Arms stretch up, giving way to a mighty yawn as bleary eyes are wiped to focus on the new dawn. This is not the start of a new day with fresh morning dew spreading across the field of dreams. This is the start of a new year, the beginning of a new season and the reigniting of ambition.
Butterflies emerge within which start the cascade of excited tingles and nervous energy. The feelings increase until they a bubbling cauldron of ingredients within the racing family. The beast awakes.
Behind the scenes teams prepare, drivers get ready for their challenges and fans mark the pages in their diaries. In the distance an engine comes to life for the first time this year, giving birth to a new era, in it’s mechanical form. Team managers study the empire they control, plotting and planning for what some hope will be a championship winning season. Others are meeting this challenge head on for the first time and hope they can learn quickly in this arena of heroes. Their trusted engineers and mechanics are given the important responsibility of preparing the beautiful monsters that will soon take to the circuit, roaring and popping to a crescendo of cheers from the adoring crowds. They must make sure every component is firing on all cylinders.
The drivers are getting themselves fully prepared and for those chosen few it will culminate in victory, but for others they will have to live the dream another day. Gun buzz, spanners chink, tyres squeal and the hum of anticipation carries throughout every garage, circuit and test track across the racing homeland.
The circuits at this time of year begin to smile and beckon every member of the racing family, welcoming them into their tarmac homes with loving affection, arms stretched wide.
Deals are still being thrashed out and for some, that much needed last sponsor is being sought because without them the dream will remain on the drawing board and in the garage like a hungry animal straining at the leash. At last the racing world is introduced to the stunning sight of glistening engines and shiny bodywork littered with logo’s and colour.
The drivers stand proudly next to these creations which are the children from the minds of the designers and planners, who lovingly send them into the cruel world to face the challenges that will surface through the season.
Among all this hustle and bustle there is a calm, a waiting anxiety and eyes are cast across the globe from cosy club meetings to highly promoted world championships. No matter what level of racing it is the dream is still the same. To win. To stand on that podium, taste the champagne and feel the adoration of the fans as their cheers roll on like a wave smashing against the shore.
This is the new beginning.
Are you ready?
The season is upon us.
Neil Simmons
Twitter: @world_racing