It’s been a while but I’m back
with more from my small Eurotrip.
The event kick started with
engines roaring and motors spinning. Wherever you look, you could see just
cars. The statics started off where all the teams presented their car alongwith
the various reports which the competition required and simultaneously whichever
teams passed scrutineering were allowed to go for the dynamic events which
included skid pad, acceleration and endurance. The event was full of crowd with
people of countries from all over the world. I went and stood beside the
endurance tracks and watched the cars racing by, some roaring and some silently
(both combustion and electric).
We weren’t that lucky to compete
in the dynamic events due to some technical failures in the car but we got to
learn a lot from all the teams over there. We participated in the statics
though. The experience was something that I can guarantee that all of us who
were there will never forget.
During our stay in Hockenheim,
all of us slept in tents in the camp-site which was fun. People talking about
other people and then realizing that the guy he was talking about is popping
his head out from one of the tents and giving him a “I’ll kill you” look.
Breakfast everyday used to be
apples and energy drinks from Mercedes and Porsche stalls. We had our dinner at
a place called “City Grill” every night. The first day I tried something called
“Yufka”. It was horrible. So from the next day it was just pizza or burger or
fries. We also filled our tents with food stocks from “Penny’s”, a mart where
you get everything to eat in really cheap prices. We spent 4 days in Hockenheim
amidst cars that I could only dream of seeing; BMW i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, Tesla cars, Corvette, etc.
There were teams playing games at night in the campsite, games that I saw for
the first time in my life. During the third day of the event, another event
started in the same ring which was some American muscle car event. All funky
cars, modified with everything possible showed up, even many biker gangs were
there; everything was like we see it in movies.
The best part about Hockenheim
was its weather. The cold breeze hitting your face whenever you are out in the
open makes you feel so refreshed. One night I stayed up late till 6 am working
with some of my friends in the pit. While I was coming back from the pit to the
camp-site which was a 15 minutes’ walk, I couldn’t feel my hands even though my
hands were deep inside my jacket pockets.
The day the event was over, MAHLE
threw a grand party in celebration of the event. They gave away the prizes to
the top 3 teams in bot combustion and electric and then the party started.
There were drinks, sandwiches, burgers, etc. People asking out random people as
if they knew what was happening but in reality had no clue about it. People
even exchanged t-shirts of their teams as a remembrance of the event which was
an amazing way to show respect to the competitor. Some people realized that
they had exchanged t-shirts the next morning when they woke up.
After the party was over, people
returned to their camp-sites where the after-party started. Teams playing games
against other teams. The games were related to drinking which is hard to
explain in writing, so I’ll skip through it.
So all in all the event was an
excellent time for all the people over there. We got to meet new people from
across the globe, make new friends and come back with a hell of a story to
tell.
The next morning we shipped the
car back and then the main trip started. Our whole team split in 3 groups. My
group consisted of 6 people. When we had made our itinerary, we kept a buffer
day for the competition but as everything went as planned, the competition got
over as it should have and we were left with an extra day. Our bus was supposed
to leave from Heidelberg the next morning and it was 12 pm by my watch then.
Calculating the expense of visiting Stuttgart, we decided not to go as it would
kill our budget. So we decided to leave for Heidelberg and decide what to do
there on the way.
Wait for the next blog for the rest of my trip.
