You'd think that returning to Le Mans for race week after a good first "Official Test" weekend would make you feel slightly more acclimated to this event, but every experienced participant has told me the same thing: "Just wait until Friday." By Thursday evening I was already feeling it. It's the same feeling you get when someone pulls up next to you at the stop light, bass turned all the way up, back window glass bouncing up and down enough that even the most tenacious bug couldn't hang on.

The truth about Le Mans is that the excitement starts early for this historic event and continues to build all the way through the race itself. Think about it: When teams pack up their equipment on Sunday, they're already thinking about next year's race, figuring out how to improve or scheming for ways to get invited back. No matter how many times you come and soak this energy in, you never stop learning. This sponge soaked up a few more things since we last touched base.

You're Simply Not on Track Very Much

Very few people realize that race cars only have the opportunity to drive on the full 8.47 mile circuit for five days out of the year. During those five days, the schedule is chock full of scrutineering and technical events, preparation time, official driver and team manager meetings, internal team briefings—actual track time comes at a minimum. Case in point, I arrived on Saturday and didn't even sit in the car until Wednesday. I logged the bare minimum requirement of one time lapped and five total laps on Wednesday night, in the dark, even though teams were allotted nearly six hours of track time.

ViperExchange.com/Brian Cleary

Why? There are hundreds of possible reasons for teams to stay in the paddock during practice time, whether it's a damaged car, major set-up issues, or weather or on-track incidents that limit driving time. And tell me if you have already heard this before, but "it always rains in Le Mans." A good portion of our track time was spent waiting for some dry weather to work on car set-up. For our team, the plan was to make sure the car had run through all the preparatory tests and check that the balance was good and easily adaptable for Ben and myself to both drive it comfortably. When it's all said and done, the drivers are in the car a lot less than people realize given the amount of time we have spent here. That is, until the race begins!

There Is A Lot To See Here

Even though we stay quite busy, some days we have a lot of down time, and Ben and myself have both tried to take advantage of it. Things like taking the time to go to the Le Musee' des 24 Heures (the museum located at the track entrance) a showcase of the history of this nearly 100-year-old event. I recommend a visit because it so beautifully illustrates some of the things I've mentioned before, about the varying track layouts and the true testicular fortitude these drivers had to bring to this race.

ViperExchange.com/Brian Cleary

You should also, without a doubt, walk through the "Village" where all the vendor shops are. All the major brands, teams and popular drivers have their own stands, and the variety of cuisine available makes it worth several trips to this popular spot that overlooks the entire paddock. During some down time I went off on a mission with one of the team's engineers in search of the Grand Marnier Crepe stand that has become so famous over the years. You know, crepes, those really flat rolled up pancakes. How do I know it is famous? Some of our Riley Motorsports team members literally threw tantrums at the discovery that the vendor isn't here this year. The staff at the Village Vendor information booth has heard this complaint so many times they're sick of it. I've never tried one myself, but the reputation makes me think this must be one bad-ass crepe.

Team Unity Really Comes into Its Own at This Event

Having raced for 25-plus years, team communication and cohesiveness is the most important part of my job. It really is icing on the cake if drivers get along and have genuine respect for one another and work together. On the surface, race fans see that portion on television and get that—but if you are here and walk the paddock, take a look at what really makes a team successful. It's the team managers, engineers, crew and technical partners who make the drivers look good (or bad). I can't say how blessed I am to be part of an outstanding team with Viper Exchange / Riley Motorsports, proven winners and Rolex 24 At Daytona champions. TI Automotive is a major part of this team as well as technical partners to this effort, and without that solid support, it is hard to be successful. Not everyone has the opportunity to take part in their first Le Mans with one of the best teams in the paddock, and believe me, it puts pressure on me to listen to them and do everything they tell me. I had the opportunity to fly home after the test to spend time with my kids, but most of the Riley Motorsports crew stayed here through the duration. I can tell you, nothing can bring a team closer than going through the world's toughest endurance race side-by-side.

Hazing at Le Mans Does Happen

Being "the new guy" on any team can be tough. You want to fit in, you want to be part of it and an integral part of the success. But with every team, the new guy gets a bright spotlight that you just can't escape from. And it comes from everyone—the other drivers, the crew; in my case, the biggest culprit is Bill Riley himself.

Marc Miller

Whether it's being asked to step out of the team picture during Monday's scrutineering (yep, that happened) or periodically being taken out of the team's autograph cards, hazing happens. Believe me, the struggle is real. During our autograph session, Jeroen got into the act as well: as cards were passed to me to sign I began noticing my picture was being "artistically" altered by someone ahead of me. Know what though? I'll keep taking it to be part of this team. It's completely worth it.

The Driver's Parade

The one thing that every motorsports enthusiast has to witness in person is the Friday Driver Parade through the City Centre of Le Mans. I was warned by so many just how insane it would be and I can assure you: it is, indeed, insane. The swarm of hundreds of thousands of fans that saturate the streets of Le Mans, held back by barricades and hundreds of security personnel, is incredible. With large groups of different nationalities all grouped together cheering, drinking, and screaming for the drivers to come take photos, sign autographs or hand over a keychain or trinket, it's a two-hour non-stop journey of ego-boosting nirvana. For that two hours, I felt like Patrick Dempsey—who, coincidentally, was two cars in front of us in the parade.

You Think You Know – But you Do Not Know

While I have done my fair share of night-time driving stints, nothing really prepares you for racing here at night. I'm sure you're all thinking, "it can't be that different." I assure you, it is. Keep in mind that half of the track is on city streets, under the glare of urban street lights. It is very easy to mistake those reflections for traffic closing on you—and in a GTE car, that's a likely occurrence given the immense closing speeds of the P1 and P2 cars. In the daytime, you can prepare a bit and you're more aware of a prototype driver's intentions, but at night, all you have to judge by is two (or four, or six) bright shining lights getting brighter with each moment. Add to all this that the ACO introduced 35 new zones equipped with light boards that flash bright green, yellow, red and safety car symbols all over the circuit, and it makes doing a night stint something like taking a tour through an elaborate neighborhood Christmas light show—only you're doing 170-plus.

Anything Can Happen

It goes without saying that in a 24-hour race, anything can happen. But that's equally true for every session leading up to the race itself. As I write this, one of our competitors, the No. 50 Larbre Corvette, had a nasty off in morning warm-up, just hours before the start. All of us in the paddock hope they can make the start. Thursday, one of the factory Corvettes had a very hard hit as well, forcing them to retire from the race completely. Over the years there have been several cases of major incidents happening in a warm-up or practice session that can really catch a team out completely. It goes to show just how easily you can find yourself out of the hunt, several laps down, or out of the race completely. The constant reminder from the team has been "we know you can turn a lap, but the very worst thing is for us to have a problem because of contact or damage." This is something that has been at the forefront of everyone's mind and a major part of my focus. In this case, an uneventful race would be a great one, devoid of any mistakes or major issues. That would be the key to seeing this Viper Exchange / Riley Motorsports / TI Automotive Viper GTS-R on the podium—maybe even the top step.

Time to get ready: team presentations begin soon! Enjoy this year's 24 Heures du Le Mans!

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