A helping hand
Jacky Carrie, R8 Helper, ADT Champion Audi 
By Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy David Babcock

LA SARTHE, France (Audi Hospitality) (June 9, 2004) – In a sport where time is measured in .001ths of a second, everything possible must be done to make sure the ADT Champion Audi R8 is as perfect as it can be. Jacky Carrie is the man who makes the finishing touches to the car when it comes in and before it goes out again: he works as, among other things, the team detailer. Carrie has worked for 5 years in the Champion Audi dealership run by Dave Maraj in Florida, maintaining the showroom in perfect condition and the cars in their most attractive, bandbox fresh way; when Champion Audi decided to return to La Sarthe, they tapped Carrie as the best man to do the job for the ADT Champion Audi team. One of his main jobs is to thoroughly clean the R8 before and after it approaches the track, and then apply a couple of coats of special wax to make the car as “slippery” as possible through the air. He told me, in fact, that between the two qualifying sessions tonight, he will give the car the full treatment no matter how good it looks when it comes back! When working with such small tolerances, not even a spare suicidal bug may be allowed to remain. “That's the worst thing,” he commented. “The bugs! I spend a lot of time just cleaning off those bugs!”

This is Carrie’s second year at Le Mans, and he loves being here. “I love travelling,” he enthused. “I like the people and the atmosphere; I like all the excitement of being here! And because I speak French, I am able to help out some of the other team members when they need it.” However, when I asked him if he’d ever thought about racing in a car, he held up his hands in horror. “No, never,” he said positively. “That's too scary!”

Carrie’s other duties include keeping the garage and pit area spotless and helping with the packing up after the race is over. “I do the pre-packing,” he explained, “so Jerome and Brad and the others can begin quickly loading everything onto the trucks the minute the race is over. After we finish all the packing, we’ll all be heading home together on Tuesday [the 15th] and I’ll go back to my job at the dealership.” Although his time at Le Mans may be hectically busy, I have no doubt that the memory of Le Mans and his part in it will brighten his ‘day job’ as he gives the same fine service to Champion Motors as he provides to the ADT Audi R8 and the team in Le Mans.