As journalist reporting a motorsport event, we try diligently, at times, to recount, the happenings in text form. Cnversations with drivers and crew are recorded, notes from the race are taken, and images are pored over. But at the end of the day, what we write is pure speculation sprinkled with facts, times, scores, and so on. The ones who really know the story are the people who are themselves part of it. And in Formula D they are the drivers-pardon my expression, the drifters-who are deeply involved in the plot. So for the first time ever, we gathered seven of the greatest drifters to write in their words what happened at Round One of Formula D: Long Beach.
Tyler Mcquarrie
A seasoned racer with experience ranging from ALMS, to Sprint, to NASCAR, Tyler debuted his Porsche the last two races of the '07 season and now has his German-made sights set on the podium for 2008.
The off season came and went, and Round 1 was at hand before I knew it. I was super excited for the ' 08 season to start, simply because I'm finally feeling comfortable in the Hankook JIC Porsche. We hadn't tested during the off season, so jumping in the car for the first time since Irwindale was a little nerve racking, especially at Long Beach-fixing the Porsche can cost more than some drivers' cars, so keeping it off all the walls was high on the priority list.
I got in one good practice session before the transmission case broke in two. Not that big of a deal, but it happened one hour before qualifying was to start. The team thrashed to get the trans changed-which takes much longer on a Porsche-and I was pretty pissed at this point; I didn't want to start the season like this. The JIC team got the spare transmission in, but we missed our first run, and we got the car to the line with only two cars to go before it was time for our second.
As I was strapping in, the team tells me over the radio that the spare is a six-speed and not a five-speed like we ran all last year-crap! I had one run to get it done, and now I had to change the gear selection I had been using in practice, and hope for the best. As I started my run, everything felt good. In fact, it felt like the best run I had all weekend: Smoke, angle, speed, and clipping points all in place. But on my approach to the hairpin, the axle broke and my run and weekend were over! I think the axle was damaged when the transmission broke.
I spent the rest of the event in the grandstands watching the Top 16 compete which sucks for a driver, but those are the highs and lows of motorsports. Mechanical problems are killing us, but we're still learning a lot about the Porsche.
Tyler McQuarrie
www.tylermcquarrie.com
Hankook Tire
www.hankooktireusa.com