11 am: I went back to the hotel for a bit of jogging (you know, just to stay fresh) and 90 minutes later, I had lunch near the track with the Mercedes staff. The race was already on our minds…
2 pm: I chatted with the team engineers about weather forecasts and the half-hour warm-up in late afternoon.
4:30 pm: All set. I hit the track for a 30-minute rollout, making sure that everything’s in the right place. I also practiced race starts and pit stops.
6:30 pm: The drivers met with DMSB officials from the German Federation, which always handles the sporting aspect of the meeting even though the race is held in France.
7:30 pm: Mercedes-Benz invited the team for dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. This was nice. I left early and drove back to the hotel. Five hours later, I was asleep!
Saturday, October 10
7 am: Barely out of the bed, I looked outside and noticed that it had rained during the night. What a surprise!
8 am: I did interviews with French TV reporters next to my race car. Once it was over, I geared myself up for the first practice laps.
8:40 am: The track was still soaking wet, so we decided to put the rain tires on. I fired up the engine and hit the track. I spent nearly an hour and 45 minutes with these tires before finally taking advantage of the slick ones and rediscovering what Dijon has to offer when the tarmac is dry. However, just five laps in, Audi’s Katherine Legge had a violent off and the red flag was raised. Too bad. On a positive note, I was the fastest driver on the wet and the third fastest overall.
Noon: I tried to make the most of the short amount of time between the practice laps and qualifying sessions. I ate some spaghetti and then crunched down the car data in order to fine-tune the car and improve my driving. Finally, I had a good 20-minute nap before I shifted my focus on the qualifying sessions.
2 pm: I chatted with the team engineers about weather forecasts and the half-hour warm-up in late afternoon.
4:30 pm: All set. I hit the track for a 30-minute rollout, making sure that everything’s in the right place. I also practiced race starts and pit stops.
6:30 pm: The drivers met with DMSB officials from the German Federation, which always handles the sporting aspect of the meeting even though the race is held in France.
7:30 pm: Mercedes-Benz invited the team for dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. This was nice. I left early and drove back to the hotel. Five hours later, I was asleep!
Saturday, October 10
7 am: Barely out of the bed, I looked outside and noticed that it had rained during the night. What a surprise!
8 am: I did interviews with French TV reporters next to my race car. Once it was over, I geared myself up for the first practice laps.
8:40 am: The track was still soaking wet, so we decided to put the rain tires on. I fired up the engine and hit the track. I spent nearly an hour and 45 minutes with these tires before finally taking advantage of the slick ones and rediscovering what Dijon has to offer when the tarmac is dry. However, just five laps in, Audi’s Katherine Legge had a violent off and the red flag was raised. Too bad. On a positive note, I was the fastest driver on the wet and the third fastest overall.
Noon: I tried to make the most of the short amount of time between the practice laps and qualifying sessions. I ate some spaghetti and then crunched down the car data in order to fine-tune the car and improve my driving. Finally, I had a good 20-minute nap before I shifted my focus on the qualifying sessions.
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| Bruno Spengler looks at the car data during the lunch break. |