I LOOK DOWN AND I SEE THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE HAS SHOT UP TO THE RED LINE

The final race weekend of the season was held on my favourite  configuration of the Dubai Autodrome race track – the International circuit.

It's a joy to drive after a few rounds on the restrictive Club circuit, as the International has two extensive straights, in addition to Turn 13 that can be taken flat out in 4th gear – effectively acting like a third straight. It is the perfect circuit for race cars with high horsepower like my 911 GT3. It also means the dreaded Turn 3 and 4 combination of the lesser configuration is eliminated.

I must say, that I was a little nervous as I prepared for the final race day of this year, as the season had been so good so far, with my car remaining in one piece without any bumps, knocks or subsequent damage. Nevertheless I happily qualified 2nd on the race grid behind the Porsche GT2 (the fastest GT3 on the grid) with the dark blue GT3 and the menacing SEAT sat behind me.

Due to the major construction that surrounds the Autodrome these days, the track was exceptionally dusty - especially off the racing line. When the start lights go out I'm cautious of the conditons but still grab a great start, getting to the first corner in second place, only to show caution again into the first corner - thus ending up in 4th position.

As I enter the back straight I have better exit speed and I finally pass the dark blue GT3 and the SEAT on the inside. As I start braking I soon realise that there is a lot more dust and a lot less grip than I first thought; my ABS is being triggered and as the lonely GT2 ahead of me turns right onto Turn 10 I barely miss his rear bumper by centimetres. The SEAT realises what is happening and thankfully gives me enough room to exit the track, to rejoin immediately.

A couple of corners later and the dark blue GT3 attempts to pass the SEAT on the outside of Turn 13 at over 200kph, on the dusty part of the track. He loses rear-end grip and oversteers into the SEAT. As a consequence parts are ripped off both cars.

The GT3 is sideways with all four brakes locked, leaving the track backwards heading towards the Armco barrier. It smashes into the barrier and is launched high in the air.

The race is naturally stopped as we continue circulating to the start grid. We circulate once more, on doing so we see the driver of the badly damaged car walking away without injury. We are all relieved to see him walking away – with his thumb in the air – from such a huge accident; it is a testament to the strength of the cars and the safety equipment both inside the car and on the race track.

Once the debris is cleared the race is restarted in a more somber mood, and I finish second behind the GT2. I have a good start in the second race, and I am circulating second behind the GT2. A new entrant has joined the series in a Corvette Z06: it has a gargantuan 7-litre engine with over 500bhp and weighs the same as my car (that has 381 horses), he also has monster grip, his front tyre is the size of my rear tyre.

I give him a hard time but he eventually gets by me. As I enter Turn 14 shifting to second gear, the rear end goes, instantly, just like in the last race weekend. I select first gear and as I am accelerating hard I see a cloud of white mist behind me. I look at my gauges and all is well, the temperature is slightly higher, but that would be expected in a race. As I accelerate, I can feel that the car does not have as much power. I look down and I see the temperature gauge has shot up to the red line. I place the car in neutral, let it coast to a safe area at the exit of the pits and shut it down.

The white cloud of smoke earlier was my coolant being discharged from a hole in a coolant hose. It was a microscopic hole that was letting out a mist of coolant onto the right rear tyre, causing me to spin when it burst.  The light blue GT3 skids on my coolant and kisses the barrier.  My car was pulled into the pits, thankfully to learn that my engine did not suffer any damage, just a coolant hose replacement.  The last race weekend finished on a down note, three out of 4 GT3’s did not finish the season out of which one was a total loss. I learned a great deal for sure, as no amount of track time can substitute for racing; I cannot wait for the next season to start.