My take on the "Truth in 24"

Hey all,

I know it's been disappointing the rate at which I'm creating my blogs, but hopefully this will give me enough momentum to keep things going. Recently, my brother told me to download "Truth in 24" for free on Itunes. Now the shitty part is YOU HAVE TO ENTER IN A VALID credit card number to create a shopping account on Itunes. I mean you're essentially buying a free movie, so you gotta do the whole "add in shopping cart" deal. But rather than be a baby about my credit info, I decided to give in seeing that this one particular costumer at work has harrassed everyone about whether or not they've seen this movie. So I clicked the download button and 1.15 gigs later the movie was happily situated in my Itunes.

The story is based upon Audi's 2008 endeavors in the 24 hours of Le mans but revolves around the two diesel power players in the P1 category, Peugeot and them. The car: Audi R10. Seasons this chassis has run: 3. So from the get-go, Peugeot has the lead with a win in a previous 12 hour race at Sebring and of course, they've had more time to develop a P1 chassis using a turbo diesel motor, something still relatively new in the P1 class.

The course: Spa Francorchamps. An over 8 mile long track using public roads full of chicanes, tight and large radius turns, and of course, high speed straights. But with Peugeot's quicker chassis pulling in a 3 sec advantage over Audi per lap, things seem inevitable for Audi to only view the top spot on the podium.

This is where Howden Haynes comes in. Lead engineer for the Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, Tim Kristenson (I know I spelled those wrong for sure) team, he is the voice in the back of their heads guiding them with his computer screens full of telemetry, tire temps, weather reports, and time gaps between theirs and other cars. He is the man that chooses tires, when drivers will swap, and how much fuel goes in. He is their God and the drivers are simply Noah and associated family stuck on an ark waiting for a day storm to end in harmony.

The team sets up shop days earlier before the event, even so to the point they are literally the only ones there, besides maybe janitorial service. They practice tire changes, driver swaps, and fuel fills like it's the track and field events at the summer olympics. Things aren't measured by the second, but rather by the tenth of a second. When the pace is off by half a second, Hayes like any good coach demands more from his team through repetitve practice. All major services for catastrophic failures are even excercised like changing suspension components, body panels, and transmissions. Haynes sees pit strategy as the prominent method for combating the Peugeot team. To Haynes, winning isn't an unreachable goal, but a scent on the tip of his nose that Audi seriously needs after Sebring.

I will worn you that I am about the spoil part of the movie for those who have not seen it, but I feel it is needed to depict the level of confidence and direction that Haynes has. In the last few hours of the race, Haynes quickly calls in his team's car demanding that a tire change be propagated. The driver, in disbelief does not see the need. He's on full slicks and the sun is out after a wet night with only a few wet spots on the track. Haynes demands the driver to pull into the pits, because according to his weather satellite a storm is coming, and an oppurtunity to beat Peugeot is at hand. The car comes in and intermediates are mounted and center-locked into place for a driver who is disgruntled. The car is back on the track and Peugeot begins to cover more distance on their full slicks. However, the storm is back and the sun once shining over France is now covered by clouds waterfalling rain which ends up causing a Peugeot car to spin out. The driver is grateful to Haynes because now the setup (according to the driver) is perfect.

In the end, Audi takes podium and drinks their champagne. But Haynes in a mode of tiredness and zero-energy, quietly makes his way over to a used set of tires to have a seat, a cigarette, and a look at his Iphone. Along the way, drivers, pit crew members, and the ever-so important board of trustees thanks him in ways ranging from a family reunion-like hug to worshippers of pharoah. In the end, he extremely pleased and joyous but in a calm manner due to mental and physical exhaustion. He is the suttle hero that the audience in the grand stands or behind tv screens will usually never see or hear about.

The quality and filmatography of the movie are without a doubt amazing and makes you truly feel as though your on pit lane feeling the anguish, stress, and (in the end) joy of the Audi team. Of course, having Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) do the narrating adds a little bit of spice to a film that your mom, sister, and/or girlfriend would commonly find, well rather boring. I would highly recommend seeing this as it doesn't pinch your wallet in the tough times that we live in.

Cheers,

-Josh