What an experience!

"Those guys are tall! I can barely reach the pedals," I thought while I tried to get comfortable in their American Le Mans Series cars. Then I remembered that Boris Said and Hans Stuck are about 6' 2"…at least four inches taller than I am. I felt like a 4-yr. old kid sitting in my Dad's car, with my feet not touching the pedals and dreaming of driving. But this wasn't a dream. Well, to a racer, it was.

I was offered the opportunity to fly down to Sebring and drive one of Team PTG BMW M3 GTR's. So I thought about it… my choices were either stay at home and go Christmas shopping with a bunch of parking lot maniacs or drive probably one of the best production based racecars. The decision was not that difficult. Christmas comes every year, a chance like this, not nearly as often.

We had a brief gathering the night before I was to drive, at the Chateau Elan hotel, which sits a stones throw from the racetrack. Folks from Yokohama and BMW were on hand to explain the next day's activities. It was good to see Tom Milner again, a familiar face in the group.

With all the recent announcements regarding the ACO ruling of BMW's homologation eligibility, the timing of this event was perfect. To actually sit down and chat with both Milner and Tom Salkowsky, BMW Motorsports manager was excellent.

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