I may only have been to four race meetings this year – but that is three more than I went to in 2020, so by no means am I complaining. More importantly, I was fit enough to attend a lot more than that and I was able to be properly involved with a number of other races during the year: not only commentating for Radio Show Limited’s network of channels, but also getting involved in a consultancy role for various teams working remotely. It is a testament to modern technology – as well as the co-operation of timekeepers and facility suppliers – that such remote working is possible. One hears many stories these days of working from home, but I can confirm that the future is here… and it works!
There is no doubt whatsoever though, that however good the technology, you can’t beat actually being at a race. I’ll admit that I was interested in cars and motor sport from an early age (not encouraged in any way by my family, I must stress), but it was not until my first visit to Brands Hatch at the age of ten that my passion was truly ignited. Since becoming involved in the sport, I have been fortunate to attend races in many categories and across the globe, mostly (although not exclusively) at someone else’s expense.
And I’ll admit that I find it more of a chore and less of a joy to talk about races without being there. Le Mans this year was an excellent example. The situation was certainly not simple as various issues were at play, but an opportunity arose for me to make the trip to see the race at first hand. However, when the music stopped, I was at home and the 62 cars that I longed to see spend the week tearing around the French countryside did so without me. It meant that I was able to talk about the race for Radio Le Mans, and the technology I referred to above allowed me access to more data and as good TV pictures as I would have had if I had made the trip there in person. But I wasn’t there: I wasn’t able to talk to anyone in person, I wasn’t able to smell, feel or touch the atmosphere. There was a wall between Le Mans and me.
I was also disappointed not to make the trip to Sebring for the inaugural 24-hour race at the Florida airfield track, run by Creventic as the conclusion of their 24H Series Championship. I’ve never been to Sebring, and it remains one of those places I would like to go someday. I generally enjoy Creventic’s races – a highlight of my 2019 season was getting to all the rounds of their championship. Everyone who knows their races speaks highly of them, and although not without their wrinkles, they do a great job organising races that people actually enjoy participating in.
The Covid-19 pandemic, along with some other economic problems, has hit them hard. Remember who organised the first post-pandemic (or in the light of later events, mid-pandemic) race back in 2020? Yes, at Portimão – a 24-hour race on the weekend of June 13th/14th. It was a brave move, the previous race in the series having been the rain-curtailed Dubai 24 hours of 2020, which had to be abandoned after just seven hours because of heavy (artificially-induced) rain.
This year has been far more successful for the Dutch organisation. Seven races comprised the season: 24-hour races at Dubai, Barcelona and Sebring, complemented by 12-hour affairs at Mugello, Paul Ricard, Hockenheim and Budapest. Entries were generally pretty good although sometimes disappointing – no-one was happy to see just 16 cars start at the Hungaroring, a late replacement for the Coppa Florio at Enna-Pergusa. Considering the uncertainty caused by travel restrictions and the ongoing global pandemic, the average number of starters over the year, at over 31, is not too bad at all.
The fact that Creventic doesn’t use Safety Cars, but uses the Code-60 procedure to neutralise races, is a good thing in my view. However, it does reduce the tactical options for teams playing catch-up. Once you drop back, it is a tough job to recover lost time. In virtually all other brands of endurance racing, the Safety Car provides the chance for slower cars to catch up. Over the course of 12 or 24 hours, it is entirely possible for a car to recover several laps, by judicious use of pit stops during Safety Car periods, and some Creventic races this year have failed to provide as much entertainment merely because one car got a lucky break with a code-60, from which others were unable to recover. You may say that Safety Cars can provide similar lucky breaks, and you would be right, but more often than not, it is the cars behind the leader that benefit. It is a reflection on the careful Balance of Performance (BoP) regulations in the series that so many Creventic races are as close-fought as they are.
There is a good mix of manufacturers represented as well. Although Porsche won every race bar one this year, there were four occasions on which there were cars from three different manufacturers on the podium, and although Herberth Motorsport won four times, four different teams took overall honours during the year and on four occasions the winning margin was a lap or less.
There is still the final race of the 2021 Intercontinental GT Challenge to come in the shape of the iconic Kyalami 9 hours and I’m aware that by focussing on the Creventic series in this article I have overlooked the bigger brother, properly professional SRO-organised series that go to make not only the IGTC but also the GT World Challenge: in Europe, America and Asia.
Further still up the motor-racing pecking order, there is also the matter of a Formula 1 world championship to be settled. A friend of mine recently said that his attention had been drawn far more to F1 this year than to Endurance racing, and I can see why. The entertainment factor in F1 has certainly been very high.
Fortunately, Formula 1, the World Endurance Championship, the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 24H Series all cater for different markets, different budgets, different customers. Long may they co-exist. But, reflecting the spirit of the time of year, may they also share where resources are scarce.
