A Day In The Life 28/11/07 14:51 Page 162
our next hotel by about 6 p.m.
On a busy day, this arrival time can be very
different. During one memorable tour, a Pagani
Zonda broke down halfway down a mountain
on the run in to Andorra with a clutch problem.
We managed to nurse the car to the evening
stop with a temporary fix, and even spoke to
Horacio Pagani himself, who was intent on
helping to ensure the car was able to complete
the tour. After the delay of waiting for spare
parts the following day, we finally set off across
the border into France about two hours behind
the main group and were making good
progress, until a Porsche ground to a halt
further along the route with two blown tyres.
Trying to track down the correct
replacement tyres took us all the way back
to Andorra, a three hour drive in the wrong
direction. Needless to say, there wasn’t much
time left for rest and relaxation when we finally
arrived at the evening’s hotel on this occasion.
6 p.m. – late. Even after an uneventful day,
I am usually found amongst the cars during
the early evening checking fluid levels or any
A DAY IN THE LIFE...
other minor issues that need attention. Later in
the evening we always try to join the rest of
the party for an evening meal and, if I get the
chance, I have been known to join the drivers
of Simon Raw, Supercars on Tour Mechanic
in the bar for one or two hard-earned drinks!
One of the most unusual requests for help
came from a driver who had been forced to
upercars on Tour enjoys the skills and problems need to have been sorted by then. way as quickly as is safely possible. take avoiding action with some rapid braking,
S
assistance of a fully qualified mechanic 10 a.m. I’m one of the last to leave every 12 – 1 p.m. Depending on the time and our causing his co-driver’s phone to fly off the
and support team on all its tours. day, making sure everyone gets safely on their location, we try to meet the drivers for lunch. centre console and disappear behind the
Simon Raw, our mechanic, comes from the way. I drive either a Range Rover Sport or a However, this often doesn’t happen if we’ve dashboard. I did manage to retrieve it
longest established Ferrari dealership in the van, something big enough to carry all my been called elsewhere or someone has eventually, but it shows that you never know
country, Maranello, sponsors of several tools, equipment and spare tyres, which can broken down some distance away. what the next thing to happen might be!
Supercars on Tour’s events. Arguably the be quite entertaining when trying to keep up On a really busy day there’s no question of On one of the quieter tours, we’ve even
most important person on the tour, Simon has with the supercars across narrow mountain lunch, and we might have to drive to a garage had Nigel Ross breaking down when
a background of extensive technical expertise. passes! It does mean that I’m much slower to collect spare parts or go with the owner to a his Range Rover power steering failed,
He began his career working for two Italian than the other drivers so I’ve usually got some dealership to access manufacturer specific although I did suspect this may have been
brothers who were passionate Ferrari lovers, catching up to do. My co-driver and I will try diagnostic equipment we can’t carry with us. deliberate to ensure I wasn’t getting too
then spent time working for a selection of to grab some food before we set off as there’s I am able to do most of the work myself as my much of an easy life! We couldn’t get the
franchised dealerships before joining no telling if we’ll get any lunch! Lunch breaks, vehicle is equipped with a comprehensive set parts from Range Rover, but finally managed
Maranello in Egham, where he has now and indeed any breaks, all depend on the of tools and a carefully chosen selection of to track down a suitable replacement part from
worked for the last five years. problems we might get called on to fix. spare parts and fluids for the cars on the tour. Peugeot instead!
Here, Simon outlines a typical day in the We follow a similar route to the main tour but There are, of course, rare occasions when a On a more serious note, our main aim is
life of the Supercars on Tour mechanic and try to use major roads where possible that run roadside repair is not possible, and at these to ensure as many cars as possible make it
support team. alongside the tour route to gain time. We stay times we have the back-up of our UK contacts to the end of the event and of course the safety
6.30 – 10 a.m. I’m up early at the hotel, in touch with the other marshals throughout over the phone for any technical information or of Supercars on Tour’s guests is our number
always trying to stay one step ahead of the day by telephone and try never to be more dealer locations that we don’t have with us. one priority.
the drivers, predicting and rectifying any than a couple of hours away from anyone Up to 6 p.m. Logistically, it can be a There’s certainly never a dull moment in
foreseeable problems. For most of these needing help – easier said than done! nightmare if we are miles away from my work with Supercars on Tour, it’s a great
early hours, I’ll be working on any reported To achieve this means lots of someone in difficulty. An ‘early bird’, opportunity to meet the owners of some of
faults with the cars, patching up and repairing communication and we get phone calls all for example, might be 200 miles ahead the cars I work on throughout the year, not to
any damage that might have been caused through the day with technical questions. of us before running into difficulties, mention getting to stay in some of Europe’s
by the previous day’s enthusiastic driving, Some of these can be resolved on the phone and unfortunately they will then have a long most luxurious hotels. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed
or plugging my lap top into the cars to check, and we can reassure drivers that they are wait before we catch them up. However, the time I have spent on the different trips,
adjust or reset the engine control units. safe to continue driving, others will of course we try as much as possible to limit that and, and hope to continue working with them in
Some drivers can’t wait to get on their way require our presence. In these cases, we follow as mentioned earlier, we are in constant the future.
and will set off long before others but usually the quickest route to reach the stranded driver, communication with the other marshals on
all will be on the road by ten, meaning any solve the problem and get them back on their the tour. On a good day, we will aim to arrive at
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