Antonio Silva
READ PART 1 OF THIS CHRONICLE!
TEXT 24 HOURS OF ASCARI CLÁSICOS: ANTONIO SILVA / PHOTOS: 8000 LAPS AND AS
Meanwhile our brother team, LosAbetos-Hortaclassics, I was running at a rate of 3: 05-3: 03 per lap, not bad for a car much less modified than ours. Unfortunately, his pit stop at three statutory hours per driver revealed that, given the poor preparation of his Opel, it was not capable of running like this: he had smashed wheels and required an urgent tire change.
It was the price to pay for wearing series trapezoids and not being able to give more favorable falls. So his crew chief passed the slogan of raising the lap time to 3: 15-3: 10 minutes or they wouldn't finish. It's reality, it's hard for the driver having to make these kinds of savings. See how, despite carrying a racing car that could run more, most of your opponents are overtaking you (or that was their impression!).
Making a simple calculation, including our stop of 7 minutes 35 seconds, in 3 hours our team, the AdequaSpain-Hortaclassics, had done just under 59 laps. On the other hand, the Firs stopped with 59 laps going much slower (about 5 seconds per lap)… Seen this, if we had wanted We could have gone slower which shows the purely recreational nature of this event.
24 Hours of Ascari: The time has come
Back in our Astra, my teammate had set the team's fastest lap in 2:54:02, and after that it was between 2: 56-2: 58 minutes. For my part I was made a bundle of nerves, he was going to touch me. Helmet in hand with headphones on, he had gone to the bathroom to avoid setbacks ... and at 2:25 am Vicman's radio is playing.
The time has come, and also with new wheels; great, I think, while Javier tells me to keep them, not to get involved in wars that at least have to last 6 hours. The last one has been made less than 5. 'Remember: 3:00 minutes is your goal'; I nod and put my thumb up, as they finish tying me up and securing me. 'Strip', they finally tell me after just seven minutes of preparations.
The batch begins. The first lap I roll with caution. There is SafetyCar, so I join at the end of the training. 15 minutes of Safety, my head a hundred and more than 10 cars behind me. I want to keep a cool head and keep my tires; there is a lot of traffic and everyone goes with the knife between their teeth, as far as possible ...
As soon as Safety is removed ZASCA, two of them overtake me at once; I put up with the rest, I crossed the finish line, I accelerated the braking and while I let pass a Golf. 3:10 I see out of the corner of my eye in the internal chrono, that it is not the official one but it is quite close.
That Golf is not going to escape me. Third, fourth, I lift my foot controlling the understeer of the Astra and the VW already bothers me, which undoubtedly runs less. I hint at the nose at the next curve and from the book, just as they told us in the briefings: He lifts his foot and lets me pass.
Very easy, I keep pushing in the slowest part of the circuit, the “Oulton” corner and later, while I push, introducing speeds one after another; I do not see anyone in front and the Golf is already more than 50 meters away. I passed the finish line in 3:03.
Exploring the limits with the intention of lasting
On the next lap I am overtaken by two cars, the BMW that ultimately won (I didn't even see it coming, it was an excellent machine) and a Nissan Sunny, both of which, even though they are really capable. Thus, several more laps pass while I adjust accounts with the chrono; I manage to roll at a pace of 2: 58-2: 59 steadily. Simply I'm having a great time.
El GSi it goes great, with a lot of traffic but always overtaking. Eventually another Safety Car makes its appearance, thanks to which I can relax a bit and focus on the total time I have been driving: 1 hour and 5 minutes. I'm in the middle of my batch, I take a breath and take the opportunity to give free time to the car for 12 minutes.
Once the path is clear, I decide to explore my limits a bit. With quite dense traffic (the number of cars that are registered seems a lie), I manage to go down even more, up to 2 minutes 56 seconds per lap. I think about what my team leader told me and I get back to 2:58, that you have to last.
But just after 3 more laps the ordeal begins; suddenly, the Opel stops. I get into a simple loophole for assists and report what I hope is a minor mishap over the radio ...
The gas pump and its ghosts
Back in the pits, the checks begin: There is a spark, but the fuel pump does not work ... At 10 minutes we already have the diagnosis. In the blink of an eye we assemble the replacement part, But the car won't start! What happen? It took us three hours to find out… The initial fault detected was correct: The pump was broken; however, the spare did not give enough pressure and that threw us off, spending the hours of rigor chasing ghosts. Finally, Javier located another bomb, we mounted it and back to the track.
The stress is over, our career was already one of enjoyment; finishing and driving all happened to be the goal. The night was long for those who got behind the wheel, mesmerized by the lights of the other vehicles. The latter motivated really high times, higher than 3:05 in many cases, the effect being tremendously beneficial for the tires. So, I got back into the car at dawn, with tires that had been on for more than 5 hours but held up.
The light also brought another Safety Car, and I got out after it; the car vibrated a lot due to the high state of decomposition of the gums. I decided to just have fun, and faith that I did, I had a blast going as fine as the wheels allowed me. Another problem is that the fifth gear had disappeared and, the truth, we did not count on its return to the ring.
Have a fabulous time in Ascari
Despite these conditions and another Safety, I lowered my times to around 2:55 minutes, until at an hour and ten minutes the left front tire said enough. Pit stop, wheels and a new driver, and almost immediately the team's fastest lap at 2: 52,2, each time better. Three hours and stop and new pilot, add and go, The position no longer mattered but having a good time.
Our sister team, even with an inferior car, was well ahead of us; dived in the middle of the table they continued ahead despite having been penalized with 5 laps for having made a stop of only 5 minutes. Finally, his wheels had held at the cost of slowing down and he had made up for it.
There they were, the novices in front of the experts; it is fair to admit it, they beat us because they were better, more regular.
This is one of the key conclusions that one draws in this type of stress test: going fast takes its toll; everything suffers much more, especially if we talk about cars equipped with standard engines and peripherals. In the pits there was a mixture of preparations: from almost production cars, such as the Abetos-Hortaclassics, to spectacular projects such as the winning BMW. The greater the preparation - always within the regulations - the greater the chances of success.
My experience has been tremendously positive. I want to repeat, we'll see how I do it (probably with a Celica 2,0), but I want to do it. Despite finishing very tired, despite mechanical problems, driving in this environment is one of the most rewarding motoring experiences I have been fortunate enough to participate in. Without a doubt, I invite you to try 24 Hours of Ascari 😉
