After almost a decade with motorsports as an interest, it's only natural that I have had a few heartfelt moments. Here are some of these memories.
8 hours of Bahrain 2023: In the last race of the year, Iron dames win the race and got their 2nd place overall in WEC.
24 hours of Daytona 2022: The duel for first place between Jaminet and Vanthoor during the last laps of the race was epic! Jaminet won the duel and saved first place. Vanthoot lost the duel and an additional place, finishing in 3rd place.
24 hours of Le Mans 2022: Corvette Racings Corvette hit the wall at the Mulsanne straigth. AF Corses François Perrodo - who have caused the situation - later went to Corvette Racings pit an apologised. Now THAT is sportsmanship!
24 hours of Le Mans 2023: At the parade: Meeting Michele Gatting.
24 hours of Le Mans 2023: At the parade: I have met some celebrities over the years and have mostly dealt with it calmly. But this time I was starstruck like no other. I was like a little girl at a concert with the favorite boy band. (A bit embarrassing!) For there she was; Manuela Gostner. I yelled at her and she responded. She came over to say hello. I just had time to say that I was glad to meet her and that I am a big fan before my brain short circuited a bit. I got a hug and was photographed with Manuela by Giorgio Sernagiotto. It took a few minutes before I landed again.
24 hours of Le Mans 2023: Meeting Doriane Pin at the pitlane after the race. It broke my heart to see her sad mood after a her team had to end the race too soon. But I knew she would still become a racing legend in the near future.
24 hours of Spa 2021: The huge crash at the top of Eau Rouge.
24 hours of Spa 2022: The week before the race, Sarah Bovy had taken a lap around the track with her mother in the passanger seat. Bovys mother were nervous as most mothers would be. During the race, Bovy almost collided with a car that had spun around at the top of Eau Rouge. During the first interview after the situation, Bovy said "First, I have to say I'm sorry to my mother".
24 hours of Spa 2022: Seeing Doriane Pin realising Iron Dames was about win the race... and that they actually did it! TOTAL WIN!
24 hours of Spa 2022: Thomas Neubauers reaction to his own class win were also epic; He parked the car and cried his happy tears before exiting the car.
ELMS 2021: Laskaratos crash at Portimao.
ELMS 2021 (or was it 2020?): Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard von Habsburg-Lothringen (jupp, that's his real name!) caught on camera zoning out while listening to music.
ELMS 2022: Inter Europol Competitions Guilherma Oliveira went off the track at Portimão with 12 minutes left in the seasons last race, loosing the championship title. It was nice to see Inter Europol win their class at Le Mans the year later.
Ferrari Challenge 2021: Michelle Gatting winning Ferrari Challenge as the first female to ever done it. Oh, those happy tears of joy!
Ferrari Challenge 2022: Doriane Pin winning her first Ferrari Challenge race... by half a lap! She also won the championship.
Ferrari Challenge 2023: By the Le Mans track, I walked by a paddock screened with Ferrari banners. Could this be the paddock for the Ferrari I peeked in between the banners. Yes, THERE was a fantastic car I recognized! Corinna Gostner's Ferrari! I HAD to go in! I continued along the banners and when I rounded the corner I almost collapsed.
There, right in front of me, there were four Ferraris next to each other. Each of them belonging to a Gostner; Corinna, David, Manuela and Thomas. I began to tremble. The adrenaline was pumping. The legs were like jelly. The heart was pounding at over 7,000 revolutions per minute! I have never felt a passion kick in SO strongly before! For a fan of the Gostner family, seeing the cars was HUGE! While I was standing ten meters from the cars and taking pictures, I noticed that I almost fainted. If the favorite driver had appeared, I would have passed out for sure! Fortunately, I managed to calm down on my own before strolling on across the paddock.
Indianapolis 500 2023: Josef Newgarden winning Indianapolis 500 after 3 red flags during the last 15 laps. When Josef won, his wife instantly broke down in tears. Before coming back to pit, Josef stoped his car and ran into the crowd of spectators to celebrate.
Manuela Gostner: It is always lovely to see Manuela in action; She got the joy and passion of raceing. But it's extra heartbreaking to see her after a race that didn't go well.
WRC 2003: Petter Solbergs overall win in WRC in 2003.