DUBAI // As he exited the car at Dubai Autodrome, his wide-eyed expression betrayed his composed performance. Florian Strauss, the German driver with Nissan’s GT Academy, may be 29 years old, but in terms of racing experience, he is as wet behind the ears as a stripling showering in the rain.
Strauss, from Berlin, last year became the national champion in Germany’s GT Academy, yet his first steps on that route to recognition started on a PlayStation.
Nissan’s concept of taking video gamers to the starting grid was launched in 2008, but is now well regarded, with drivers from around the world coming through the programme to compete in international race series.
Last year, Qatar’s Salman Al Khater became the inaugural winner of the Middle East category and will, alongside Strauss and seven other academy members, compete in today’s Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai.
They will be joined by India’s former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok, who has been recruited as a mentor.
“We obviously all know what Karun has achieved in his career, so we are looking up to him,” Strauss said during a rare moment of quiet in the Autodrome paddock.
“He has a lot of experience – in many types of car – and it has been very interesting to see him in the debrief, how he operates in terms of providing feedback to the engineers and such.”
Chandhok raced for half a season with HRT in 2010 before moving to Team Lotus the following year, where he worked as a test driver. Eloquent and encyclopaedic in his racing knowledge, the Madras native turns 30 later this month and is keen to pass on his expertise.
“The GT Academy is a very well structured programme,” he said. “I was surprised by just how well the guys are looked after. They have two driver coaches here as well as guys like myself who are mentoring them.”
Strauss, keen to speak but seeking shade from the bright midday sun, found respite in his team’s hospitality tent, which offered al fresco dining, an assortment of drinks options and a comfortable, inflatable blue couch. “Pretty nice, huh?” he said.
“When I won the finals [in November], it was an unbelievable feeling to finally become a racing driver.
“I have no idea what to expect going forward, though, or what is coming up in the future, but for now, everything is new and feels very professional. They treat us very well and I am enjoying the experience.”
Chandhok spent the first two days of practice urging the academy members to simply get comfortable and not worry too much about lap times.
Speed is essential, but comfort is more important, given the duration of the race. Dubai is regarded as a particularly tricky endurance event, courtesy of the potential for grip-reducing swirling sands, fluctuating temperatures and the large-field, small-track equation
“It’s a very hard race for a rookie, but you throw them in at the deep end and see who sinks and swims,” said Chandhok, who raced here in 2009. Back then, his team’s chances ended at 4am when his Lotus suffered a broken gearbox. This year, he is just hoping to finish.
“It is very much a survival of the fittest. If you finish, you will get a result of some description,” he added.
As well as mentoring, Chandhok is also ready to provide the academy – undergoing international expansion – with an inroad into the Subcontinent.
Darren Cox, the global motorsport director at Nissan, will arrive in Dubai today to discuss taking the GT Academy to India, a country that has seen its relations hip with motorsport strengthen in recent years courtesy of a Formula One grand prix in New Delhi.
“It’s a very interesting concept for a country like India, because it’s difficult for kids to afford to go racing,” Chandhok said.
“We’re a very big country geographically, so accessibility to go-kart tracks is very limited as well. The entire population of England can fit into my state, for example, so something like this would work well there because it’s not capital-intensive.”
And what of the academy members themselves? Has Chandhok recognised any specific differences between a driver primed on video games and one who grew up racing karts and cars in junior formulae?
“It’s too early for me to judge that,” he said.
“But one thing I have noticed is that when you see them get out of the car, there is still that deer-in-the-headlights moment; it’s all still a shock to the system for them.”
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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