India's ace saloon racer Aditya Patel doubles up as a Safety Car driver for the National Racing Championships. He shares on iSport his experiences of driving a Safety Car.
How many of you looked at a Formula One grid and ever thought that 25 cars would be taking the start when the lights go off, and that this 25th car would lead the pack for a few laps at some point in the race? Not many, I'm guessing.
Yes, there is always the driver who goes unnoticed. For the last year, I've been given the duty of being the safety car driver at our national events, and believe me; it's not as easy as it looks! About a year ago, I was at the track on Saturday morning when one of the officials came up to me and asked me if I'd like to drive the safety car for the weekend. Without any hesitation, I accepted. I would assume that I did a rather good job at that even because I've been the safety car driver ever since!
It started with an old Esteem (that was also raced by my father many years ago!) and then a Baleno (It won the INRC), both of which were extremely scary to drive! This year, with the introduction of the Volkswagen Polo Cup, I've been enjoying the luxury of driving Jettas, Beetles and even Passats! Not only have race cars improved, but so have the safety cars.
The usual safety car Job in the Indian Championship would involve a track clearance before a race and then follow the cars around the track for the first lap. This is just in case of an emergency situation. Apart from this, the safety car remains on standby at the end of the pitlane incase of an accident. Round 2 of the Polo cup saw a safety car situation for, I think, the 2nd time in Indian motorsport since I was born! Being the safety car driver, it was my duty to wait for the leader and then start to drive the wheels off the car till the incident was cleared!
Surprisingly all the drivers did an extremely good job of handling such a situation and the race was a success. So, if you want the best view of the first corner of the race, drive the safety car!
Aditya Patel’s next racing weekend is 7th and 8th August and as a safety car driver is 28th and 29th August.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev |
|---|
