This format of racing is essentially four races rolled into one, similar to how Le Mans and other premier sports car races are run. With such a large and varying field, drivers apply tactics such as using a slower class car as a block to impede a same class competitor from attempting to pass. Although a 51-car field assures spectator elation, it makes for many white-knuckled drivers.
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| Malcolm is not your typical 51 year old business man, and comments, "I still don't know what I want to do." (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Concentration is the key to minimizing body contact (the automotive kind) on the track. Lorenzo is so focused that he describes it as "zoned out." He allows nothing other than the race to permeate his cerebral cortex. Malcolm on the other hand admits that complete concentration is a challenge for him during a race. Meaningless thoughts will pop into his head as he screams through the backstretch or tosses the CRX into a corner. Meaningless thoughts or not, car racing distances Malcolm from the traditional image of a 51 year old businessman. In fact Malcolm summarized by saying something that I would expect to hear from a teenager, "I still don't know what I want to do."
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| In my time spent with the Wessex Team I realized that car racing isn't just a pipe dream or something restricted to the well healed or well sponsored. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
Well I think I know exactly what Malcolm ought to do, and that is to continue his fine stewardship of the Wessex Racing Team and carry on helping those he encounters along the way. The few days I spent with the Wessex team was a major eye-opener for me. I realized that car racing isn't just a pipe dream or something restricted to the well healed or well sponsored. With an initial investment of $5,000 bucks or so, a group of enthusiasts can get started. The secret to their success won't lay in huge sponsorship or huge horsepower. Nope, as Malcolm emphasizes, it will be huge "teamwork." Teamwork modeled after that of the Wessex Racing Team.
Malcolm may be unsure of what he wants to do, but I know what I want to do - race. Maybe it's not too late to follow in "King Richard's" footsteps after all, the first step of which would be the acquisition of a novice-racing license.