Roundel Weekly: My Turn

“My job is to keep you from being on TV!” shouted the track marshal. “It’s very dangerous out here, and if you don’t stay within the confines of where I tell you to stand, then you could end up in harm’s way—which is a sure fire way to end up on TV.”

With a big grin on my face, I nodded to let him know I had heard. I was standing at the exit of turn two on the Circuit of Americas, about ten feet from an active sports car race with no fence separating me from the track. GT and Prototype cars streak-by at insane speeds and I could not only hear—but also feel—their ripping side exit exhausts and popping shifts thumping off of my chest. I strived to soak up all the sights, sounds, and iPhone videos that I could because I knew it would be a long time, if ever, before I got to experience something this exciting again.

When I discovered that Michelin had invited me to Austin, Texas for the World Endurance Championship (WEC) races at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), I honestly didn’t know what to think. The prospect of new experiences excited me since I have never been to a WEC/Le Mans race. But it made me uneasy as I would be surrounded by die-hard racing enthusiasts who would sniff-out my ignorance of the sport immediately.

GT and Prototype race cars have always been exceedingly interesting to me, but I have never had the opportunity to attend a race. Of course there was no question that I would graciously accept Michelin’s invitation, but nothing could have prepared me for the motorsport enthusiast dream vacation I was unwittingly about to embark upon!

My fellow participants in this dream vacation consisted of social media influencers and marketers such as myself, two couples who had won an all-expense paid trip through the BMW CCA, and none other than Nate Risch from BMW of North America, BMWBLOG, Roundel, and the BMW CCA.

Our diverse group contained a retired semi-conductor engineer, off-shore drilling ship captain, neurosurgeon, optometrist, finance manager, test pilot, and others whose profession were so unique I can’t accurately describe it. The one unanimous thing we all had in common was our love for BMWs, motorsports, and Michelin tires, which subsequently made this group of total strangers from across the country immediate best friends!

Our experience started with an introductory dinner at the III Forks steak house in downtown Austin. Throughout the meal we were introduced to the brilliant culinary concepts of chicken-fried lobster and NY strip steak served on a wooden plank which was also (intentionally) on fire from bourbon soaked seasoning.

After dinner, some of the group retired from the long day of travel while the rest of us ventured to 6th Street, the famous bustling bar district in downtown Austin, to enjoy some live music and frosty beverages.

Bright and early the next morning the wise crowd, who had gone directly to bed after dinner, were chirping in the hotel lobby about how much they were looking forward to the day. Then, there were the 6th Street patrons sluggishly preparing extra strong cups of coffee whose enthusiasm was not as apparent through bloodshot eyes and pounding headaches—myself included. All hangovers were forgotten though when we arrived at K1 Speed for a morning of indoor electric kart racing.

The competitive juices were flowing and we all began the nonchalant discussions of sizing-up the competition. I quickly realized my handful of HPDEs were no match for some of the seasoned drivers and riders we had in the group and after the qualifying session, I found myself in nearly last place on the starting grid.

Before the start of the big race, a K1 employee lectured us all about how we needed to take it easy during the first lap because the chance of an entire-race pile-up was very high. Our qualifying laps had been fairly cordial with a few (mostly accidental) bumps here and there. So we all assumed there was nothing to worry about…we were all experienced BMW drivers after all!

However, as soon as the green flag waved, the blistering need for bragging rights took hold and by the second turn we were all involved in an entire-race pile-up. Sixteen thrilling laps of shameless punting, blocking, spin outs, bumping, and drifts later the winner was named. No surprise, it was Nate, who is also a BMW performance driving school instructor…although I’m pretty sure he slipped a $20 to the K1 employees to put him in the ringer kart!

After a quick lunch at K1 we made it to the real race track and were whisked up to the Michelin hospitality suite where we had an incredible view of the pits and finish line. There was an abundance of food and beverages, but most importantly the suite was about 30 degrees cooler than the sauna conditions of southern Texas outside!

The Michelin team did a great job of affording us plenty of time to soak in the experience while also keeping us busy with unbelievable tours and introductions. The first such tour was of BMW Team RLL’s paddock area given by none other than Bill Auberlen! We learned a ton about the M6 GTLMs and they are incredibly cool to see up close! But what I remember most about the tour, was how genuine and humble Bill was. Just three race wins away from being the winningest driver in the history of the series—a legend among BMW motorsport fans—and here he was taking time out of his preparations for a huge race to answer my dumb questions with an enthusiastic smile on his face.

After lunch we were brought to the Porsche Motorsport pit garage to receive a tour of their operations. Our Michelin hosts were very careful to ensure we arrived on time, because “The Germans don’t like it when you are late.” It was very interesting to see the technology that has gone into the latest prototype cars, instead of big turbo V8s, the preponderance of the cars are powered by V4s paired with multiple electrical motors that are constantly scavenging energy out of the brakes and exhaust. And to top it off, there was a whole tent dedicated to spare carbon fiber panels for each car. I can’t imagine what the budget for such an operation must be!

Dinner was at the highly acclaimed Salt Lick Ranch where plate after plate of delicious burnt tips, ribs, brisket, sausage links, side dishes, and desserts where placed in front of us until we had all developed a serious case of the meat sweats. Sitting at the long wooden bench tables we spent most of our time exuberantly reconstructing the kart race, discussing how awesome of a dude Bill Auberlen is, and sharing grand personal stories.

After a night of BBQ induced coma, we were chauffeured to the track for an action packed day at the races! We started off with another team tour, this time with the Turner Motorsport M6 GT3 car. Once again a great group of guys took us through their paddock tents and all the way out to pit lane to show us their operation. The cars were out for a recon lap and came in right in front of us!

One of the drivers, Mike Marsal, popped out of the Turner M6 and hopped the barrier to energetically introduce himself. As Mike was answering questions, Will Turner, the team owner walked up and joined the conversation as well. I couldn’t believe I was standing in pit lane with a team owner, what turned out to be the class-winning race car, and team drivers just shooting the breeze, all about an hour before race start!

My total aloofness of how big races are conducted became even more apparent when we were walking out to the track for the grid walk. “You mean they actually let the spectators come up and touch the cars?” I couldn’t believe it!

I found myself picking out my favorite cars, gently running my finger along the front bumper and imagining that I was somehow giving the car a stroke of good luck. We retreated to the Michelin hospitality suite to cool off and enjoy our spectacular view of the race start. Standing for the National Anthem, cheering for the “Drivers, start your engines!” call, and holding your ears for the thunderous roar as the green flag waved—all experiences that I had been looking forward too for weeks and they certainly didn’t disappoint!

After the race had commenced, everyone’s attention eventually diverted to some casual conversation and sharing the experience on social media. On occasion Nate, who was actually paying attention to the race, would pop up and yell, “I think the (random car) is coming into pit!” We would all jump up and run to the balcony to witness the pit teams furiously changing tires and rapidly fueling as the drivers swapped out of the car and engineers made quick repairs and adjustments right up until the jacks dropped the car and it went blasting back onto the track.

As the evening approached, about half way through the six hour race, our Michelin hosts carted us off to the active Michelin tire compound. At every race the tire manufacturers set up a large operation dedicated to keeping fresh rubber on every team’s racing wheels. The compound was bustling with teams dropping off spent wheel sets and Michelin workers skillfully removing the chewed up, melted, and still steaming hot rubber with shiny new slicks to be whisked back to the race. A brave few of us had the chance to get our hands dirty “helping” the team in removing a few of the used tires, I’m glad they allowed us this opportunity!

By sunset we had finished dinner in the hospitality suite and re-convened in the paddock for our VIP track tour! We were met by our tour-guide who was charged with keeping us from getting run over and “making it on TV” among other things. We stopped at almost every turn on the track and would all pile out of the tour van, run up to the various stands or holding areas typically exclusively reserved for press, and marvel at the deafening sound and incredible speed of the cars as the passed by in what seemed like arms reach from us!

The group, from a 28 year old all the way to the 65 year old retiree, all had the same giddy 12 year old demeanor: bright eyes, uncontrollable smiles with the occasional giggle, and an extra spring in our step.

The tour concluded at the signature COTA tower which provided an incredible bird’s eye view of the entire race track as well as stunning views of the city of Austin, and the rest of the Texas countryside—a fitting end to an incredible experience.

As we drove back to our hotel that night, I was reminiscing of our experiences, and although I fully expected to feel sorrowful at the end of the trip, I was happily fulfilled instead. The meet-and-greets that Michelin had arranged for us with some of the most respected names in the sport, the ‘you gotta know somebody’ tours that gave us unprecedented access to the track and its facilities, and the incredible group of people who I had come to admire were all the source of memories that I will cherish for years to come.

I left knowing a lot more about the sport and having escaped being called out for being such a rookie. The more I learned about racing over the weekend, the more I grew to love it. I look forward to many more motorsport events throughout my life and can confidently say that this trip was the origin of my journey!

One thing is certain, I’ll never be able to top my first Le Mans racing experience. Thanks Michelin!—Curt Wilson

You can follow Curt on Instagram where he happily shares photos of his one-of-one, Sunburst Gold M3 at www.instagram.com/c2kmotorsports.com.

If you have some interesting content you'd like to submit for consideration, such as a story, pictures, or video, please e-mail Nate Risch, Roundel Weekly editor, at nrisch@bmwcca.org.