Can you imagine a world where ladies and gentlemen start your engines? doesn’t have the same meaning as it used to? Many of our guests, when asked the pit stop question, “What would be different once the evolution has taken hold?” Their overwhelming consensus is the lack of sound, which begs the question, what if there was no sound in racing?
In this special episode of Break/Fix, we take you, the listener, on a journey through an entire race weekend at Road Atlanta and explore all the different ways that sound influences the race experience. This article follows along with our sound sampling from the 2021 and 2023 Petit LeMans Weekends. Play the episode below and follow along with the text/images.
The announcers will always be there, with the hustle and bustle of the paddock and pit boxes, with small engine generators, golf carts, and equipment always in the background. Do you hear that low rumble of idling V8s? And what about that lap after lap buzz of the pack rushing by? And what of the distinct sound of the 911s during a cup race? The crackle and pop of downshifts and unburnt fuel backfiring, with exhaust notes trailing off in the distance
.The sounds of preparation probably won’t change. But what is there to warm up when electric motors are ready to go immediately?
Excitement begins to mount as your favorite driver and their vehicle make their debut on pit road, heading out on the track for practice. You can almost single out each brand from Porsche to Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Cadillac, Acura. And everything in between.
The reverberation of engines at full song. Flat plane cranked V8s. Turbo boxer 6s. High strung V10s. And monstrous ground thumping muscle motors. Each with their own distinct pitch. What does the engine of the future sound like? Will you be able to tell them apart?
There’s something comforting about the racetrack. And after a long day, many of us sleep really, really well. But it’s finally race day. And there’s always this sobering quiet compared to the previous days. Less chaos as the teams and drivers are getting more serious in preparation for qualifying.
Everybody seems to be scrambling to be the first ones out. The first one’s with clear track. The first one’s with clean air. The sound of the track has changed. You can hear it all around you. It’s time for best and final laps.
Teams frantically practice and repeat pit stops, refueling, as well as tire and driver changes. During the race, there’s no second chances. Every second counts. And you have to be as close to perfect as possible.
Multiclass GT and prototype racing is one of the few disciplines of motorsport where you can get up close and personal. With the cars, the drivers, and the entire experience. It’s not circus and pageantry from a distance. You are shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other petrol-heads on grid before the start of the main event.
There’s always this constant hum and movement throughout the paddock. Even during opening ceremonies. Maybe in the future, that background noise won’t be there.
As the safety car pulls into the pits to release the anxious drivers, just when you thought the noise around you was at its climax. It all seems to break loose. The race is on. Just 12 short hours to go until the checkered flag.
Even as the sun sets and the temperatures drop, there is no shortage of fans. Watching, waiting, camping, and celebrating at nearly every corner of the track. The area between turns six and seven at Road Atlanta is a great place to be, but the sound is near deafening, albeit amazing, as the cars pour on the speed down the back straightaway.
Surrounded by darkness, The drivers soldier on, fighting for every second, every lap, every position. Oddly enough, the darker it gets, the louder the track seems to become. There is no sleep for the fans. The race is reaching its end, and you can hear the drivers pushing harder in those last moments. The engines straining, the brakes screeching, tires squealing, exhausts rumbling and popping. Take a moment and ask yourself, does this exist in the future?
And just like that, it’s all over almost as quickly as it began. A somber silence and calm has returned to the track. The results are in, and all that you hear now are the low mumbles and murmurs of fans making their way home from this spectacle of speed. And as we take a moment to reflect on this race, or any race you’ve been to, imagine a future where these sounds aren’t part of the experience.
Does that matter to you? How will it change the way you look at racing events in the future? Are you more or less likely to be there in person? Unfortunately, we don’t know what the future holds, but we can hope that motorsports will continue to have a place in it. And as we’ve said before, There’s a very good chance that the last petrol powered car to be driven will be a race car.
