep both the clutch pressed and 1st gear engaged when you’re stopped, you will stall.
Phillip, Dominik and Leon took time to teach me right the theoretical part and gave away a bit of elbow grease to help me kick start the practical part… Thanks boys!
Free practice #1 : First time experiencing formation laps “Dutch edition”. I have no words to describe how reassured I am to start last because a formation lap feels like a qualifying lap in formation…
Free practice #2: and the “highlight” of my race week-end, that could have been a lowlight around Turn 1, when I stumbled on the #99 car, perpendicular to the track after losing control while 3 drivers approached at full speed.
A Brief « Holy s**t » moment and many flashbacks pass through my head… The consequences of an accident on the remained of my season, the sad face of my team, my shaken mother, my angry father…
I remember the crashes I’m used to encounter during my online activities on iRacing… Virtual Big Ones that I’m lucky to avoid sometimes, and involved in on other times…
The #47 hits the #99 who keeps spinning… The #99, right in front of me dives to the inside to avoid the #99… I tell myself that braking and stopping as early as possible would help.
I know I’m about to hit somebody. I need to stop and make contact as slowly as possible to limit the damages. It’s only a matter of time and speed.
A narrow car-width opens up between the shattered #99 and the wall… I brake, carefully in order not to block the wheels and keep traction and direction… I avoid the first car, but as if it was not enough, the #47 with damages to the front stopped… The #14 who decided to go to the inside clipped the #99 and is coming back up the track… A mayhem of bent sheet metals and numbers… I need to stop.
Crashes are definitely funnier in the virtual world.
Helped by the Force, or by aligning stars, or held by God’s hand, I survived. A tough first inning… A baptism of fire that allowed me to check if everything was right with the brakes… I think they work rather well!!!
Not even time to say “oof”, my first task after these exhausting 3 seconds is to find reverse… That reversed clutch wishes to make it hard for me to get out of the situation I’m in… to the great displeasure of the rescue worker… “How are you??” “I CAN’T PUT IT IN REVEEEERRSEEE!!!!!”
I only needed a few minutes to process the information and understand after a couple of “How are you?” tries that the first-aid man doesn’t care about reverse and only wants to know if I’m alright after the crash. Yes, I’m alright! No damages, no worries!
I finally success and escape the crime scene in reverse… I can’t imagine the surprised face of my first-aid guy if I mistakenly put 1st gear instead of reverse…
This crash is not the unique souvenir I have from this week-end. I’m still relieved to come back in the garages and cool down with the whole crew, proud that I avoided everything. Preparing mentally for the first race by forgetting what happened, I’m glad I could make up for stalling earlier in the day!
Careful, I make my first overtakes in the 3 pack of the race at the bottom of the standings during the 1st race. It’s hot in the cockpit, hot on the track and I experience for the first time tire fall-off. Brand new at the start of the race, I quickly feel the temperature raising in the rubber. Interesting feeling that requires quick adaptation. Starting last allows me to try new things turns after turn to understand and analyze the advices the team gave me before the race. After a restart following an incident, I retain that I was the only gullible racer to slow down after the yellow lights turned on indicating danger… Only to get back to green 2 seconds later… And Dominik, my spotter, to tell me in the radio a lap after it that the race ended. I finish 9th and I’m still hearing his anxious “No time to sleep!!! Close up!!!”… My failed restart earned me a good amount of teasing… Thanks to Lisa and her mother, Mrs. Bachor, I get to eat a good meal way before the scheduled eating time… In order to wake up! Sugar chunks weren’t enough anymore…!
2nd race and fastest lap times of all the drivers… Pastas make all the difference! I find myself fighting for position with my teammate, Phillip in the #21… No place for mistake and after reviewing the video footage, I realize I wasn’t even as close I thought I was to him. I still have to gain experience to have a better feedback… What I thought was close door to door racing turned out to be distant neighbourhood… I don’t want to put a teammate in danger, or anybody for that matter. I am still getting used to feeling the car slide on corner exit and that sensation of levitating when the car transitions from the banked corner to the less banked straightway… A bit like landing in a plane. I love it!
3rd race to conclude this week-end full of emotions. My arms still remember these last 30 laps or so… Even though every pain goes away once you’re racing at an average 100mph. I fought against the #51 during many laps. Side by side racing is awesome. It’s motivating but also disorienting. No more marks as the field of view in the car is very limited compared to my simulator experience. It’s hard to realize how far or how close you are from the other car. You have to trust yourself, and trust the other driver and that comes with experience. I found myself diving at the bottom of a 3 wide situation to pass a lapped car and complete the overtake on the #51 despite Dominik’s advises to be patient… I had to do it! Everything went well even though I lost my bet with him… If I would have managed to improve my lap times by 0.1s, I would have been able to hear the sweet sound of his voice in French! Lost bet, until next time! A true NASCAR spirit in the paddocks, many kind smiles and welcoming hugs with encouraging and comforting words. I love it. People are likeable and I am happy I was able to live those moments with the team, Uwe and André. I hope Uwe will keep on congratulating me by hitting (understand destroy) my shoulder…
Now is time to prepare physically to be able to withstand 2 straight days of racing under the heat, in July…
