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A dozen drivers competing in Grand-Am's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen lend a whole different meaning to "Ocean's Twelve." After testing June 7-8, and racing for six hours on Saturday the 9th, the 12 drivers will immediately take flights about that race length across the Atlantic Ocean. But these two six-hour events only equal half of the beast they will face when they land: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Twelve drivers are doing the "double" – a combined 30 hours of racing on two different continents within only one week. But for most, their schedule began well before that, with the first ocean cross occurring to attend pre-qualifying at Le Mans on Sunday, June 3rd. The second cross was a trip back to the U.S. and Watkins Glen, New York, for the first session on the 7th. Right after the race on the 9th, a third trip took them back to Le Mans, where they will be all this week for administrative tasks and practice sessions before the race on the 16th and 17th. A final fourth ocean crossing back, for most, will complete the tour.
With such tight schedules, the drivers find it difficult just making all their commitments, let alone recovering from jet lag, acclimating to the food, or even doing their laundry. One might ask if the suffering and stress that comes with attempting both races is worth it. If they return from that fourth flight adorned with endurance-racing glory, any drive would answer yes.
I got a chance to catch up with the dozen drivers at Watkins Glen to get a taste of what they are going through. Hold on as the drivers drift from subjects like sleep deprivation to the demise of American dining.
Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister:
The Lowdown: Both share the No. 23 Alex Job Racing
Schedule: June 10th: both flew out for Le Mans; 11th: arrived in France; 11th: due for technical scrutineering in afternoon.
Biggest Challenge: "The schedule getting back from Watkins [Glen] to the race for scrutineering," Long said. "I have a time slot on Monday afternoon [like Bergmeister]. If it was a morning scrutineering slot, it would be virtually impossible."
Jet Lag: "Normally they say a day per hour of time difference," Bergmeister said. "Sometimes when I have a bad day there I'll…stay awake until four or five o'clock in the morning. So that's not really what you are looking for. It's actually not too bad if you are still a little bit on the American time zone because the race starts so late."
The Tracks: "[Both] tracks are very momentum tracks," Long said. "You got to have a lot of speed carried through all the corners. So that's good; you are in kind of the high-speed mode."
The Cars: "I just kind of forget that I was ever in a [Porsche] 911, and just go back to the last time that I've driven this [Daytona Prototype]," Long said. "It's kind of like getting back on a bicycle."
Predictions: "I hope [to win] both," Bergmeister said. "[But] Le Mans is a 24-hour race, so you obviously need a little more luck that you don't have any problems, and I think that's one of the key points there."
Actual Watkins Glen Result: After being plagued by power steering problems, the duo fought back through pit strategy to place eighth.
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