Un Sport Civil?

So yes, as the picture indicates, we went to a car race. That’s right nature loving, granola eating Carolyn actually went to a car race. I am trying to be open to trying new things and getting outside my comfort zone, and as for a Saturday activity, watching a car race is outside of my comfortable universe by a couple of galaxies.

Now for the hard part... I’ll admit it. It wasn’t that bad. In fact it was kind of exciting at the beginning. Firstly, getting there was an adventure in itself. The route we took with our friends Pascale and Jacqueline was full of twists and turns. You know you are on an “interesting” road when it is not divided down the centre and the road is lined with trees painted with reflective stripes.  Castellet is one a plateau, so when we had finished climbing we came out to see the clouds below us. I wish I had more time to capture this image, but the some people were impatient to get to the race track.

When we turned into the facilities, my expectations were set to the standard Canadian sports venue. I expected not dirty but well used seats, bathrooms with permanent stains, and the feeling that no matter how much things are cleaned there will always be a popcorn/beer smell. Boy was I surprised. The whole facility seemed like it was brand new. The bathrooms could have been in a hotel and the inclusion or trees, grass and plants really just makes sense for an outdoor track.

 I guess the other reason my expectations were set so low was based on my limited exposure to car racing in North America. Images of people sitting on top of their RVs and big men with beer bellies, is what my understanding of racing had been up to this point. Well I can’t speak for racing in North America, but car racing here it quite the opposite. The fact that the parking lot included Ferraris, Porsches, and other cars that Keith and Pascale assured me were very very expensive demonstrates that European racing attracts a posh crowd here. Add to this the fact that most people were carrying around camera lenses that were worth at least $800 and you get an idea of why my expectations where unreasonable. It really does seem like this is a civilized sport over here.

It was interesting to see the large number of people involved in this event from people directing us to parking to all of the safety personnel and actual racing teams. Thanks to my trusty zoom lens, I was able to get a look at some of the work the teams did in preparation for the races.  

We had a picnic lunch on one of the hills overlooking a section of the track with the other spectators and enjoyed the sun. I think that Pascale and Jacqueline thought we were crazy as Keith reapplied sunscreen at lunch, and I pasted more on when taking off my sweater. Either people have no awareness of about skin cancer here, or Keith and I are just white freaks. Regardless we were able to avoid major burning and enjoy the +25 weather.

Okay so as interesting as the whole experience was by the afternoon I was getting bored. There are only so many times I can watch cars go around a track and I now have more pictures of cars on my camera than I thought possible. I did find this an interesting experience and it has burst some of my prejudices around car racing, but I would prefer a good hike or swim any other Saturday. As my attention began to wander, I started taking pictures of people in the crowd and it looks like I wasn’t the only one who was somewhat bored.

My final verdict is that I am up for trying anything new once; it expands my mind and makes me enjoy my comfort zone a bit more.