Adriano's Radical Race

Dear Friends,

Last week I had the pleasure of being the guests of one of my good friends from PalmerSport Adriano Medeiros, who is known around the office as Gringo during his Radical race meeting. There was nothing ‘radical’ about the race, however the manufacture of the car he drives is called ‘radical’ so it has thus claimed the title of this post.
Adriano and I got to know each other quite quickly when I came to PalmerSport because we share a common background. Adriano and I are both Americans, mind you, he comes from a different part of America, a bit further south, called Brazil, but none the less we are both ‘Americans.’ Along with coming from America we both share similar motorsport aspirations, while mine is Formula 1, Adriano is most keen to become a professional racing driver, which he has recently taken a major step towards through his association with PalmerSport and being in the United Kingdom.

For Adriano his break came when he met a gentleman named Charles Loughran whose lifelong dream has been to race. While Charles did not set off at a young age with the fire and ambition it takes to go racing, Charles did set off in the commercial world with the same passion and has became a successful entrepreneur with a number of products and brands. On account of this success it has permitted him to indulge himself in funding a racing car as well as enlisting the services of Adriano as his co-driver (the radical championship is an endurance series where two drivers pilot the cars), who also has the ability to instruct him and help bring him up to speed.
For this particular race meeting I arrived at Adriano’s house bright and early (before 7AM!!!) where his wife Ana had prepared breakfast for us. After breakfast we jumped in Adriano’s road car and headed off towards Donington Park the location of the Radical Cup Race Meeting and the 2010 British round of the Formula 1 World Championship (which should be an interesting affair). Donington Park seems like a fantastic circuit to drive, however quite short, just under 1 minute to complete. However from what I sat, if Silverstone isn’t up to scratch for Bernie Ecclestone’s expectations, Donington Park and the one lane country road leading into it, are going to need some serious development before the circus that is Formula 1 and the hundreds of thousands of rabid British motorsport fans descend upon it.
Once we arrived at the paddock we were greeted by Charles and the team they have employed to run their Radical racing car. The radical is sports racer modeled after a Le Mans prototype, and powered by a 1500cc race prepped Suzuki Hyabusa engine. Although the car does have a second seat in the cockpit the chassis is not too far removed from a single-seater, with the engine fitted behind the driver. Their particular car is primarily blue and adorned with their sponsors logos: Bauer, Alpine Star, and Airflow. Sitting stationary in the paddock the car looks rapid.
For the days competition there would be two race events, both an hour in length and would feature a compulsory pit stop and driver change at mid-distance. For the first race Adriano would start on the pit wall and Charles would take the driving responsibilities for the initial stint. It was Charles first time to start the race so nerves were certainly on the rev limiter, the least of which were Charles’, who knew a good start would be key if he wanted to return the car to the ‘hired gun’ in any sort of position to mount an attack on the leaders. For the best viewing point on the circuit I went to a corner known as ‘the old hairpin.’ From my vantage point the cars came blasting downhill through Crane curve (a flat right, then left hand section, which sends the cars hurdling towards the old hairpin in top gear), then hard on the brakes to slow the car before the old hairpin. As the race got under way Charles was behind the wheel for the first stint. It was easy to tell, even from the side of the circuit he was working very hard in the car, maximum effort! Although his times were slightly off the pace, it wasn’t on an account of lack of trying, a few drivers were getting around him, but they certainly had to work hard to take the position. At around 25 minutes into the race Charles was hovering just outside the top ten before he darted into the pits and handed the Radical and driving duties over for Adriano.
The first time Adriano came through crane curve it was clear the driver change had been made. While Charles himself had been working very hard in the car, the scream of the engine, pulling more RPM’s and a higher corner speed let me know Adriano was making the car work hard for him. Over the next few laps the engine pitch increased progressively lap after lap as Adriano pushed the car closer to the limit. The blue Radical’s course for the race had changed and forward was the new buzz word. While he was well back in the field at the driver change Adriano began carving his way towards the front, by the time the checkered flag came out, the blue radical had moved up into the top ten and was showing promise for race two.

After the race I went to speak with Adriano and Charles, and to listen in on a de-briefing session between the two. Adriano had noticed a few places where they could improve their speed on the track and make some improvements for the final race.

The next race would be similar in distance, one hour, but for this one Adriano would start behind the wheel. As the cars rolled out onto track I was excited to see what Adriano could do from the get go, although qualifying had not been good, starting outside the top 10, he would have the leaders directly ahead of him. When the lights went out Adriano had a good start, but not a great one He was boxed out as they made the run into the first curve, a fast right hander. The cars that he had initially passed were able to get back under him putting him back where he started. My vantage point for this race was very different, from a VIP suite overlooking the chicane coming into the main straight. Although not as critical for the overall lap time as was the crucial old hairpin, this is where a great deal of overtaking would take place as drivers out braked and lunged to the inside of their opponents.

As the race got started Adriano held position for the first few laps as his car got acclimated with the conditions. Soon however he started building up a speed that could only be matched by a few drivers on the circuit. Moving up the field, Adriano had the pace, however the passes did not come easily as he found himself getting caught in battles with a number of drivers who were reluctant to give up their positions to the charging Brazilian. On one occasion he made a pass into the chicane just before me, only to out brake himself the following lap and re-allow the driver through! Regardless of this, Adriano was turning good lap times and moving forward with a certain determination.
He only had twenty five minutes and his starting position had not been brilliant but when Adriano came into the pits for the driver change the official timing and scoring monitor read “P1. Adriano Medeiros.”

This however would be the best news for the race as the bad news immediately began to set in. The drivers change went smooth, Charles climbing behind the wheel, however when he went to re-fire the car (it must be shut off for the drivers change) the response was an uninspiring ‘click.’ For some mechanical reason that I simply cannot be bothered to write about the car’s starter engine failed to ignite the flame of the 1500cc engine and the car sat motionless unable to bring itself back to life. Immediately, Adriano who had just finished his stint at the wheel was behind the car pushing it in an attempt to re-fire the machine. Over the next :45 seconds in relations to the cars on track the car sat near motionless as they pushed it forward, then painstakingly pulled it back, and then re-pushed it until it finally fired. Those :45 second I am sure took hours in Adriano’s mind, the longest of the weekend without question, perhaps the longest ever. The damage had been done and on the account of a simple problem with the starter engine the race and Adriano’s efforts were cast into oblivion.

By the end of the weekend the final race results put a major damper on the excitement created by the driver in the first stint of the race. Charles carried on, gaining valuable track time necessary to his development as a driver. However for me there was something special about the weekend, a quiet victory, as I was satisfied to see a driver from America with ambition and grit getting his chance. Although it took him a little while, it proves to me in the motorsport world of ‘hard cuts soft’ where money is apparently more valuable than talent, a guy from America with a head on his shoulder can make it.

I intend on writing soon about my chance to get getting behind the wheel of a racing car myself, I think I will do it tomorrow.

Hope you are having a fantastic week.

Best regards from a sunny UK.

Michael