| Sunday, August 22, 2010 8:46AM |
I looked forward to updating everyone on my August break in California.
The August break has come to an end and as I ready for this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, I wanted to give you an update on my recent time spent in California.
I was home in California almost 3 weeks. Wow, it was action packed and just flew by. I reconnected with friends, met an American motorsports legend, Dan Gurney, had some nice dinners with friends and sponsors, trained with my home physio, and attended Infineon Raceway for Indy Car practice, just to name a few things.
However, the highlight of my month was meeting Dan Gurney and having the opportunity to attend his tribute and reunion at Laguna Seca during the classic Monterrey Historics and the legendary Concours d'Elegance. Dan is a true inspiration to American motorsport and it is now my job to continue to represent America in Europe. Spending time with Dan and the Gurney family was perfect timing as I prepare for Spa; I won there last year, but Dan won the 1967 Formula 1 GP in Spa in a car he built himself. He did some exceptional things in his career and getting to know not only him, but also his wife and two sons was a very fun and enlightening experience.
Back at home, my trainers Scott and Curtis beat me up pretty bad; although Scott had nothing for me on runs and bike rides. We trained eight days, four hours each day, but at the same time we laughed and joked constantly. Running, mountain biking, kayaking, swimming and hitting it hard in the gym were the regular activities, but these two are known for their creativity and never failed to impress. For example, Curtis found great pleasure in having me pull him across Scotts Flat Lake while I'm kayaking and he's soaking up the summer sun in an inner tube. I will not forget this and he'll pay when I return.
Coming home showed me how easy it is to take even the simple things for granted while I am away, which made sleeping in my own bed and playing Nintendo WiiSports with my father some of the true highlights of the trip back home. When traveling and living the racing life,I realized the importance of respecting and cherishing one's home roots.
I spent a lot of nights going to a friends house competing on a Playstation 3 F1 simulator that he put together and I have to say that I was surprised with the fight that he put up. He was the first person that I have ever played a motorsport related video game with that could keep the car on track for more than one corner. We had many competitions and he was excellent at Suzuka, even beating my best lap by a tenth!! Apparently, in his mind, I'm in too high of a gear in the first sector; but, I will have to prove him wrong when I return home.
Then one of my sponsors thought he'd take a shot at me, at Infineon in an ICC shifter kart. He was talking pretty big smack for a while, so I figured that it was time to lay the argument to rest. We had equal ICC CRG's with fresh power and while he is a good racer, he was missing about three seconds on a good lap. Maybe after a bit of practice he will close the gap a bit by going flat through the second chicane.
As you can obviously tell, there were lot's of good times and laughs; which was a fantastic segway for me between Budapest and Spa.
The flight back to Europe was a bit intense; but I am happy to be back at my second home and getting to work on final preparations for Spa. This is my favorite circuit of all and I am looking forward to doubling up on my win from last year.
Thanks for logging on and stay tuned from Spa.
Catch you soon!
AR
