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Coming Next Issue
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SEMA |
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Bimmer Roundup Coverage |
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Hot Lap: The Wheel Exchange |
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Review PowerBook G4 17 inch |
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Want Clean Glass? |
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A Weekend Behind Pit Wall:
Team Fernandez & Laguna Seca, continued. |
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The Fernandez Racing hospitality tent is decked out in a combination of Tecate red and Quaker State green. A buffet table sits in the far corner; a large "tour bus" serves as one of the area's walls, a large awning extends from the side of the bus to give some much needed shade. There's a commercial cooler that's stocked with water, soda and Tecate beer, and there are about a dozen round tables set-up for people to sit at.
The chefs do a wonderful job of preparing a diverse menu - there's fresh fruit, two types of salad, seafood, chicken and a beef entree available. There are also vegetables and various pastas and breads, and a wonderful desert table holds chocolate cake and other goodies.
As we were eating our lunch, Mario Andretti walked into the tent, grabbed a plate and sat down next to us. It's not everyday that you have lunch with Mario - we chatted about the weekend and then left him to enjoy his lunch.
We ran back to pit lane just as the Champ Cars were being called out for their provisional qualifying session. Rich Meredith (inside rear tire changer/starter/mechanic) told us that the team felt good about their qualifying chances. "We made some changes that should put us up near the front," he said.
We walked around the car as it sat on pit lane and watched as the team made last minute adjustments and attached the nose to the car. Adrian arrived on his bike, hopped over the pit wall and put on his helmet and gloves. It's very interesting to see how a driver enters the cockpit of his racecar - the fit is tight - very tight. Once in the cockpit, the crew straps him in and they set a custom built fan on the cowl so that cold air can be blown on the driver as he sits waiting for the car to be started.
The provisional qualifying session was rather uneventful - we watched Adrian lap the track via the telemetry screens (each car has a GPS unit that sends information about its location on the track back to the pits). In addition to providing information about its location, the car also transmits information about critical items like brake temperature, tire pressure and temperature, throttle position, and various vital engine statistics (oil pressure, oil and water temperature, etc.).
When the qualifying session ended, the team once again removed the racing tires, swapped in rain tires and pushed the car back to the pits. Team Fernandez had earned a sixth-place grid position with a 1:10.846 best lap. Less than 0.95 seconds separated Team Fernandez from fifth place qualifier Mario Haberfield.
When we arrived to the track on Saturday morning, we found the crew hard at work on the car - they were preparing for their next practice session while Adrian was attending a "Breakfast with Champions" promotion with several other CART drivers.
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