I have always loved motorsports. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved the sound of a revving engine, and the feeling of going fast. I was addicted to speed after the first time I learned what a redline was.
This past weekend I given the opportunity from Pfaff Motorsports to work with them as their team doctor. I attended the Rolex 24hr at Daytona with them and boy what an experience that was. My initial objective was to take care of the drivers, but after getting Florida and on sight my role expanded, as did my insight into what is one of the toughest motor races on the planet, for both driver, crew and machine.
Pfaff Motorsports is using a new car this year, and had minimal testing prior to this awe inspiring event. Some teething issues were expected, but the way the crew took care of things and responded to adversity was amazing to watch. As much as the drivers get many of the accolades on TV, it is the mechanics and crew that are just as much athletes. The Pfaff Motorsports crew is absolutely unreal.
This crew preps the car with the precision of a Swiss watch maker, and react to and fix issues with the car with more energy than a pack of hungry wolves devouring their prey. They move fast, think fast, twist in all sorts of awkward positions and tear a car down and put it back together fast than I have ever seen. This sort of action however does not come without consequences.
When I first arrived I was immediately met with intrigue by all of the mechanics, who were suffering with a variety of issues. Sore backs, strained leg muscles, tight and sore hands, headaches and much more. I flew out of YYZ at 6:15am and was treating my first mechanic by 11am. Races aren’t exactly private and so my table was positioned between the trailer and just in front of a spare nose for the McLaren. It wasn’t glamorous, but I loved it. High paced environments with the need for a fast diagnosis and then treat accordingly is the environment that I thrive in. Every mechanic was on a time crunch so I felt like one of the crew, except that I was the mechanic for people and not for the car.
The drivers I had the opportunity to work with were all amazing. Marvin Kirchhoefer, Oliver Jarvis, James Hinchcliffe and Alex Rossi were the pilots for this race, and all were welcoming and open to what I could bring to the team. These drivers are such finely tuned athletes, that they truly made my job before the race quite easy. During the race however is where the excitement started.
One of the drivers in the heat of the day did an hour and 40min stint with the cockpit at 45deg, plus add in a fire suit and race helmet. This environment mixed with minimal air flow and an extremely physically demanding drive led to him coming out with some pretty bad heat stroke. Fluids, fluids and more fluids was the name of the game, along with lots of ice and cool damp cloths all over him. The biggest fix though and what the driver knew they needed. Cold Coca Cola. After some rest, more hydration and a nap our driver was back ready to drive again 8 hours later. I attribute much of his rebound to how physically fit these drivers are. They are just amazingly athletic.
Most of my work during the race was focused on recovery for drivers between stints. I was working on tight muscles mainly in the shoulders, arms and upper back. As one car is used for four drivers the fit is not always perfect. Three of the four drivers are around 5’7″ and one was 6’2″. Needless to say, the tall driver was cramped into the car a bit and was dealing with a sore back after each stint. Understandable. The amazing part is they all still drove amazingly and churned out fantastic drives. No spins, or unforced errors by any of our drivers.
Despite all of this amazing talent between mechanics, engineers, support staff and drivers the weekend was to be a bit of a heartbreak. The McLaren that they are driving this year is a totally new platform for them, and prior to the race had only had 3 days of testing the weekend before. Three different failures on the car was the ultimate undoing. Each time the mechanics went in to fix an issue, the car would run great, and then within a few hours a different issue arose. As a positive they were all different problems which I viewed as a positive. Lessons learned and lots to work on before the next race at the 12hours of Sebring in March.
As for myself I certainly have things to work on for the drivers and crew going forward. I am going to be putting together a fitness program (flexibility, strength, mobility) for the mechanics and pit crew to help make them more athletic than they already are. For the drivers it is more about learning what they need, or may need depending on race conditions. Ice vests for both pre and post drive are on my wish list as well as sourcing out a solid electrolyte drink that benefits their specific needs. These are the things I’m going to be working on before the next outing in March.
On the whole it was an amazing experience and I can’t wait for the next race. I always wanted, and still want to be a race car driver when I grow up. This however is the next best thing and I look forward to the next race.
Till the next race.
-Adam-
Dr. Adam Wade 