When you go to the racetrack, you would expect fancy cars,
trucks and trailers. However, there is one thing that is always present that
shocks people. This is the use of golf carts. Now, I know what you might be
thinking: why would a race team possibly need a golf cart? What purpose would
it serve? Well, this blog article will tell you. A golf cart, much like a pit
crew, is an integral part of a race team and our team learned this very early
on during the 2010 race season.
When I learned we were going to have a golf cart, I thought
it would look exactly like the ones on the golf courses. However, some look
very different! Ours has only one seat, is covered in metal and has a storage
compartment underneath. When we first saw it at the Montreal Grand Prix in
2010, Duncan had recently bought it and the engine required rebuilding. Duncan
and Jim were completing the rebuild at the track as, up to that point, all the
effort had been on preparing the Race Car and the golf cart parts had just
arrived. I remember staring at this
machine, wondering what possible purpose it could have. Boy, I had no idea.
The false grid is far from our paddock (which is right
underneath the Jacques Cartier Bridge), at the F1 garages in the pit lane,
close to the Victoria Bridge.
You know that roar of a monster in a movie and you feel that
the crap is about to hit the fan? Well, that’s kind of what happens with the
golf cart at Tremblant. Duncan and Jim usually walk from the car park in the
field to our spot in the paddock and return to give us a ride. Everything is
quiet until… you hear it: . That distinctive sound of the golf cart’s 2 stroke
engine. The arrival of the golf cart is
always met with moans, groans and threats from other teams. One racer
threatened to blow up the golf cart. He
never gets a ride.
The first person to threaten to destroy the golf cart was
none other than me. The 2010 Grand Prix of Montreal was the first event in the
rivalry between the golf cart and me. When I tried to drive it in reverse, I
went flying backwards, catching my foot on a metal pole. I tore three tendons. I’ve
also stalled it quite a few times. This
is why I’m generally not allowed to drive it.
The golf cart has many different purposes. It tows the car
back and forth along the basin at the Montreal Grand Prix, which we call the
false grid. The false grid extends from our paddock (which is right underneath
the Jacques Cartier Bridge) to the garages in the pit lane (which are close to
the Victoria Bridge). Without it, we
would lose fuel. The golf cart carries the crew and equipment to the pits. It
is used as a stepping stool to take down the tent. Duncan uses it to schmooze around the
paddocks. It is also used to inflict injuries on ourselves, which was seen
during the 2010 season. It also announces our presences and Jim describes it
“like a Roman chariot. The distinct sound of the engine is our bugle.”
The golf cart backfires once in a while, which can be a
little embarrassing, depending who is around. However, everyone looks our way
when we are driving it and they cheer when we sound the horn. The backfire is
our mechanical trumpet.
The golf cart is also the perfect viewing platform for the
races and gives us the best seats during Formula 1 qualifying, which takes
place just on the other side of the wall we are waiting by.
Even though some of us make fun of the golf cart, it is
actually one of the best investments Duncan made and we would all be lost
without it.
