I’ve spent countless hours running thousands of laps and racking up more wins than Ayrton Senna, Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher combined. I’ve mastered Rascasse, The Grand Hotel Hairpin and the Nouvelle Chicane. I’ve won by minutes and lost by milliseconds. I’ve done it all on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Sure I was 15 and accomplishing all of this by the magic that was the Sony PlayStation 2, but how different could it be, right? I mean come on, that was cutting edge technology at the time. The realism was as good as it could get. I could jump a Miata off the curbing in Hotel Hairpin and still win the race; surely that is an easy feat to accomplish in the real world as well as the virtual? Ok, so I may never know what it is like to ruin my race by blowing the suspension off my car jumping the curb across from the Casino de Monte Carlo. But in 2005 I got the chance to see the spectacle that is Monte Carlo with my own eyes.
The company I was working for at the time was developing a 100% electric maxi class scooter and was sending several employees to the Electric Vehicle Symposium which was being held in Monaco in 2005. This was not during the Grand Prix weekend, but the atmosphere was still enthralling. Every day I walked from where I was staying down the hill through turns three, four, and five through the Hotel Hairpin and down to the water. Instead of going right through the tunnel though I reported to the Grimaldi Forum and our booth.
Walking down the streets that are lined with that red and white curbing in the real world rather than virtually with my thumbs just gave me that feeling that I was experiencing something special. Seeing that tall curb in the Hairpin in person makes it look that much taller, and that much more intimidating, than through a television screen or a photograph. I would spend part of my days during the EVS down at our demonstration area which did take me through the tunnel and was where the grandstands would sit at the Nouvelle Chicane during grand prix weekend. There were yachts so big parked along the water front I’m not even sure yacht is the correct word. The majority of which had helicopters parked on each of the ship’s respective helipads.
The Monte Carlo Experience
The atmosphere on this simply non-descript weekend in early April made it nearly impossible to stay focused. That was fine for me as I was spending most of my days standing around daydreaming about getting the chance to drive this track and not actually piloting a vehicle on it. I can’t imagine the amount of distraction available to somebody in town for the race week. Being a racing driver during the week of the Monaco Grand Prix must test their mental toughness to stay focused to the fullest before they even sit down in the cockpit.
Being in the presence of the pavement the cars travel across gave me a whole new respect to those that are able to compete on it. To every driver capable of being able to complete even one lap at speed in that atmosphere gets my utmost respect.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @Billman93. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
