Oliver was 'shadowed' during the Rolex 24 at Daytona by Fiona Miller, who created a series of articles for the website www.dailysportscar.com.  These articles produced a fascinating insight into Oliver's experiences at the event and we are delighted to be able to reproduce them in full here.  Part 2 is below, Part 1 is on a separate page!

Thank you to Fiona Miller and dailysportscar.com.  We have also inserted a number of photogaphs that are provided by (and copyright of) Rick Dole:

Oliver's Friday Practice

Preparation, preparation, preparation

"Our car wasn't out in the first session this morning because we had to change the engine.  The team got it finished around 12 so we used this afternoon to run through some housekeeping stuff like bedding in   brakes and checking the engine installation was ok.  Jorg did those to give him a bit more time in the car, but I had to jump in before the end of the session to sort out seat issues.  We are all roughly the same size but there was a piece of the seat sticking into my hipbone so I was trying to get more comfortable in car and sort the shape out."

© Rick Dole 2005

"We've still got to practice driver changes and get the belts right but all those things we will run through later.  In terms of the car I'm quite happy.  There are little issues with the handling as the car is still a bit too nervous off the corners and we can't get the power down when we want to - particularly off International Horseshoe, turns 3,5 and 6.  I would say this race engine doesn't feel quite as strong as the practice one."

"As we had the morning unexpectedly free, I went down and watched everyone else practice.  Unfortunately our sister car has had issues so they didn't get out for whole morning either so I'm not sure where they are starting [28^th on the grid].  I think Boris finally got some laps in the car this afternoon."

"In the down time we've been trying to get things prepared for the race like drinks bottles, the drinks tubes that go into the helmets, getting properly fitted into car so we are ready and prepared for double stints.  It should be okay as we are all used to endurance races. While yesterday was very hot in the car, today was very cold which is strange."

"In terms of how we're looking for the race, we're reasonably prepared but not quite as everyone would like it to be.   It's been a bit of a scramble to be honest, and we are still trying to get ourselves organised.   I think once the race gets started, we get into a rhythm and the strategy bears out we should be in reasonable shape."

"Like for every 24 hour race, you have to look after all the equipment and you just don't attempt any questionable moves - you take no chances, particularly at night as the track will get more slippery and there's always more accidents in the darkness."

"There are so many cars here and such a mix in driver ability, you're never 100% sure who you'll be racing against on the track at any given time.  It could be either a top line guy or not, you always have to be aware who you are racing against."

Oliver's Race!

"Max started the race, then Jorg and then me and we planned to all do double stints for the race."

"Our strategy was basically to get out there and go fast but not take any risks at all.  The absolute MUST NOT we were all told is you MUST NOT hit anything and you MUST NOT take unnecessary risks.   Our plan was to go as fast as we could and try and do lap times of about 1m50/1m51."

"It all started off pretty well and, by the time I'd finished my first double stint, we were running around 2^nd/3^rd and that got us really in the race.  When I first went out my right mirror was pointing at the floor so when we got the long yellow [flag period] they brought me back in, fixed it and topped up the fuel.  As the yellow went on for so many laps, we also came in for a gurney change on the rear wing.  We were losing a lot of speed on the straights and the gurney change helped it but made it feel unbelievably loose on the banking. We were using more and more traction control to counter it but the tyres were being used up badly, especially the rears."

"Anyway I stayed out of trouble and made us as much time as possible in my stint.  We got lucky and we got some places back under the wave by which was both fortunate and good tactics.  You really know you are driving these cars, it's not a case of just getting in and cruising around."

"We weren't quite on the pace of the lead cars, but we were close and hung onto the lead lap until half way through the race.  Everyone was pretty happy with the way the car was running."

© Rick Dole 2005

"We did end up leading at one point which was great and I was pleased I was in the car at that point, but it all started to go horribly wrong for us in the early hours of the morning."

"We'd been having driveshaft problems and I heard a whirring/whining noise and the car started to vibrate really badly in the left rear.  I thought to myself, this is serious.  The team had already made a repair to the rear half-shaft boots but had told me to go out and have another go.  I'd done about 15 laps, then coming out of NASCAR Turn 4, the driveshaft went 'pop'."

"We spent about one and a half hours in the garage and they changed the driveshaft and brake pads and then I went out again.  My worst time in a 24 hour race, the time I find hardest, is about 3am and unfortunately that's when I was in the car and then when it was in the garage.  The car was suffering a bit though as we had no traction control and no lift shift plus some problems going down the gearbox.  Then, with only a couple of hours to go, the driveshaft went again.  Max brought it into the garage and the guys did a great job to get it out again as quickly as possible so we'd be there at the finish."

"Jorg is not well at all so he was advised by the doctor to stop after his night time shift.  His immune system is very low and he looked awful in the night so Max and I finished the race between us."

© Rick Dole 2005

"As always with every 24 hour race it's extremely tough on everybody involved, whether it's the drivers, mechanics or all the other people who are helping us to get through the race.  This race was quite hard because it was such close racing for the first 12 hours and then hellishly frustrating to have the problems we did with the gearbox and transmission in the second half.  But that's all part of what can happen in a 24 hour race.  The problem kept dogging us for the rest of the race and in the second half of the race the car was quite tricky to drive, quite a handful.  It's still fun to drive but you get frustrated to be passed by people you'd been racing with at the start of the race, knowing that if only you had the car you had earlier on you'd be right up there and challenging them for the lead."

"I've only had about 40 minutes sleep which is probably not the best preparation for going into a 3 day Sebring test with Corvette but I knew that would be the case before we started.  I'm going to drive the C6.R which is a great car and I'm looking forward to helping develop it further and get it ready for the 12 Hours of Sebring because ultimately that's where my main focus is."