Racing to Impress (Madison Beer/You)

The Big 24

It was race day. Everything I'd ever done from Karting to Carrera Cup was the build up to this life, my endurance dreams.

Me and Ross met up with Alex and Ian outside the motorhomes after the drivers briefing with the race director before we headed as a group into the paddock to our truck where only an hour earlier we had been sat out front signing posters and taking photos with fans non stop, but now it was for the final race debrief with our engineer.

I'd be lying if I said my nerves weren't through the roof and I wasn't even starting the car, Alex was.

Madison had sent me a photo of her and her family watching from home and Jess and my mum were doing the same, although I never received a photo from them but the funny appearance of my mother in the chat of the YouTube live stream indicated she was watching on.

"So, It's race day." Ricky, our lead engineer greeted us all as we packed into the meeting room and us drivers took a seat on the couch at the foot of the TV screen. "We'll start with the run plan. Obviously as you're aware it's a 24 hour race so pace is not our main focus, strategy is. Strategy will win us this race. Stints will range throughout but per driver, because we're in GTD Pro, we need to complete a minimum of at least 2 hours worth of drive time over the full 24 Hrs to comply with the rules which is easy and with that, no one can do more than 4 hours in the car over any 6 hour period. If you are in the car next, please aim to be at the pitstand an hour ahead of your allotted stint and aim to be suited up 20 minutes before in case of any issues which cause us to bring the car in early"

The nerves continued to build throughout. Following the message we all received in our group chat last night, I was in during hour 3 but the fact the buildup to the green flag was so intense and a meeting like this was a first for me, it was far more nerve wracking than I could've ever imagined. In an attempt to calm my nerves I subconsciously bit the top of the straw as I took a quick drink of the water we'd all been given by our performance coach, it included all the needed vitamins and electrolytes we'd need during the race to replenish our lost ones from things like a lack of sleep, excessive sweating and so on. If we didn't stay on top of our health it could go south quickly which obviously wasn't what we wanted.

"In terms of weather, We're expecting a band of rain to come in at around 2am, this will last for roughly around 2 hours and should cover the track fairly well but that's just forecasted at the moment. In the case of uncertainty during the changing conditions we'll leave you on the hottest available tyre, that will probably be the one you came in on. More heat means we'll have more grip so better to be safe than sorry. There is also a few electrical systems I'll need to show you inside the car when we're on the grid, a few systems you need to know in case you suffer contact and it sets off the in-car marshalling system which will end up cutting all power to the car. And finally there is an unlocked iPhone in there which can be used as a torch and all our numbers are also in there in case you need assistance but you shouldn't need it considering the track is quite small and there's marshals dotted about but apart from that, that's everything. Let's have a good race, bring the cars home safely and hopefully take to that podium."

Ricky disconnected the computer from the TV and we all piled back out into the open air. All drivers had been instructed to be in race gear for the national anthem so we all got into our race overalls and headed to Pitroad, finding our car which the mechanics had lined up in P4, exactly where Alex qualified it on the Sunday of The Roar. Our Mechanics took position around the back of the car and us drivers stood shoulder to shoulder out in front of the car as the track fell silent and the American national anthem was projected through the track side speakers.

Cameramen for the live feed danced around us but all I did was shut my eyes. It felt like I was in the opening of a Hollywood movie. Tense atmosphere and uncertainty of how the next 24hours would treat us. The air felt thick as my breathing became prolonged. We were the main show and that was an insane thought. People actually paid money to come watch us simply race cars for 24 Hours straight and some looked up to us like we were superstars when if I'm speaking truthfully, we're not. All of us could go out in public and not be bothered by anyone. In my case I could potentially get the odd mentioned at most if me and Madison get caught by paparazzi but whether I do or not, no one will give two. To race fans it was the opposite. However all I knew was I'd sacrificed a lot to be in this position but it just felt so scripted.