PLOWMAN: Bahrain Debrief

Last Sunday’s overnight flight from Bahrain to London Heathrow was the first time in a very long time that I had NO trouble falling asleep.

Twenty-four hours before, I, along with my co-drivers Bertrand Baguette and Ricardo Gonzalez, had just clinched the FIA LMP2 World Endurance Championship.

I had been carrying a lot of pressure and anxiety leading up to the final race, so my immediate emotions after we won were of relief and disbelief that it actually happened.

The post-race celebration with the team in the garage is something I’ll remember forever. This championship meant so much to so many people on the OAK team.

After an emphatic speech by team owner Jacques Nicolet, the whole team roared into life singing the French national anthem. It sent chills down my back; it was such a cool moment.

That’s saying a lot coming from a British kid, as the British and French famously love to dislike each other!

Soon after, the beer, champagne and customary celebration tequila shot from our resident Mexican Ricardo flowed.

Within minutes our chief engineers were soaked after receiving a champagne shower! An entire year of work and stress was coming out of the mechanics. They all deserved this as much as anybody.

Winning an important race gives you an incredible high, but words fail me to describe what winning this championship means right now.

Racing is an incredibly cruel sport; it’s been quite a dark year for motorsport, we’ve all lost too many friends this year.

People sometimes ask me, why do I do what I do and the answer is simple. It’s for moments like Saturday night. Sean, Jason, and Allan all lived for moments like I had Saturday night.

Happiness in this business is often short lived, so right now I’m just trying to live in the moment for a few more days before the reality of unemployment hits again!

I was joking with my Dad that it’s a really strange feeling to be celebrating unemployment!

I still don’t know what’s in store for next year – if I will get hired or if I have run my last race. I never take what I do for granted.

It’s a privilege to call racing a “job. All I can do is stick my nose to the grindstone, work my rear end off, and hope that I get to have another chance to live through the emotions that I have been lucky enough to have this year.