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No Fenders Head Scribe Tomaso behind the wheel of
the iFly Porsche 911 GT3 Racecar over the 2017 USGP weekend at COTA. (The
Tomaso Collection)
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Yeah, that's Correctomundo Kiddies! So move over
Formula 1...
First 'N Foremost, forgive the lack of Detail
I'm providing in my yearly USGP Reports, as this one's floundered in thou Surf
upon Nofendersville Isle the past year! Thus, I truly Don't remember very much
from my latest visit to Circuit Of The Americas, nee COTA. Especially since
Thar was so little for Us, The Fans to do during the racing weekend, which was
partially the impetus for not returning this year...
Alas, that being said, the biggest Highlight
of the weekend for Mwah had little to do with the Formula 1 machinery, even if they're
the Baddest Landsharks on the Planet!
Yet for Mwah, being Blind, it was my tactile
experience that brought thou most satisfaction, although being at a racetrack
is always very therapeutic for me.
Claudio', my trusty Seeing Eye guy Racetrack Sherpa and I had arrived early at Circuit Of The Americas, nee COTA prior to the Formula 1 Free
Practice 1 session Friday morning, beginning at 10AM Central time.
It was
misting then, so we skidattled towards some covered vendor booths, giving us
something to do out of the light rain, which hopefully would pass thru.
something to do out of the light rain, which hopefully would pass thru.
Approaching
one of the myriads 'O unknown vendors to Mwah, this booth had a Free Spin A
Wheel Contest, so Claudio told me to spin a wheel. NOT that hard Tomaso! And
viola! I won the
chance to sit in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racecar!
chance to sit in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racecar!
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| Side view of Tomaso seated in the cockpit of the iFly Porsche 911 Showcar. (The Tomaso Collection) |
A very
nice lady named Veronica who was working the I-Fly vendor booth was super kind
to me, being very patient whilst working with a Blind racing Aficionado.
As she
patiently talked me completely thru how to wiggle my
bum atop the door's roll cage and slide bottoms first into the "molded" racing seat,
which is very tight fitting!
then she put the removable steering wheel on for me, let me play with the
paddle shifters Vroom-Vroom!
bum atop the door's roll cage and slide bottoms first into the "molded" racing seat,
which is very tight fitting!
then she put the removable steering wheel on for me, let me play with the
paddle shifters Vroom-Vroom!
And
after I mused out loud I wished we'd had a camera; Oh, I
can take a picture for you and send it to your Email Veronica immediately said...
can take a picture for you and send it to your Email Veronica immediately said...
SHUHZAMM!
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| Close-up view of Tomaso Hard at Work Carving Up the Field 'O Virtual Racecars behind the wheel. (The Tomaso Collection) |
Like I
said, Veronica was super nice to me, as the whole time I was experiencing this,
I had ZERO Clue what the "iFly" company Veronica was promoting was?
For which I wouldn't truly discover until returning home.
As I-Fly
is a virtual Skydiving company with multiple locations worldwide, including one
in Tukwila, Washington, to which Veronica gave me a $10 discount for... And I was so JAZZED! Over this brief tactile experience that I totally wanted to do this upon returning home.
in Tukwila, Washington, to which Veronica gave me a $10 discount for... And I was so JAZZED! Over this brief tactile experience that I totally wanted to do this upon returning home.
But
Y'all know how life gets in the way, Eh? As who knew Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary
Ellen, my trusty Chauffer, Cook and Uhm? Careful Mary Ellen, put that Spatula
Down please; Hya! Would have a new "Puppy dog," the aforementioned
"Marmaduke" for a solid nine months before finding Silk a new home Up
North Eh! Or that I'd be moving out of state; Blah-Blahity-blah...
Upon
returning home from Austin, I set about trying to discover what this mysterious
Porsche GT3 racecar I'd momentarily sat in was? Since all I knew courtesy 'O
fellow Florencian' F1 Spotter Jeannie was that said Porsche
911 GT3 Cup racecar
on Showcar Duty was White with red & blue striping with
Porsche motorsport(dot)com visible. ARSE-Sumedly this Deckle' atop the front
windshield?
After digging 'N digging upon thou
Intrawoods', nee Internetz', the closest corresponding thing I could come up
with was that said Porsche was possibly a MoreSpeed team Showcar? As Will
Hardman ran their No. 19 at Road America in 2016...
And that's how the weekend at the racetrack for the USGP
began!
Whilst
not surprising at the least, some Cat known here on No Fenders as "golden
Child," aka Lewis Hamilton dominated both Friday Free Practice sessions...