[Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2008 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.]
When Steve McQueen utters those words in “Le Mans,” they have the ring of truth. (Then again, Steve McQueen could’ve probably read a Chinese takeout menu and made it sound like prophecy, or …
Friday, November 30
Well, my plan this year was to write the story in real time, pausing every so often to hit the laptop for an update and give folks a feel for what it’s like to endure an endurance race.
Some plan.
Maybe tomorrow my grand scheme will be easier to implement, but today, I had to help finish building a race car.
Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds, because most of the hard stuff was already done. And the project—building the first ’08 Mitsubishi Lancer race car in the country—was an ambitious one for an independent team. Goodsport Racing, headed up by longtime NASA vet David Bongiovanni, is a true privateer effort. David and the gang have support from a generous list of sponsors, including FIA/Method 4, Yokohama Tire, Robispec, Ground Control and Innovate Technology, but the vast majority of the wrench turning on this brand-new car has been done by David, with help from some friends. Evil Genius Racing constructed what looks to be a seriously impressive cage.
Adding to the excitement is the fact that Goodsport Racing—originally slated to be a single-car effort—is now a two-car team. David revitalized the Lancer Evo that he drove second in class at the event last year; that car will compete in E0 while the Lancer aims for the podium in E2.
But first we had to finish the Lancer.
Actually, it wasn’t so bad. As it turns out, the stuff that wasn’t done—like installing the seat—worked out for the best since we didn’t know the sizes of the drivers until today. We also learned today that for once I’m not the shortest driver. Glory Fernandez, a young lady who has been making waves on the Puerto Rican time trial scene and who recently completed a test in a Koni Challenge car at Daytona, has that honor.
Glory was originally supposed to drive the Evo, but it simply couldn’t be adjusted to fit her. So NASA Time Trial champ Yang Tang switched from the Lancer to the Evo, and Glory hopped on board with us. She and I will share driving duties with Ralph Alexander, racing dentist…
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