- 04/13/2019
- 1 Min Read
- By: Michael Roselli
Racing Against The Clock - The Paddock Season Two, Episode Two
Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a professional racing team from the ground up? Whether it be the vision for the program, funding, logistics, or even just what happens after the race, all of these steps are traditionally shielded from the average enthusiast and viewer. The Paddock, our motorsport video series, focuses on exactly that and we've kicked off season two to show you what it takes to make it all happen.
If you've watched Season Two Episode One, you know all the work that goes into funding and organizing a motorsports program and, more specifically, all the work that goes into funding and organizing a motorsports program within FCP Euro. In terms of a calendar year, our racing season "unofficially" starts with the annual SEMA and AAPEX show out in Las Vegas, and "officially" starts with the first race of the season. Like last year, that first race is in Austin, TX at Circuit of the Americas but unlike last year, this year's race is bumped up by four weeks. And that meant our deadline became just a little bit harder to achieve.
This year, the amount of off-season prep was nearly doubled thanks to one massive upgrade–SADEV sequential gearboxes–for our GTI TCR race cars. The decision to go sequential, coupled with the copious amounts of delays in physically getting the parts made our prep for 2019 come down to the wire.
Once at CoTA, though, the work didn't stop. Testing, tuning, breaking (and braking) and fixing were on repeat as we dialed in the setup and mechanical reliability of our cars, all while the drivers came back up to speed after five months away from the driver's seat.
Will the FCP Euro crew take home a trophy for the first race of 2019? Will they receive a mechanical DNF? That's this time on The Paddock.
Like The Paddock? Don't like it? Let us know in the comments below. And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the latest episodes.
