Team NASAMAX
Hours Twelve to Eighteen 15.06.03

With the thirteenth hour lost to repairs, it was time to reflect on what the team had achieved.

It was pretty remarkable that the team was here in the first place, given the tremendous workload that had been required over the previous six months. In that time Team NASAMAX had been to Sebring, the Le Mans test day and qualified for the race itself. The team had overcome an engine failure on race day morning, and the Reynard had then made history on Saturday by becoming the first wholly renewably-fuelled car to start the 24 Hours. Since then, despite many setbacks, the car had clocked up more than 1000 miles in the race. Many (fossil-fuel powered) cars had failed to get that far and it wasn’t over yet for NASAMAX.

The decision had been made to remove the back end of the Reynard and replace it with the spare unit that Nigel Tee had prepared during the week - the team couldn’t be sure that the original gearbox didn’t have any fragments in it that could potentially lead to it failing.

The change wasn’t going to be quick (due to the spare already having been cannibalised during the first attempt at repair, so having to be rebuilt first), but was anticipated to be complete by 07.00. The only fitting reward for the team’s monumental efforts of the weekend so far would have to be a race finish.

As the crew worked under the guiding eye of John McNeil, Werner sat patiently outside with his wife Theresa. Much to his regret, he had only been allowed a handful of the night laps he enjoys so much. Out on the pitwall, ‘Nippy’ managed to get some sleep - a more unlikely venue for such an activity would be difficult to imagine. The dawn had arrived, overcast and slightly misty.

The repair ended up taking exactly four hours, and the NASAMAX green overalls of the pit crew were starting to become NASAMAX black. Despite all the demands thrown at them over the preceding 24 hours, the guys were cheerful as they tucked into their bacon sarnies.

In the unofficial bio-ethanol race, Team NASAMAX was now in second place. They had decided that to survive to the night was third place; to last until the morning was second place and to make it to the flag would be the team’s win.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Shortly after 08.20 the circuit’s cameras showed the Reynard being sprayed with foam from a marshal’s fire extinguisher at the first chicane and Werner out of the car. This time there was nothing that could be done. “Just before the pit straight, I saw a little plume of smoke. The team said to come in, but I was already past the pit entrance. I slowed right down to a maximum of 100 and was slow down the Mulsanne Straight. I went through the first chicane at no more than 30 and then there was a big bang. We were fighting the fire for five minutes,” explained Werner. “What disappointed me most was that it happened so quickly - how do I come back and tell the guys what had happened when they’ve worked so hard?”

The car had officially completed 135 laps - 1845 kilometres/1153 miles.

Back in the paddock the crew were philosophical, as they had a quick beer before the packing-up began; “Well, we made history,” said Karl, before mischievously continuing “we gave away more pens than anyone else!”. Cue much hilarity from his co-drinkers. We know what you meant, Karl.

Chris Thompson’s thoughts were with John McNeil; “This will hurt John. He’ll put on a brave face, but he’ll be disappointed.” The man who inspires such loyalty among his team had his own tribute to pay; “The team worked until 2am on Saturday preparing the car and they did it beautifully.”

Think about that: Work from 8am on Friday to 2am on Saturday; be back ready for warm-up at 9am; change an engine until 2pm; plus change three selector cables and a gearbox assembly under race conditions, as well as sparkplugs and a pushrod, before 8am on Sunday. And all without sleep. No wonder the pitcrews are often referred to as unsung heroes.

For the first time this weekend, Gavin was able to watch the race itself, while the present and future drivers of Team NASAMAX - Robbie and son Dean - reflected on the weekend.

The team were obviously disappointed to leave the race prematurely, but in many ways the weekend was a great success. John’s aims had been to enter the first sportscar at Le Mans with a wholly renewable fuel and, perhaps more importantly, to get people talking about bio-ethanol. On both of these he scored spectacularly.

What is the next stage of this fascinating project? The team has already committed to the Le Mans Endurance Series' first race in November. Stay tuned to find out more.

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