CHARLES LACARRE
Charles La carre
Race Report: LMV8 Oval Series at Venray - Episode 2
My first thoughts after winning my first race on Sunday went to Christian Florès. Christian counted a lot for me. When I started racing go-karts, with his kindness and good mood, he looked after me, my first laps, my first races, just like a real coach, always with a kindly outlook. I promised him something I had not been able to honor, heckled by a disjointed racing path. Christian, it is time for me to tell you I did it. This win is for you, René and his family. I could not bring home the trophy on the plane yet but I want you to know it is for you. 7 years is a long time. Many times I thought I would never have the occasion to get it, but it also means that 7 years later, we’re still remembering Christophe. I know not many people will understand, but I will keep the situation out of any indecency. I am clumsy, but the important thing is that you and René understand. It is said, it is done. I miss you, you helped me become who I am on the racetrack today, and I will not forget. I kiss you dearly.
2 race days means twice more things to write… twice more sensations… For my 2nd time at Venray Raceway half-mile oval in the #22… That’s twice more number 2s… 2x2=4 x2=8… Let’s go racing in the LMV8 Oval Series!
14th of July week-end, France national day, and to celebrate it fully, I will hit the track in blue, white and red!
Still considered as a rookie in the LMV8 Oval series, I find myself starting last again during Saturday’s 3 races… and I can take advantage of starting right behind the fastest and most experimented drivers who are placed at the back too.
Without second thoughts, I find myself battling with Gil Linster’s #44… All the pleasure was mine as he is a respectful driver with clear intentions and a safe behavior, which makes for pleasant racing even during a tenacious fight! The #33 Dodge Challenger completes the trio. Not a lot of room given, but enough to slide up to the outside! However, after overtaking the #44, I find myself trapped on the inside of the #33… Caught out at my own game, stripped of the favored outside line on corner exits, I see myself losing the position I gained… Touched by the #33, the #44 manages to get by both of us. Time is running out and I do no have another opportunity to pass the #33 in the last 2 laps… It’s great to be fast, but I need to be more efficient! My teammate Phillip finishes 3rd and scores the first podium for the team this week-end… I finish 8th. 25 laps go by fast!
The 2nd race of the week-end also featured many battles… In the very early laps, I stumble on a wall of cars, placed 2 by 2 on many rows… Thank god passing on both sides is allowed. I’m battling again the #3, 2018 champion of the series! I show myself several times to his inside but I can’t complete the pass. Inside doesn’t work, why wouldn’t I try the outside?? Going the long way forces me to brake later but the car allows me to take risks. It enters the turn like a rocket! I only have to worry about stopping the rocket mid-turn in order to make it out alive… I spend more than half the race side-by-side with the #3! I am the ham… Another car and the wall are the slices of bread. With 2 laps to go, I am a few inches away from completing the overtake… Approaching a lapped car, I widen my corner entry and can’t slow down my rocket enough. I go straight into the wall, lose 3 positions and end up 12th… Thankfully, no harm was done to the car, damages are only aesthetic. As for the wall, he is now ornamented with a wonderful royal blue stripe! Phillip wins Race 2 and scores his second career win!
The 3rd race is a repeat of the first races… Hard-fought battles! With the #3 in the first time, whom I manage to pass! Then with Dennis J. Sargent Jr., who races just like his fellow American racers, aggressive and controlled. I am for the first time victim of a bum-n-run… The #3 follows in the path of his legendary number… Intimidator, just like Dale Earnhardt! Being pushed in a turn is a new and surprising sensation! There are plenty more positions in the sea and the next car is D. Adrianssens’s #9. After a thrilling fight, we finish side-by-side on the line… Photo-finish to his advantage, I am 10th, 2nd fastest lap of the race behind Phillip who scores both the win and the fastest lap. The car allows me to be regularly at the top of the lap times leaderboard but I'm not getting the results to show for it...
I am glad the car allows me to search for the limits, play with physics and try to be aggressive, getting out of my comfort zone. It (she?) gives me confidence in my instinct and my reflexes. It’s a psychological comfort that I am happy to find, because after all, that’s the essence of racing. I regret I couldn’t improve my finish positions at the end of the first day. I made a mistake that put me in the wall and I’m not really proud of it.
Sunday, July 14th, out with starting 18th, I will be starting 3rd with a reversed grid! Fewer overtake, but the necessity of being fast and consistent if I want to resist the other drivers and not give them a way to put the pressure on me!
Jens, crew chief, Dirk and Eugen, car chiefs, made a few changes to the car to make it even faster on corner entry. Right after green flag dropped, I was chasing Patrick Heckhausen’s #88… Diving to his inside, the pass is a success! Full speed in my head, I think about the team’s advice during the morning: take care of the tires to insure speed at the end of the race! The 25 fastest lap in the world become the 25 longest lap ever when you are leading…
A crash eventually brought out the yellow flag. The caution helped to lower the temperature, but the gaps created saw themselves reduced to tenth of seconds…
8 laps remain after the restart! I manage to run the fastest lap of the race, best lap of the week-end overall and I win the race… Victory!!!!
2nd race of the day and first highlight in the garages… I barely put my helmet on when I realize that the plastic cap of my radio earphones is stuck in my ear… I can’t even describe how bad it feels… It made its way to the very end of my auditory canal… And the only thing that separated me from amputation was Lisa. She sprinted to the team’s truck and brought back some well-needed tweezers… Dominik surgical precision put an end to the plastic cap breakthrough. My inner-ear a tad unsettled, I spent most of the race behind the #88… Faster on entry, turns after turns, I manage to show up next to his rear quarter-panel on a slippery inside line and with less banking… But I’m loosing all my momentum exiting the turns… I see other drivers getting closer and closer in the rearview mirror… Coming in hot!! Laps are winding down, I start to brake later and later until a caution flag interrupts the battle… In my earphones, Dominik tells me the Green-White-Checkered procedure is underway. It means I have 2 laps left to make the crucial pass… The call of victory is too much for me to handle, I have to take all the risks now or never!
I don’t exactly remember how late I braked in these last 2 laps, but I know it was pretty late. The car followed every single one of my moves with only 1 lap and half to complete… I’m literally throwing it into Turn 3… My front bumper gets in front of the #88 but he is still on my outside… We make contact on exit! “They touch… they touch!!!”
The #88 and the #22 have that in common: they were both painted by André LeichtfuB, who created both designs from start to finish… It directly brings drivers closer!
1 lap to go and Dominik finally tells me “clear”…. I win the race with this last lap pass… Richard Petty once stated that leading one lap was enough to win a race as long as this is the last one… Turns out it’s true!
My ride’s right side has a few added tire marks to its design… Rubbin’s racin’ and that’s what we love in oval races. Hugging Patrick Heckhausen during post-race interviews confirms the Venray spirit is the American spirit. Give everything on the track, fight against the other and against oneself but appreciate each other. This 2nd race will hold a big place in my memory and this fight with Patrick is written in my mind!
My ride’s right side has a few added tire marks to its design… Rubbin’s racin’ and that’s what we love in oval races. Hugging Patrick Heckhausen during post-race interviews confirms the Venray spirit is the American spirit. Give everything on the track, fight against the other and against oneself but appreciate each other. This 2nd race will hold a big place in my memory and this fight with Patrick is written in my mind!
Patrick Heckhausen encounters problems at the start of Race 3 and gives up 1st place to me as the caution is brought out immediately after the 1st lap. The final race is a bit longer than the previous 2 and I feel the car evolving differently on a warmer track. The grip is different as more than 20 cars from another championship put grip on the asphalt for more than a hundred laps. The car is tricky on corner exits and I have to be more careful on the gas if I don’t want to lose the back end! The gap I managed to build early in the race allows me to try different things, different approaches of a turn, different braking point… I don’t think I competed 2 laps the same way! But in the end, the gaps remain steady and I win again… Hat-trick!
The week-end could not end up better… Well, apart from the welcome back to the garage from the team… A mix of hugs and cold water buckets… If this improvised shower does not get me sick… My immune defense system definitely improved! Thanks Bachor Raing Team… I avoided rain, but I could not avoid water all week-end!
The team gathered 5 wins through 5 races on this 14th of July week-end and it was present during every single podium ceremonies!
Engine problems prevented Phillip’s from running full-speed on Snday, but he was glad for me, and all the team was proud… And I was proud to be able to make the team proud! I’m glad I held my ground starting from the front…
The podium ceremony almost cost me my return flight… Thankfully, Amsterdam’s Schipol airport has pretty quick moving sidewalk… Fine!