I just got back from an "unplugged" vacation and discovered that my all time favorite team is going to Le Mans. This is great news indeed. I was a little surprised to see the lack of banter in the forum about our small American team's invite. I wished everyone knew this team like I have come to know them. Talk about the little engine that could. I know they have not performed as well as one would hope, but they have heart and a lot of potential. I started following them, or should say that car from the time it started in Doran's shop. My love for the car was already there. Then came the Robertson’s, "H" Smith, Dave Murray and the rest of the team, great stories all. I have always rooted for the underdog, victory seems to be a little sweeter. My new good friend Johnny St Ours saw the potential also, what a Cinderella story this team and car could be and he has the whole story on film. When they got pole at Petit in 08, I actually got choked up. They still have a lot of time to develop this car and team. I first talked to Dave Robertson three years ago and he revealed his plan to win with car and team, a little slow and methodical for my taste, but he seems to be right on track. Development, improvement, steady progress. Now the little cars (our car) is getting in deeper water, the true test of an endurance team. We will see how they hold up at Sebring. But if one will look back at the cars that started it all, the GT40, it too had a slow start. But in the end showed its stuff and even had wins by a privateer team in '68 and '69 Development.
We all loved seeing the GTs in Europe do so well last year and hope for continued wins and performance. I am a little too "auto patriotic" when it comes to racing. I really became a fan of Corvette in the last ten years, because of their American team showing at Le Mans on the world stage. I have been a Ford Man since I was a kid and this is it, the big time. If you get a chance to meet this team, you will see what I see, heart and lots of it. So let them know you are out here.
