The fifteenth running of the Dubai 24-hours was certainly a bit of an adventure, in all sorts of ways.
It was always going to be an adventure, from my point of view, as I was given the opportunity to work for the Red Camel garage, running the strategy for the no. 101 Cupra in the TCR class. Accepting the offer was a tough decision, as I have worked every year since 2012 for the Radio Show Limited broadcast team. As I explained to John and Eve when I told them of my decision, it was for the most part driven by a desire to try out something new. I have commentated on enough 24-hour races now that I feel as if I know what I am doing, and although every race throws up surprises in one way or another, I usually go into the race confident of my ability to do what is required.
Readers may remember that Barwell Motorsport gave me the chance to work for them at the Spa 24 hours last year, so I had some impression of what would be needed at Red Camel, but my role at Barwell was merely advisory, in support to the four race engineers that were looking after their two Lamborghinis in the race.
Red Camel were (foolishly, perhaps) prepared to give me far more responsibility at Dubai. In addition to making calls on driver change and refuelling strategy, they wanted me to be involved with tyre wear management and even had me making decisions on car set-up.
I also managed to get myself involved – with Red Camel’s knowledge and approval – with Heide Motorsport, who had entered a brand new Audi R8 LMS GT4, for Rahel Frey, Alex Welch, Mike Beckhusen and Heinz Schmersal to drive.
Given my history with Barwell, and the fact that I had been to their workshop back in December to discuss their strategy for this race with their GT3 class Lamborghini Huracan, my loyalties were well and truly divided. Fortuitously, though, none of my interests were competing against each other in the same class, so it worked quite well in practice.
The contrast between the three teams is astonishing. Barwell, although a small team compared to some of their competition in the GT3 class such as Black Falcon and WRT, have an amazingly professional approach. The team looks to optimise every single thing, and makes everything work extremely effectively. They understand their strengths and weaknesses, they are extremely familiar with their car and have a great relationship with their partners and drivers. It is a hugely successful team achieving a great deal with limited resources: everyone works hard together and is always looking to improve.
Heide Motorsport, on the other hand, were having their first foray into a 24H Series event. Indeed, it was the first endurance event that the team had ever undertaken, so their learning curve was a steep one. It was clear, though, that over the course of the week, the team learned a lot and they will certainly be back for more 24H Series races later in the season.
Red Camel did not have a particularly successful season in 2019, in championship terms. But they did win the TCR 500 race at Spa-Francorchamps in October, and followed that up with a win in the TCE division at the final race of the 2019 season, the 24 hours of COTA. The team is run by the charismatic Ivo Breukers, who also happens to be one of the founders of the Creventic organisation. What is most surprising about the members of the Red Camel team, though, is that they are all enthusiasts, giving up their time to come and work on the Cupra at various weekends during the year.
Compared to both Barwell and Heide, Red Camel is very much a team of amateurs – although, as is the case with a lot of sporting amateurs, they are just as talented as many of the so-called professionals.
Being in the garage rather than the commentary box, one gets a massive insight into the various aspects that are involved with running a racing team. There are so many elements that have to fit together. Engineers have to understand suspension, tyres, aerodynamics, fuel consumption. Team managers have to deal with everyone’s requirements – for rest, refreshment, travel, accommodation and all other things logistical. People need to be able to communicate without ambiguity (a problem, for me, when most of the Red Camel team is Dutch!).
I must admit, there were times in the lead-up to the race, when I yearned for the simplicity of the commentary box. Once the set-up and sound checks have been done, it is just a matter of turning on the microphone and talking. In the team, you have to spend so much time thinking, working things out, posing and answering ‘what if’ questions. Then there is the whole question of the strategy. You need to make sure the car is performing at its best for qualifying (ours wasn’t), that all the team drivers are happy with the set-up of the car (ours weren’t), that we knew what we were going to do to the car when it rained (we knew it would), that we had enough rain tyres (did we?), and so the list goes on.
Come the race, of course, it rained. By this time, the Red Camel Cupra, ably driven by Jerimy Daniel, Jean-François Hevey (known as Jef), Henry Littig and Ivo himself, was up into fourth place in the TCE race (from tenth on the grid). We had had an unscheduled off-course excursion, when the car had hit the barrier as the driver had tried to make room for a faster car to come past. We had also had a couple of mistakes on pit calls – on one occasion the driver staying out, when we really wanted him to pit, on another when we went to wet tyres too early. We also lost ground to the TCR class leader during a caution period… it was not much consolation (although a small satisfaction) when he was later penalised for speeding under code 60!
With more than half the race remaining, we had high hopes – at least of a podium. Unfortunately, through the night, the rain continued. Picture the scene: mechanics dozing in the garage, drivers having been sent back to their hotels. The race was suspended until at least 7am; but at around 4:30am, the water started to come in under the garage door. Like every other garage, ours had cables, extensions, chargers, clothing, sleeping bags all over the floor. With the power failed, suddenly there was a mad rush to clear everything off the floor, to switch off the current in case the power returned when connections were still under water.
Then we discovered that the cars, parked out on the start-finish line, were also being submerged. We were advised to send mechanics to push them to ‘higher ground’. Some fool went out into the pit lane floating on his air-mattress. Apparently there were metre-deep puddles out on the circuit.
At dawn, it became apparent how much water was about. The inevitable official notification came, to the effect that a restart would be impossible. So we packed up the container, trying to dry things out as much as possible. I joined a group of mechanics and we headed to the Dubai Mall, and we had a pleasant lunch sitting outside in the warm sunshine at the base of the Burj Khailfa. The madness of the night seemed like a fairytale.
Then Ivo sent us pictures of the lake at Turns 2 and 3. It would clearly be a number of days yet before racing would be possible at Dubai: even after the water subsided, there would still be the need to clear all the debris – sand hardened to near-concrete by the water – from the track.
It was a bit of a rubbish way to end a 24-hour race. But a race to remember in any case. Again.
It was always going to be an adventure, from my point of view, as I was given the opportunity to work for the Red Camel garage, running the strategy for the no. 101 Cupra in the TCR class. Accepting the offer was a tough decision, as I have worked every year since 2012 for the Radio Show Limited broadcast team. As I explained to John and Eve when I told them of my decision, it was for the most part driven by a desire to try out something new. I have commentated on enough 24-hour races now that I feel as if I know what I am doing, and although every race throws up surprises in one way or another, I usually go into the race confident of my ability to do what is required.
Readers may remember that Barwell Motorsport gave me the chance to work for them at the Spa 24 hours last year, so I had some impression of what would be needed at Red Camel, but my role at Barwell was merely advisory, in support to the four race engineers that were looking after their two Lamborghinis in the race.
Red Camel were (foolishly, perhaps) prepared to give me far more responsibility at Dubai. In addition to making calls on driver change and refuelling strategy, they wanted me to be involved with tyre wear management and even had me making decisions on car set-up.
I also managed to get myself involved – with Red Camel’s knowledge and approval – with Heide Motorsport, who had entered a brand new Audi R8 LMS GT4, for Rahel Frey, Alex Welch, Mike Beckhusen and Heinz Schmersal to drive.
Given my history with Barwell, and the fact that I had been to their workshop back in December to discuss their strategy for this race with their GT3 class Lamborghini Huracan, my loyalties were well and truly divided. Fortuitously, though, none of my interests were competing against each other in the same class, so it worked quite well in practice.
The contrast between the three teams is astonishing. Barwell, although a small team compared to some of their competition in the GT3 class such as Black Falcon and WRT, have an amazingly professional approach. The team looks to optimise every single thing, and makes everything work extremely effectively. They understand their strengths and weaknesses, they are extremely familiar with their car and have a great relationship with their partners and drivers. It is a hugely successful team achieving a great deal with limited resources: everyone works hard together and is always looking to improve.
Heide Motorsport, on the other hand, were having their first foray into a 24H Series event. Indeed, it was the first endurance event that the team had ever undertaken, so their learning curve was a steep one. It was clear, though, that over the course of the week, the team learned a lot and they will certainly be back for more 24H Series races later in the season.
Red Camel did not have a particularly successful season in 2019, in championship terms. But they did win the TCR 500 race at Spa-Francorchamps in October, and followed that up with a win in the TCE division at the final race of the 2019 season, the 24 hours of COTA. The team is run by the charismatic Ivo Breukers, who also happens to be one of the founders of the Creventic organisation. What is most surprising about the members of the Red Camel team, though, is that they are all enthusiasts, giving up their time to come and work on the Cupra at various weekends during the year.
Compared to both Barwell and Heide, Red Camel is very much a team of amateurs – although, as is the case with a lot of sporting amateurs, they are just as talented as many of the so-called professionals.
Being in the garage rather than the commentary box, one gets a massive insight into the various aspects that are involved with running a racing team. There are so many elements that have to fit together. Engineers have to understand suspension, tyres, aerodynamics, fuel consumption. Team managers have to deal with everyone’s requirements – for rest, refreshment, travel, accommodation and all other things logistical. People need to be able to communicate without ambiguity (a problem, for me, when most of the Red Camel team is Dutch!).
I must admit, there were times in the lead-up to the race, when I yearned for the simplicity of the commentary box. Once the set-up and sound checks have been done, it is just a matter of turning on the microphone and talking. In the team, you have to spend so much time thinking, working things out, posing and answering ‘what if’ questions. Then there is the whole question of the strategy. You need to make sure the car is performing at its best for qualifying (ours wasn’t), that all the team drivers are happy with the set-up of the car (ours weren’t), that we knew what we were going to do to the car when it rained (we knew it would), that we had enough rain tyres (did we?), and so the list goes on.
Come the race, of course, it rained. By this time, the Red Camel Cupra, ably driven by Jerimy Daniel, Jean-François Hevey (known as Jef), Henry Littig and Ivo himself, was up into fourth place in the TCE race (from tenth on the grid). We had had an unscheduled off-course excursion, when the car had hit the barrier as the driver had tried to make room for a faster car to come past. We had also had a couple of mistakes on pit calls – on one occasion the driver staying out, when we really wanted him to pit, on another when we went to wet tyres too early. We also lost ground to the TCR class leader during a caution period… it was not much consolation (although a small satisfaction) when he was later penalised for speeding under code 60!
With more than half the race remaining, we had high hopes – at least of a podium. Unfortunately, through the night, the rain continued. Picture the scene: mechanics dozing in the garage, drivers having been sent back to their hotels. The race was suspended until at least 7am; but at around 4:30am, the water started to come in under the garage door. Like every other garage, ours had cables, extensions, chargers, clothing, sleeping bags all over the floor. With the power failed, suddenly there was a mad rush to clear everything off the floor, to switch off the current in case the power returned when connections were still under water.
Then we discovered that the cars, parked out on the start-finish line, were also being submerged. We were advised to send mechanics to push them to ‘higher ground’. Some fool went out into the pit lane floating on his air-mattress. Apparently there were metre-deep puddles out on the circuit.
At dawn, it became apparent how much water was about. The inevitable official notification came, to the effect that a restart would be impossible. So we packed up the container, trying to dry things out as much as possible. I joined a group of mechanics and we headed to the Dubai Mall, and we had a pleasant lunch sitting outside in the warm sunshine at the base of the Burj Khailfa. The madness of the night seemed like a fairytale.
Then Ivo sent us pictures of the lake at Turns 2 and 3. It would clearly be a number of days yet before racing would be possible at Dubai: even after the water subsided, there would still be the need to clear all the debris – sand hardened to near-concrete by the water – from the track.
It was a bit of a rubbish way to end a 24-hour race. But a race to remember in any case. Again.
