Written by:
Timo Bernhard & Romain Dumas
(Welcome to the fourth joint column from multiple sportscar driver champions Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. We make a departure of the normal format to offer a peek at the incredibly busy schedule, starting with an May 13th Audi R15 TDI test in preparation for the 24 House of Le Mans and finishing with their fourth place finish in the #12 Verizon Wireless Penske Porsche Riley June 20 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With their long tenure as teammates, the two choose to do the same with their column -- they write it as a team. Timo's text is standard, and Romain's in italics. Joint events are in bold, Timo’s events in standard and Romain’s solo events in italics. ~Ed.)
Wed, 13-May: Audi R15 TDI test at Paul Richard (France)
This is a wonderful race car! It is easy to drive, and we are enjoying this. We are glad to have the opportunity to compete at Le Mans in a car that has a good chance of winning overall. We are excited.
For Porsche's Romain Dumas, being able to race for the overall win in front of his countrymen was especially rewarding. (LAT)
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We do not want to wait the month for the race. Could it be today instead?
Thurs, 14-May: fly from Marseille, France to San Francisco
Fri, 15-May through Sun, 17-May: Grand-Am race at Laguna Seca
We definitely had the car to win today. On the restart I accelerated with everybody else, and then the guy ahead of me braked again. When I saw the green flag, I went to the left and everybody was braking – ‘Oh, what happened?’. I was afraid to hit my brakes because everybody went with me and they would have hit me. In the end it was a problem (penalty) so I came in for the stop-and-go. Afterwards, I made up two positions, but the 60 car blocked me big time, which is not nice when you are racing so hard to win.
I had a good long stint to start the race, and the car was working very good. But with the rule changes, I was losing a lot on the straights. The (100) RPM loss (rule change) hurt us more than the (reinstatement) of sixth gear helped us. When I turned the car over to Timo, we were hopeful of a podium, maybe a win. The penalty ended our hopes.
Mon, 18-May: fly from San Francisco to Germany
Tue, 19-May: Romain at home in Switzerland; Timo in Germany
Wed, 20-May: travel to Nurburing
Thurs, 21-May through Sun, 24-May: 24 Hours of Nurburgring
This is always the fun race. All GT cars. We had a very good car, and very easy drive.
This is the fourth time we have won Nurburgring. It is one of most favorite races every year. Another win for Porsche.
Mon, 25-May: Home
Tues, 26-May through Sat, 30-May: Michelin test in Pole-Mecanique in D'Ales, France
I test all the tires. Race tires. Street tires. Tires are very important to your safety and the performance of your car. People should pay more attention to their tires. And be sure to spell Pole-Mecanique correctly – they are one of my sponsors!
Tues, 26-May and Wed, 27-May: Home
I have nothing to do, so I do everything with the family. And sleep.
Thurs, 28-May and Fri, 29-May: Audi driver change training in Germany
Romain and I have different schedules, so I do not practice driver change with him. We have had many driver changes together during our races, he getting out, me getting in, me getting out, him getting in. Fortunately, we are nearly of equal size, so this is easy. We are ready for Le Mans.
Mon, 1-July and Tues, 2-July: Audi driver change training in Germany
The Audi is, of course, the open cockpit car. The (Porsche RS) Spyder was, of course, the open cockpit car, so I already know how do the driver change in the open cockpit car. But Audi, they are so precise and prepared that they insist on the training. Two days?
Wed, 3-June: fly from Frankfurt, Germany to Watkins Glen
Any trip is longer for me than Timo because I have to come from Switzerland to meet him in Frankfort. That is because we get the best flights to America from Frankfort. So I sleep on the plane more than Timo, because he is all the time studying on his computer, studying the next track and the information the engineers give us. I wait for him to tell me all and then I study, too.
We travel in the comfortable seats. Thanks, Mr. Penske!
