We arrived at KL a few days before the GP but I do nothing but think about the day of the race, I spend my time very slowly, knowing that the drivers and the press are already staying in a hotel a few hundred meters from our Guest house . It is clear that we are not going to coincide with them, they are other spheres, although another pair of travelers (Cristian and Loida) has told us that Schumacher was signing autographs under the PETRONAS towers (because of sponsorship ...). Free practice Friday, qualifying Saturday, and we still on KL without stepping on the circuit. We prefer to go directly to the race, apart from saving us a little money, because it will be much more exciting to see the circuit environment for the first time on the same day of the race. And we are not mistaken ...
Sunday, March 25, second F1 Grand Prix of the 2012 season arrives at the Sepang circuit (I can imagine Lobato presenting it ...). While Lety still has a half-closed eyelet, I am already prepared with my red Ferrari t-shirt from the street market and the backpack with the camera, a couple of bottles of water, some food and of course the raincoats. At 9 o'clock we are already on our way, we take the train that runs at full speed 80 km away and in the blink of an eye we planted at the entrance.
The feeling is brutal, people of all nationalities dressed in shirts and carrying flags of all teams, richer or poorer, but all sharing the passion of motor sport par excellence. And that only at the entrance of the circuit, a little more inside, in the commercial part that separates the two great lines of this spectacular circuit there are stands with merchandising of the great teams, music, screens with F1 games, all mixed with the sound of the engines of the exhibition cars that surround us.
In a couple of hours the pilots will begin to appear in the autograph session, but the line is already too long to give us time to get one, so we just observe, walk and enjoy this wonderful atmosphere. We do not miss the opportunity to share our feelings with any of the thousands of ferraristas (and alonsistas) that are in this part of the world, and much more passionate than us, you just have to see the Chinese girls with the Alonso masks and the flags of Asturias!!
As the time for the start of the race approaches, we will look for our area, the C-3, and take a place with fluffy grass. The GP2 riders are already competing and our surprise is that the circuit looks much better than we think! There are also two parts visible, one with fast curves and one with the slow curve before the goal. We also see the pit entry, which will greatly facilitate position calculations!
GP2 ends and we hang out sunbathing and chatting with the rest of the fans in our area. Suddenly the engines start to sound starting on the other side of the stands! Only 30 minutes left for the beginning and my blood is boiling! And not only because of the nerves, the sun is hitting hard, although in the distance we begin to see black black clouds. Is rain expected for the start of the race? After seeing the lightning closer and closer I think so. At 4 minus 5 minutes (local time) it starts to rain and without seeing it I am already imagining the madness of the equipment changing tires in the same pit lane, copying what the cars around do and analyzing the weather radars. We have it easier, just take the raincoats out of the backpack and wait for this to begin. I was already happy to see the start of the race, hear the engines accelerate with the explosion of the kers at the exit of the curve to face the straight, see them skate and catch the scraps to approach millimeters of the car ahead, and when the Last bend, on the other side, see them get out of the aspiration to slow down a little later and try to overtake without losing control and not getting out on the grass. Exciting!
So after the bright sun of a while ago we start to fall a good shower, and Lety is the one who announces that they have taken out the red flag while the Safety Car is already on the track. The race stops. A good rest to relax the nerves, eat and drink something and say hello to the helicopter that flies over us, lest we go on TV! After almost an hour of stopping the race, the rain finally leaves and the race resumes, and what is my surprise that Alonso suddenly wins positions until he gets the first! I already forget where I am, if it rains or not, if the ants get on my feet, if I am becoming half deaf and half a scream ... now the emotion is not to live F1 in this spectacular stage, now it is the magic of Alonso that makes me bite my nails hoping to see him first every time he crosses in front of us.
The Mexican Checo Pérez makes us go wrong, every time we see him closer and Alonso is with rubber problems ... I fear the worst but Lety in his most optimistic state encourages me and convinces me that there is nothing left, that this is already done! What agony! We don't even know how many laps are missing, and the white car is attached to the "Cavallino" wing. Suddenly, when facing the last corner we see that Alonso is alone! Something has happened to the Mexican, we do not know what, nor do we want to know, but now it is done! Attentive we see the last laps until through the stands we differentiate the checkered flag that marks the end of the race, and the car number 05 marks the position 1!
The joy is immense! We pick up the backpack and we go down to the fence that separates us from the track, and when Alonso passes with his arm raised, greeting us ... greeting me (he was only in that area) exploded with emotion! I had only come to see a race, but I didn't think the experience was so exciting! Even Lety has fun! We just have to wait and while the rest of the people leave we sing our hymns, first the Spanish and then the Italian, shouted Pelao, as a happy ending to our story. As Alonso will later say, "it will be a Sunday we will remember."
