Prior to the start of yesterday’s Honda Indy Edmonton, Bertrand Baguette commended his pit crew for the job they do behind the scenes.
“Everybody around you is very important,” said Baguette, one of two rookie drivers on the IZOD IndyCar Series for Conquest Racing along with Mario Romancini. “You have to be a good driver, but if you don’t have the right people and the right car, you are slow anyways.”
Conquest Racing pit crew member David “Foggy” Fitzgerald recruited yours truly to help out on race day in Edmonton, giving Metro an up-close view of the action. While my job included modest duties such as bleeding the air out of used tires and transporting them back to the Firestone tent, Baguette said he appreciated the contribution nonetheless.
“All the little jobs are important,” stressed Baguette, of Verviers, Belgium, who improved upon his starting position of 20th to finish 14th in the race.
Being so close to the action and hearing the loud roar of the powerful machines gave me a new appreciation of the skill it takes to drive on the IndyCar series.
Sports reporter Dave Rowe of CHQR 770 in Calgary also got close to the action on Baguette’s team as the “squirt gun guy” by using a pressurized hose to wash excess fuel from the fuel hose and vent hose sockets during each pit stop.
