17/11/2011
At race weekends this season, we have documented the daily trials and tribulations of various members of the LRGP race team. For Abu Dhabi, we decided to speak to someone from outside of the race team – a mechanic’s wife! Here, Number 2 mechanic Norman Ballantyne’s wife Bernadette tells us about her experience…
After five years of husband spotting on the TV and listening to his accounts of race weekends (usually involving the words monumental or epic), I decided that it was time to go to a race and find out what my husband Norman actually does. Of course I have seen him putting the front left tyre on the car during pit stops and I have seen him looking very busy at the side of the car when the BBC cameras focus on the garage, but what happens for the rest of the day? Does he really work as hard as he says he does? Or is he just trying to get out of doing any housework when he gets home? It was time to find out…
Arriving at the Yas Marina circuit at midday, I was propelled along the underground tunnel to the paddock by the tide of car crews, all of whom seemed keen to get to the car and start preparations. The husband introduced me to his team mates and I was glad to be able to put some names to faces. Everyone was really friendly and made me feel comfortable straight away.
The garages lay in a row along the pit lane with a huge grandstand overlooking them. I wondered how I would feel if hundreds of people could watch me at work, and then I realised it was not just hundreds of people - it was millions. No wonder the husband spends more money on haircuts than I do!
It was explained to me that I could go into the garage and the motor home, but to stay out of the pit lane. Fair enough, I thought and then had a look for a big static caravan with the Lotus Renault GP logo all over it. That was my first mistake. In Abu Dhabi they are actually villas; lovely modern two storey buildings with fabulous roof terraces that overlook the iconic Yas Marina Hotel. Screens are everywhere so there is no danger of missing anything, and the team are looked after extremely well by the girls and chefs in the “motor home” who make fabulous food and constantly offer cold drinks.
Back in the garage the cars were hoisted up and the body work was removed within minutes of our arrival, allowing the mechanics to check that everything underneath was in perfect condition. The FIA scrutineers were present and observing everything, making notes on all the activity. I learned that there was a list of “permitted” activities that can be undertaken prior to the race starting, but the husband was doing something extra. A component had been making some noise in qualifying so he was replacing this, with FIA permission. Then the mechanics had to bleed the brakes, sterilise and refill the drive r’s water bottle and make sure that the kinetic energy recovery system, bearings and engine were all at the right temperature.
Pit stop practice followed and the guys flew through the tyre changes over and over again. It looked a lot faster in real life.
By 2pm it was lunch time and eating the food in the team hospitality made me realise that I need to up my game in the kitchen. If we have more than a sandwich for lunch it is a miracle. At the race it was salmon, tandoori chicken, rice and creamy pasta to choose from with all manner of accompaniments. And desert. Hmmm I thought, no wonder the husband always eats more when he is away.
After lunch, the team had to fire up the engine and check that the car was behaving as it should. The engine specialist read information translated into coloured lines on his screen which told him lots of important things. To me it was a different language. I was grateful for the earplugs at this point, although they did not stop the physical vibrations that are side effects of the engine activity. Nor do they stop the heat from the exhaust which I could feel from one metre away. “That is nothing, only 500 degrees centigrade, it goes up much higher during the race,” explained one of the team.
Up until now it had been rather quiet in the garage and there were no spectators in the grandstand. But all of a sudden the pit lane was absolutely full. There were people everywhere. “How did that happen?” I asked the husband. “Pit walk” he said, expecting me to know what that meant. Apparently you can buy tickets that allow you to have access to the pit lane before the race. “Go and have a look around” he said, so I infiltrated the pit walk to do some celebrity spotting and was delighted to spy Danni Minogue almost immediately. She was neat, petite and beautiful. Like most of the women at the Grand Prix, she was wearing a fabulous dress and heels. I reported back to the husband. He grunted. Back at the team garage I tried to keep out of the way while people took pictures and admired the cars. At this point, the drivers Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov appeared and had some pictures taken with fans and celebrity visitors. I didn’t recognise all of them but there was no mistaking one of the world’s greatest ever footballers, Ronaldo. His teeth were so white they were blinding – and I don’t think they were bleached. His build was a more professional wrestler than footballer.
By now it was getting close to the start time and the guys were suddenly all in race suits firing up the engine again. I was given headphones and a radio so that I could hear what was happening, and I felt like part of the team for about five minutes until we were shooed out of the garage and into the viewing gallery so as not to affect the serious business of racing. Within minutes of the race starting, I felt the benefits of the headphones “box Bruno, box,” said a voice into my ear as the husband and all the crew leapt off their chairs and ran out to the pit lane.
The two hours or 55 laps passed quickly as I enjoyed my bird’s eye view, and although the Lotus Renault GP team didn’t make it onto the podium this time, I still made my way down the pit lane to watch the trophies being presented. Seeing other people so happy is contagious and everyone was cheering, regardless of whom they supported. Fernando Alonso sprayed the entire crowd (including my camera – no complaints) and Lewis Hamilton looked like he would drown in it. I didn’t recognise the third place driver until I realised that Jenson Button had grown a moustache for ‘Movember’. He was literally unrecognisable. I bet he will be delighted to see December.
So that was the end of the race, but not the end of the day for the car crew. Preparations had already begun for the Abu Dhabi test which would start on the Tuesday after the race. I left the circuit at 11pm after an amazing day where the team could not have been more welcoming. The husband however did not get back until 6:30am – and he had not been to a bar or a party. It was work, work, work. So all things considered maybe I won’t ask him to do the washing when he gets home….
Credit: Lotus Renault GP (www.lotusrenaultgp.com)
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