Abu Dhabi - Part 3

Welcome to part 3 - the last of my posts about Abu Dhabi.  You can find parts 1 and 2 here, and here.

This last post has been reserved for one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  I'll try to explain...  The location where we were staying in Abu Dhabi, hosts one of the world's most "technical" Formula 1 racing tracks.  If you look at the pictures from Part 1, you'll see that the Yas Hotel is built on top of the track, so that cars pass beneath several parts of the hotel.  The track is known as the Yas Marina Circuit.  The circuit also has a racing school, where they train professional drivers.

The day after the press conference, we treated the attending media to a unique opportunity - the chance to actually drive a Formula 1 race car on the professional track.   Needless to say, each reporter was pretty excited.  This is one of the ultimate "testosterone" activities that you can dream-up.  Five minutes before we loaded the media up on shuttle buses, the even organizer ran up to me and told me that one of the reporters was sick - and wanted to know if I would like to take his place.  Ummm....YEAH!  This is where it really pays to be nice to people like "event organizers" ; )

We had the chance to drive three different vehicles.  However, you have to understand a couple of things.  First, it was over 100 degrees F that day.  Second, the temperature of the asphalt on the actual track was over 140 F.  Third, we had to wear full "fire suits" (see below) to protect us, which also included a fully-enclosed helmet.  I swear to you that with all of that added together, it felt like 3,000 degrees F.

Trying not to spontaneously combust...

First up was the Formula 1 cars, known as the Yas 3000.  These cars have 3,000cc V6 engines that sound exactly what you would expect them to - perfection.  They took us around the track in regular cars first, so that we could study all the turns.  This particular track had quite a few turns, making it one of the most difficult circuits on the Formula 1 tour.  After some additional instruction, it was time to get to business.

The line-up

I will be completely honest with you - when the engines started up, I started to get a bit nervous.  Suddenly, these beasts were a bit intimidating. The sound in this video clip doesn't do justice to how powerful these engines seem:

When you put on all the gear, and slide into the cockpit, you actually can't move very much (for your safety).  For a few minutes, you feel kind of claustrophobic.  My mind was racing.  I was thinking "what am I DOING in here?"  "Am I insane?" However, I fought those feelings off, and was ready to begin.  There were two video cameras in the car.  One was aimed right at your face, and the other looked forward, where the car was heading.  They actually captured video of us driving the circuit.  I now give you a little snapshot of what it was like:

Pretty cool, eh?  The only time you really get going fast, is on the "straight-aways".  According to the staff, we hit around 150 mph.

The second vehicle that we were able to drive were the SuperSport SST or "Radicals".  These were two-passenger cars.  An instructor would ride with you, as these are even more difficult to drive than the F1 cars.  The manual gear-shifting was tough for some people, as they don't drive a manual transmission very often.

The crazy part is that this part of the track had an even longer straight-away...so we were able to get the cars going pretty fast, for longer periods of time.  There weren't any cameras in these cars, so I don't have any video.  However, here's a little clip of the race track that we used.  The entire length of this side was the straight-away:

Overall, it was a truly amazing experience - not one that I'll probably be able to repeat again.  I'm pretty lucky that the reporter was sick that morning, and that my company was nice enough to let me participate.  I have a new, healthy respect for Formula 1 race car drivers.  The pedal work and mental concentration required is really eye-opening.  I'll never watch an F1 race the same way again ; )

That's it from Abu Dhabi.  Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and indulge me...