by cgingras » Wed Apr 17, 2013 1:29 pm
Mike is clearly on a different level than 99% of us when it's time to set up a car. He also pretty much always knows what to do to correct a specific problem with it. As drivers, we just tell him how the car feels in a specific part of the track and he will pick it up, work his magic and give us a better car to drive. That comes with years of experience and hours and hours of tuning and testing each car.
As in F1, the car is a very important part of the equation. Once it's on the track, it's up to the drivers to take care of the car. Driving it at 100% (or 110%) for 24 hours can't be done. All overdriven cars will fail before the end of the race. Having a well-prepared car is great because you can drive it at 95% and still have a very fast car that will make it to the end.
If we would have had to take our car off the track for anything else than changing tires or general cleaning/lubrication, this record would not have been broken. That just shows how important saving the car is in a 24-hour race. With Mike's cars, saving it and going fast can both be achieved at the same time. :clap: