One of the great privileges that Razão Automóvel gives me is, whenever the schedule allows, to watch some sports competitions live. This has been the case with Rally de Portugal and more recently with my trip to Spa-Francorchamp to watch the 2nd race of the World Endurance Championship, among others.
It feels good to leave the computer, the closed room (with the annoying Diogo Teixeira), the rehearsals, the press releases and the meetings that mark many of my days, and set foot on the path to go to the places where the action takes place. There are things that television can't transmit, you have to go to the place. In motor sport it is like that.
As much as television coverage has improved in recent years, nothing beats the roar of live engines — in Spa, it felt like the pistons hit my eardrums — nor the sense of speed that only the human eye can capture, the atmosphere of competition , the smells…
Then, in addition to everything that happens on the track, there is a multitude of things happening around us. The girls who know everything, the photographers recording every moment, the tiffosi dressed from head to toe in the colors of the brands. The car people are a little weird. I like that, for normality, everyday is enough for us. In Spa-Francorchamp all that's missing is the pit-babes…
In the end, it's a bit like football. No one goes to work with a Sport Lisboa e Benfica shirt on, but on "ball day" anything goes! I even mask my face with red and white paint… — by the way, I'm from Futebol Clube do Porto.
But seeing a race live also has a downside. Half the time I had no idea what was going on on the track (positions, times, withdrawals), but it's the price to pay for a soup of sensations capable of making your skin crawl. The ideal is to see one race live and the rest on television. The exception to the rule.
Appointed in Spa, Nürburgring, Estoril, Portimão or Braga? If so, let me know…
