Hurley Haywood, in this second part, speaks about his favourite partners and tracks and about Daytona and Le Mans. (In English)

Could you compare Daytona and Le Mans atmospheres?

“The two races are very, very different, even though they are both run for 24-hours. I think each race presents its own set of challenges. Daytona has much more nighttime – there are 12 hours of real nightfall at Daytona vs. maybe 5 hours at Le Mans, because of the time of the year, so that’s one thing that makes Daytona more difficult. I think the class of drivers at Le Mans is probably a little bit better that at Daytona. Because of the importance of that race, there may be drivers there that compete in only one or two races a year. At the start of one of our Daytona 24 races we may have close to 70 cars, which can make a driver lineup of over 300 drivers. It’s impossible to know all of them, so every lap you find yourself coming up on unknown characters. As a result, you have to display a lot of caution. I think drivers have to be very, very disciplined at Daytona where you may not have that problem at Le Mans because you have a very high caliber of not only entries, but also drivers. Then, of course, Daytona has the big 33 degree banking, which you have to contend with lap after lap. That takes a toll on the driver and the car, where Le Mans is billiard table smooth, so you don’t have all the suspension problems. It’s basically faster, but it’s also very flat and that makes it easy to drive very fast there.”

You have driven once at Le Mans with a two-driver line-up, alongside the late Bob Wolleck. Is it really different and tougher than a three-driver lineup?

“You bet! Two drivers at Le Mans is a real stretch and if one guy has any type of problem you just have to deal with it. Because of the nature of those races, it’s really a sprint race and you have to drive very hard during your stint. The 962′s were hot and we didn’t have all the luxuries back then, like the latest medical breakthroughs with driver hydration that are available now. It was a real challenge to drive for that distance with just two guys.

At Daytona, we use four drivers. Daytona is more difficult, I think, physically, than Le Mans, because you have that big banking to contend with. Le Mans had a maximum of three guys, but even with three, it’s hard. I remember how exhausted we were after the 1994 win because we had to drive flat out the whole time. We had to really push the envelope as far as speed went, so we were all pretty tired after that race. So, yes – three is definitely better than two.”

Apart from Daytona and Le Mans, what are your best memories? And worst, if any?

“All the racing memories are actually good. Take Daytona, for an example. I’ve probably had over 39 starts there, won overall five times, had one class win, and been in the top ten numerous times. All those other times when we didn’t have a finish weren’t bad memories at all. Each race, you go in with the intent to win, and all of the hope and prayers to win, but sometimes everything doesn’t go according to plan. Even then, there are good things that happen at those races. The best memories are often the ones when you do well, not just when you’ve won a race. There have been times when I haven’t won but I feel I’ve personally done a really good job, or the team’s done a really good job, but somebody’s done just a little bit better than we did and they won. That gives you the incentive to come back the next year and do even better.

I think that’s one of the great things about 24 hour racing. Every year I say “that’s it for me” and I’m not going back. Then, the next year, I find myself racing again, so it’s one of those things you have a hard time staying away from. There are so many variables that go into winning those races, that it’s really a cool thing when you can get all those variables working together and go on to win. I don’t really have bad memories in racing other than when I’ve crashed a couple of times and hurt myself in accidents. But, even then, I’ve recovered and continued on. Racing drivers don’t really tend to dwell on the bad parts – they’re positive thinking people and they kind of block out the bad and focus on all of the good memories.”

Among your many partners, who impressed you the most?

“One of the reasons I have had such success in long distance racing is that I have been really lucky to have some of the best guys in the world as co-drivers. You could be the fastest driver in the world, but if you have a bad co-driver you’re just not going to be able to do well. It’s critical to have really solid guys and a solid team behind you. The list of co-drivers I have had at both Le Mans and Daytona is relatively short, but there are a few who stand out in my mind.

Bob Wollek is one, and I really loved driving with him. He and I had a great relationship. He was always helpful to me when I was still learning and we have the same kind of philosophy of motorsports, so he was just great to partner with. Even today when I go into one of these long distance races, I miss his great advice and consult.

Vern Schuppan was another great one. I raced with him as a teammate and as a team owner, when he owned a team that was racing in Japan. It was always interesting to drive for him as an owner because he was a driver at the same time, so he understood what was needed and the things that were going through our minds.

Of course, Peter Gregg is on the list, he and I won so many times together. Peter was the man that really started my racing career.

Then, of course, there’s Jacky Ickx. It’s hard to mention driver lineups without mentioning Ickx – he’s one of the most successful long distance drivers of all time. He was just a gentleman to drive with. I enjoyed his company and he and I are still good friends. There are many others that I drove with through the years, but those guys are the ones that really stand out in my memory.”

What are your favorite tracks?

“Daytona is practically in my back yard – it’s less than an hour drive from my home, and I love that track. And I also love Watkins Glen. It is one of the most historic and classic race tracks around. I love the European racetracks, too – Le Mans is, of course, very special to me. At this point, with the stage I’m at in my life and as a racing driver, the tracks that are closest to the airport have the best hotels and the best restaurants and they are the ones that I like the best! Seriously, there are many tracks around, but I enjoy driving at all of them. I honestly don’t know a track I’ve been to that I didn’t enjoy. You try not to think bad things about a track because then I believe you are just going to be unlucky there, so I try to keep all of them kind of on a par with one another. There are some that I just seem to have better luck at than others, so those are the ones I find I favor the most.”

To be continued…

Claude Foubert