[September 10, 2008 02:21 AM]
Pineapple Motorsports had an excellent weekend during the MME. We performed beyond our expectation but as predicted by Tommy Lee during the press and team launched on the 25 August. It shows the faith that he has on the other two relatively novice drivers, myself and Brent. All three drivers performed well and contributed to the success. We qualified 9th and finished 8th.
However, the run up to the weekend did not begin according to plan and I am pleased to share with you our fairy tale story. It all begin after the launch, on Tuesday, 26th August, we were suppose to conduct our last practise to bed in some stuff like the brake discs and pads. However, the problems started when the gear box doesn't seem to work after replacing some new parts. Once it was sorted out, we had a problem with the connectors from the gear box to the car, where it did not allow the gears to be changed properly. It is every team, mechanics and drivers nightmares to have this kind of wiring problem at this stage. We did not run on that day and the team had to go all the way to Klang to strip another 997 that crashed in the last MSS race of its wire harness and loom to replace ours. We, especially Brent and me, where we need all the practise we can get were disappointed but still believe that we have time during the Official Free practise on Thursday, 28th August. To ensure we have more time, we even registered Tommy and the Team to participate in the Asia Supercars which is the support race for the MME. This will enable us to have two more half hour sessions to test and bed in the new parts on top of the official MME practise times of one hour.
Little did we know that more problems faced us on Thursday. When Tommy took the 997 out for its first run in the morning, the 997 was misfiring. Although he managed to bed in the new brakes and pads, it is something of a concern, although minor at first. But as the minutes and hours passes by, the misfiring got worst but slowly Tommy still managed to bed in the 2nd set of brake disc and pads. The mechanics changed the spark plugs, the coil and still it was misfiring. By this time, the 1st official practise time for MME is over and we are still nowhere to find a solution. Time is definitely running out and I had enough of watching the mechanics, team director and even our drivers running around the pits trying to find a solution and sulked in the drivers tent, thinking could this be my 4th time unlucky in participating in the MME and at the same time money wasted at this late stage. The only good news, a compression test on the engine showed no problems so mechanically there is nothing wrong with the engine but further bad news is that we found out that the actual running time of the 997 engine at this stage is 43 hours, whereby the maximum engine life set by Porsche Germany for optimum performance for a Cup car is 50 hours before performance decreases. So the possibility of an engine failure could happen if we get to run.
With the 2nd practise session begun, the mechanics pulled everything apart, the spark plugs, the coils, whatever and refitted it again and make sure the connectors fit properly and with just over 12 minutes left in the final practise session, the team director decided to put Tommy in and the 997 on the track to at least register a time. To our great surprise, Tommy posted a fast time in its 3rd lap and by the end of the session placed us 7th overall and we know for sure the car is fixed. We sort of fluked that solution. But in my mind will the car last the full 12 hours?. We were also in luck as SIC extended a free practise session of an hour in the evening from 830 pm and finally both Brent and I managed to get at least 8 laps in the car each. Still, not a great way to prepare for a 12 hour.
Friday, 29th August, day of reckoning. There will be 3 half hour sessions for each driver to qualify. Our objective is to qualify as there are only 20 spots available for Class O and so far there are 25 cars registered. There are 14 Porsches including the new RSRs, the older 996 RSRs, 996 GT3s and we are the only 997 GT3 Cup Car running. Other cars include a Holden and Ford V8s, two Petronas Z4Ms, three Aston Martins. We know we are faster than the V8s and Astons and worst case is to qualify 20th. Where you qualify on the grid is the the aggregate of times from the fast laps from each driver. Therefore after some calculations, we know what to target. Although Tommy is the fastest amongst all of us, the other two drivers needs to register certain times to ensure that we reached our target. If we go slow than the overall times too will be slower and will put us lower down in the grid and worst may not qualify. So in a way, we are not out of the woods yet, we may not qualify and the weekend still could be a waste and the pressure is on the both of us to perform, with limited racing experience, minimum time in the 997, all this pressure just to qualify.
And qualified we did!!! Tommy did a 2' 14", I did a 2' 19" and Brent surprised all of us and did a 17" and that qualified us 9th in our class and overall of 77 cars. We were jumping with joy and excitement and this is only qualifying.
Saturday, 30th August, race day and the moment of truth. My first set of objective of qualifying met and the second is to finish the race. But Tommy had other ideas and think that we can finish 5th or 6th and I tried real hard to ignore his predictions. In an endurance race, anything can happen, just look at the results every year. After all the usual photo taking and tried real hard not to think we are super stars for the day and being F1 drivers wannabe, we are ready for the 12 hours. First up would be Tommy, second would be me and third Brent.
Within half an hour, we had our first incident. While trying to overtake a slower 996 RSR due to traffic from smaller cars, Tommy was hit in the rear causing the rear fender on the right to break and ignite an ENGINE HOT alarm. Worried that the rear bumper will fall off and the ENGINE HOT alarm is of a concern, he had to pit in and to get it fixed. After a few minutes in the pit lane, Tommy had the reassurance that as long as the engine performs and until the engine ceased, we should just continue and the rear bumper all taped up. Tommy went out again but came back in after a few more laps as they forgot to connect his cool suit (our suit is connected to this cool box of dry ice and water to keep us cool for that hour of driving) and it is getting too hot. It was my turn to drive my first stint, we had dropped from 9th to 27th position but it is still a long way to go.
My first stint was good. Not too sure the kind of times I registered but I was comfortable, the cool suit is working and am drinking well (we also have a drinking system, where you just press a button and drink from the tube into the helmet). The best thing about driving a Porsche in this race is that it is so easy to overtake the smaller cars and cars in Group A like the Integras and Lotuses. The only cars that passed me is the RSRs and the Z4Ms and they are bloody fast. Their race time are in the 10s and 12s, where I would be in the 19s and 20s, I think. In fact in that stint, I overtook the Astons at least twice. I pitted in after doing 28 laps which is around 70 minutes and although tired and hot, I felt ok. The comfort factor is that the team climbed back to 12th before Brent went for his first stint.
Brent came back totally exhausted and dehydrated. With all the excitement of racing for the first time, the Aussie forgot to drink and he was clearly in a daze and need fluids in the system. With a quick fix of oxygen and drip, that boost of medication made him better in his subsequent stints. Brent put us back in the 10th position before we did it all again and onto our 2nd stint.
The second stint of driving saw us in a good position climbing on to top 5. We never expected to be in this position ever and now the possibility of a podium finish is possible but wait... we are still not at the half way mark and anything can happen. My second stint was harder and I am beginning to feel tired due to the heat. Apparently it can get as hot as 60 degrees in the car even with the cool suit. I begin to overdrive the car, making mistakes and struggling. I decided to radio in and informed the race director I had enough and came in after 26 laps. Brent's second stint was great, he managed to get us to 4th but at the same time lost the front left headlight and this causes us problems as we already lost the rear light from the beginning.
The third stint and a drive by Tommy saw us in our highest ever position of 3rd. Just imagine that, who would? None of us ever imagined that we are in the top 3. However, as the sun beginning to set and day turning to night, we were reminded by the pit marshals to fix our lights as per the regulations. The latest time to do that is 730 pm. After salvaging another Porsche for the front and rear headlights, Tommy's third stint was cut shorter by 10 laps as we need to fix the lights asap. My third stint was the hardest and it is also the hardest thing I ever had to go through in my sporting life besides running a marathon. It took the team 22.5 minutes to fix the lights and that long for me in the car waiting to get going. By the time, I got out, we were way down to 19th position. I had a lot of catching up to do and worst is at night where I am still getting used to it. I was asked to do 30 laps but after 26, I was just too tired and called in to pit. I have never been so tired in my life! I was hyperventilating and dizzy and was given some oxygen and drip as the Team director's plan is for me to finish and bring the car home. So I still got another stint to go!! While recovering, I was not sure what position I got the team back but once in the pit, we were 12th. Our position did not change when Brent pitted in and before that Tommy and I discussed that we just need to finish in the top ten and amongst the Class O cars as currently in between us there are three class A cars and we need to catch them. Indeed, Tommy did the best that he could and caught the Class A cars one by one and by the end of his final stint, he got us back to 8th, the last Class O cars. It is not possible to catch the next class O car in 7th as they are already 3 laps in front and the Holden V8 driven by the Aussies are quite fast. However, to ensure our 8th position and since the Class A car is only less than a minute behind us, I made the decision to ask Brent to finish and bring the car home. He is faster than me and I wanted that 8th position. After all, it is a team effort and I want us to finish at the best position possible.
At exactly 1145 pm, the lead car, a 997 RSR took the chequered flag and Brent took us home in our first MME in the 8th position. The 997 suffered some battle scars as seen in the pictures but she is a reliable and fantastic car. Not as fast as the RSRs, they ended up with more than 20 laps ahead of us but our car came in with no problems whatsoever. Of course, if it is not for other cars to fail, we will not be in this position but that is racing especially in the Endurance race.
I am happy but with a little disappointment as we had a little taste of what it is like if we were to finish on the podium. But still being on a podium was not our objective and finishing where we were is just as fantastic for a team such as ours. We as drivers did our part but equally and just as important is the dedication and work of our mechanics, crew and strategy by our Race Director, Martin Quick. Without a good and capable team, we will not be where we finished.
Overall, it has been an expensive but awesome experience. It is one of the best event I ever participated in especially in our home soil, our track. With the participation of International teams, the numbers of cars, the media exposure and the people involved, it is simply an experience that will last for... until next year... see you at MME 2009!!!!!!
Razlan Razali
Pineapple Motorsports Team Principal
Fully edited story courtesy Sepang International Circuit - original article & more pictures here
MME 2008 Results Overall By Class
MME 2008 Results Overall
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