The triple-header of the 2024 F2 and F3 season is fully underway after the Spanish GP in Barcelona. There is a lot of entertainment for racing fans, but there is also a lot of challenge to transition the teams from race weekend to race weekend. As our mechanics and engineers are travelling to three different countries in a short period, this is all managed by Jennifer Chau, team coordinator at MP Motorsport.
When discussing certain complications caused by a triple-header, it mostly consists of the multiplied workload. “The quantity of work that happens at once, of course, is a lot more than usual”, says Jen. “Funnily enough, that doesn’t mean that it gets harder than other race weekends. Yes, the amount of work is higher but once you get into a certain flow, it gets slightly easier.”
Finetuning the structure
Since the locations for the triple-header are the same for both teams, every mechanic, engineer, etc. is taking the same flight at the same time. “When there is a stand-alone event, I have to fly people from all over the world to a specific location, where right now everyone is in the same place already.” Because of the close gap between weekends, Jen needs to finetune everything to fit in well. Although there is a structure to follow there will always be last-minute changes to the schedule which requires a certain type of adjustability.
Jen has been working for MP Motorsport for quite some years now, where she managed to gain a lot of experience. This led to a particular know-how on how to run things under high pressure. Jennifer: “I more or less know which flights, from which airline, and at what time I have to book them for it to work out, which makes it somewhat easier.”
Extra day off
A normal weekend for the teams consists of setting up, the race weekend itself, packing up, and leaving. Because the teams travel from location to location and aren’t travelling home, they have a spare day to spend. “Once everything is packed up, they do have free time to do whatever they like”, says Jenn. It provides a good opportunity to find out more about a specific part of the city or to relax.
Double truck driver
There is an exception to the normal way things are done, which relates to the truck drivers. Jennifer: “There is a specific amount of time that a truck driver is allowed to drive sequentially. Because of the short time window and distance between Barcelona and Spielberg, we have two truck drivers managing one truck so they can take shifts driving it.”
In the end, a triple header is a tough time for the teams during a season. Everyone is working hard and are always under pressure to provide the best possible results for MP. Afterwards, there is a more calm period to prepare for the final two races before the summer break.
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