The Log
The hours, the laps and the notes, kept as a record.
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PrivateerThe Road to Le Mans
At Le Mans, a seat can open late, and the team will call a driver who is already prepared. Eric Sanchez is arranging a driver development programme built around one aim: the licences and seat time a Le Mans driver needs. Its pace will follow the partnerships the team builds. This page records that work as it happens.
The Work Comes First
in the garage, before the grid
What a team principal checks
Before a team offers a late seat, these are the questions it asks. Each one is a piece of work in progress.
- Licence and categorisationCompetition licence in progress.
- Recent seat timeIn a comparable GT car, not just any car.
- Sim and test hoursLogged, and vouched for by an engineer.
- Fitness and medicalReady for a double night stint.
- Seat fit and kitA seat fitting on file and in-date homologated kit.
- AvailabilityAt the circuit within 24 to 48 hours of the call.
- A clean recordClean, careful driving, kept that way.
- Debrief and disciplineUseful debriefs, and a stint plan driven to the letter.
- ReferencesPeople in the paddock who will vouch for the work.
- Funding and paperworkReady in advance, so the call is a same-day yes.
From the garage
The view from the mechanics: how a fill-in driver earns trust in the first hour.
Homologated kit
In progress FIA 8856-2018 suit, gloves, boots and underwear; an FIA 8860 helmet with FHR posts; an FIA 8858 head-and-neck restraint.
Seat insert
A seat insert and a written fitting record, so the seat can be set up before the driver arrives.
Adapt fast
Clean, consistent laps first. Pace follows confidence, not the other way round.
Adjust, never set up
Pedals, column and seat rails only. The car's setup belongs to the team.
The sim, used properly
For the track, the references and the procedures, with the team's data first.
Written debriefs
Entry, mid-corner, exit, brakes and tyres, written down after every run.
Procedures drilled
Driver change, belts, radio, pit limiter, flags and starts, until they are automatic.
Mechanical sympathy
Bring the car back. A late seat is earned by returning it in one piece.
The ladder
Seven steps, each earned with results and seat time.
- 1
A national licence and club races.
- 2
An international licence upgrade.
- 3
GT4 and GT3 seasons in the ACO, IMSA or SRO system.
- 4
FIA driver categorisation confirmed.
- 5
ELMS, Asian Le Mans Series or IMSA GT racing.
- 6
The entry is the team's, so the route is a seat with a team that holds an entry.
- 7
The Le Mans rookie obligations.
Le Mans is a long road. Eric Sanchez is on it, and he means to see it through.
The Work Comes First: the series
Four short features, coming as the work is done.
The Kit Bag
What goes in the bag, and why each piece matters.
The Licence Ladder
Each licence step, explained as it is worked toward.
Built for the Night Stint
The fitness and preparation behind a double stint in the dark.
Letter of Marque
Letter of Marque
And Commission of Privateering, given under the Seal of Monte DeLeon Racing, in the Year 2026
To all Race Teams, Team Principals and Keepers of the Paddock, Greeting.
Know ye that the Bearer, Eric Sanchez, Privateer Driver, is hereby commissioned to range the Paddocks and stand ready, the Work coming First: to take an Open Seat, or to fill in where a Seat falls open, with an established Team of good standing, in the Series of IMSA, of HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing), of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA), or wheresoever a worthy Seat may fall open; there to Race, and to earn Credibility and Renown in the Paddock.
Be it further declared that the Bearer comes to the Pit Wall bearing these Prizes:
- A Seat to be funded through Partner Sponsorship, so that it may arrive with its Backing in hand.
- Connections of Commerce. The Bearer keeps good Company in many Harbours: the Yacht Owners he still counts among his Relationships from his Years on the Water, the Luxury and Automotive Circles, and the Garage-Condo Communities and their Owners; and he matches Partners one with another.
- Counsel on Growth. The Bearer advises his Partners on Growth: on new Client Relationships, and on Introductions that become Business.
- Professional Conduct, Preparation and Serious Intent; for Racing is a serious Calling, and the Bearer answers it as one.
- Presence and Prestige, to carry his Partners' Colours through Paddock and Pit Lane.
Articles of the Commission
- The Bearer shall come to every Briefing prepared, punctual, and with his Telemetry studied.
- All Plunder shall be taken in Tenths of a Second, and in no other Coin.
- Partners shall be honoured, their Colours carried proud, and their Accounts kept true.
- The Rule Book is the Law of the Paddock, and the Stewards its High Court.
- From Green Flag to Checkered Flag, every Pass shall be clean, and all Quarrels settled by Handshake.
- Credentials are being earned by the Book: a driver development programme toward the racing licences being arranged; none is claimed before it is won.
- Of all Prizes, the Riches of Riches is a Seat at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, toward which the Bearer sets his Course with patience and honour.
Signed and Sealed,
Eric Sanchez, Privateer Driver
Monte DeLeon Racing, LLC
A fictitious commission, written in good fun.
Join the road
Partners travel this road with the driver: on the car, in the paddock and in the story. Scan for the Partnership Levels, or write to us and we will set up a 20-minute conversation.
Licences and categorisation are in progress; nothing is claimed before it is earned.
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