Culture

Let me set the record straight, I am not a car racing enthusiast. Well, I wasn’t until recently. I am a Plus Fitness 24/7 Franchisee and involved in the three clubs we have in the Blue Mountains. As we have the closest clubs to Bathurst, I was recently invited to arrange the promotions team and grid girls working for Plus Fitness Racing at the iconic Bathurst 1000. As a group, Plus Fitness sponsor car number #3 in the Virgin Australia Supercar Championship driven by Aaren Russell and André Heimgartner.

Initially, entering the legendary Mount Panorama track on day 1, I felt as out of place as a penguin in Africa. I have absolutely no clue about car racing or cars. There was something about the sounds of all the V8 engines, though, that was thrilling. We were led to Pit Lane and set ourselves up in a garage where we remained for 3 practice days and the main race on Sunday. I was fascinated by the amount of people in the team working in the Pit, from Engineers, to mechanics and team managers.

I always thought car racing was just about how good the car is and how skillful the driver is. I soon discovered that motorsport is an exciting mix of many more factors than this. The Race Engineer initially caught my eye, watching screen after screen of statistics and data. I enquired what he was looking at and he analyses each practice lap looking at the lap time and segments of the tracks where the car performs faster and slower compared to other teams. The car roars into the pit after a test lap. Then the discussions start between the drivers, the Race Engineer, the manager and the mechanics. They make minor adjustments to wheel angle, suspension, tyre type, and adjust the fuel load to change the car weight, over and over again for three days. All these minor adjustments each lap optimise the cars performance that little bit more to gain an advantage to qualify as far up the grid as possible ready for the big race on Sunday.

Going back in to pit lane, my grid girls and I had an absolute ball with the general public. Everyone was happy and in good spirits and we even took lots of our gym members on tours of the Pit.

A Day at the Races

Race day arrives, and we were lucky enough to do the grid walk before the start of the race. What an exciting experience. The cars took their positions to start the race and an F18 Jet Fighter roared overhead. We wished our drivers good luck and took our positions to watch the race.

The race started and the atmosphere was exhilarating. Our car was travelling really well on target for a top 10 finish until the 114th lap of the 116 lap race when just like that, Mount Panorama took its toll and the Bathurst 2016 dream is over for the Plus Fitness Supercar with gearbox issues forcing us out of the race.

I must say, I am now a converted V8 fan and a car racing enthusiast, although seemingly an unlikely one. There is nothing like hearing the sounds, smelling the fuel and absorbing the atmosphere that is the Bathurst 1000, and I have personally volunteered for all future events!

Story and photos: Fiona Simpson