24 HOURS IN BOL d'OR BLENDER
P84
Feature
wet track. But I figured the
smartest thing to do is just
suffer through it, so we don't
make an extra stop. Then
Melodie will start her session
on slicks.
About 45 minutes in, I'm
exiting the fast right hander
off the back straight and
accelerating towards the
next turn when I see a bike
up ahead suddenly emit
a big puff of smoke and
go straight off the track. I
thought to myself "be care-
ful, there might be oil," and
I watch as the bike behind
him crashes.
The problem with racing in
the rain is that the plug in the
belly pan has to be removed,
so an engine failure almost
guarantees oil on the rac-
ing surface. I can see the
rainbow line of oil as I tip-toe
through and wonder what
will happen next.
The safety car comes out,
and by the time I make it
back around the track, two
more bikes have fallen and
are engulfed in flames. The
wall of fire is also consum-
ing the tire wall, and I can't
stop myself from laughing at
the corner workers spray-
ing at it with handheld fire
extinguishers. It's like trying
to stop a wildfire with a squirt
gun.
I spend another 20 minutes
or so behind a safety car as
1500 more fire extinguishers
are sacrificed until a fire truck
rolls in and eventually puts the
flames out. I can't help but no-
tice that cleaning up the actual
oil seems like an afterthought
at this point. Once again,
my fuel light comes on while
we're still under caution, and I
hand the bike off to Melodie.
The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team comes home to take the win.
