The figures say it all – 300 km/h, 30 laps per hour and 3 drivers … plus 400 kW Le Mans Prototypes and 24 hours of intense racing equals plenty of backache, sore ankles and … television eyes. Welcome to my preparation for the CAR Virtual Le Mans Challenge, set to commence at Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town on June 14-15.For the past week I’ve dedicated two hours of every evening racing, in anticipation of the Le Mans Challenge – so much so that I cannot eat, sleep or visit the girlfriend until I’ve put in practice. Only problem is – I just can’t seem to get around to setting up the BMW V12 LMR to my liking.
To make matters worse, BMW’s participation in Le Mans has had a chequered history at best, from utter failure in 1998 with the first BMW V12 LMR to a controversial win the following year.
Deputy Editor Hannes Oosthuizen makes a return to the race seat this year after his valiant attempt to race with a sprained arm last year, as does a very determined Duwyne Aspeling who, after falling asleep in the first challenge and redeeming himself last year by taking the reins from Hannes (and an extra two hours), helped to secure a podium finish for the CAR team. I of course, have no idea of the commitment and drive it took for them to psych themselves up every four hours and race on the edge – and remain on the edge – for two hours at a time.
For two hours, the racecar relays skeleton-jaunting vibrations through the force feedback steering wheel that tell you when you’ve run-off a bit wide and spun after your left rear tyre just ate grass, when you’re losing grip at 320 km/h and when your tyres are fading after ten laps or so. That is if you go easy on the throttle, but you know you’re still not fast enough. Your pupils are so focused, you imagine yourself in the real race at the ‘Sarthe, in the choking heat and blinding sunlight as you come out of the Mulsanne corner, on the way to the sudden right-hander before Indianapolis that requires a little more than a tap on the anchors to slow down in time.
It’s serious stuff and I don’t know whether I’ll be able to keep myself from nodding off in the early hours of Sunday morning, but I’m confident I’ll find “the zone” and wrestle that V12 LMR around the ‘Sarthe faster than ever before. You see, under all the fuel and tyre strategy, the weariness after the first 12 hours, the glory of victory and the prizes, “the zone” remains a common denominator for all enthusiasts and hardcore gamers alike – often described as when the rush is so intense that time and trouble flutter by, irrelevant, and there is nothing but pure adrenalin fuelling the aching muscles as you attack that lap record again, and again…then you have to go pee.
I’ve managed to lap Circuit de la Sarthe 1 pretty quick on Gran Turismo 4, maybe even faster than my team mates, but whether CAR Magazine (or any other team) triumphs at this year’s Virtual Le Mans Challenge remains up to individual effort with a bit of teamwork concerning strategy, and/or just how much the defending champions have been practicing … see you there.
Do you think you’ve got what it takes to get behind the wheel in CAR’s Virtual Le Mans Challenge? If you think you’ve got the right stuff, you can sign up for this year’s competition here