Mitch Egner: Life in the fast lane
After setting 5 records on 5 different tracks, local racer is chasing his IndyCar dream
It’s safe to say that most drivers in the Okanagan Valley do not enjoy the daily eight o’clock crawl into Kelowna across the William R. Bennett Bridge.
For Mitch Egner of West Kelowna, there was a time the bumper-to-bumper grind might have absolutely driven him bonkers. But nowadays, at 24 years of age, he confirms that maturity and experience rule the day.
“Yeah, I can recall being a little impatient when I was younger,” Egner laughed when asked about navigating traffic jams.
Egner is certainly accustomed to driving in traffic, but he prefers to do it at speeds of 150 m.p.h. Over the past year, piloting a 2002 Van Diemen formula car, he has set five lap records at five different race tracks. Unlike a typical daily commute, the racing conditions do not really emulate the lap of luxury.
“I’m kind of shoehorned into the cockpit,” Egner said. “You’re sitting in there with an engine right behind you and a radiator by your legs on each side of the car. It gets pretty warm when you’ve got all of your fireproof gear on.
“We’re getting some pretty heavy G-force, especially under braking around the corners. I’ll be fighting to hold my head straight up and trying to make sure to hit the proper entry points into corners, then easing off the brake and getting back on the accelerator as soon as possible.
“We want to minimize any sliding. There’s never really a chance to relax. Sometimes, you can maybe stretch your fingers a bit going down a straightaway, but that’s about the extent of the break you might get.”
His successes in the northwest this year already had him excited about the 2017 season.
Then last month Egner and his current team, led by his father Karl and technician Nicholas Belling, travelled to Fontana, Calif., for a pair of Pacific Formula F2000 races at the historic Auto Club Speedway. It was their first race weekend at the 2.88-mile road course — Egner hadn’t driven on the California circuit at all in 2016.
“We got in there at Fontana to qualify second and finish second in the first race on the Saturday,” Egner said. “I’ve been fortunate all year to go to all new tracks and be a fast ride right away.
“The car has been set up wonderfully by Nicholas working with us all year. He’s set the car up right to my needs very quickly without a whole lot of messing around or going the wrong direction. We always make good progress, so that’s been a huge advantage.”
For Egner, who is a fleet mechanic in Lake Country for United Parcel Service, the weekend included a record-setting run in the second race, a new lap record of 1:40.026 at Auto Club Speedway. Surprisingly, the success in California came without benefit of a test day at the track.
“Being prepared is huge, the test day is irreplaceable, really,” Egner said. “The amount of time you can spend on the track learning it, setting your braking points, your apexes, getting your exits set, figuring out the car and getting your setup done.
“It really changes the way you can go into the first qualifying session on Saturday, if you’ve had that time. If not, you’re still trying to figure it out when you’re trying to put your fast lap together to set the race order. It’s a huge advantage to get down there and get on to the track early.”
However, time and budget are certainly factors for Team Egner. All told, the run down to Fontana cost about $10,000, including entry fees, travel costs, fuel and tires. The tires alone are about a $1,200 touch, for rubber that might last about one race weekend.
Despite the challenges, Egner followed his runner-up finish in the first race with a day of mixed emotions on Sunday. While leading for most of the 20-lap race and taking down the previous lap record time in the process, a broken throttle cable ended his day before he could take the checkered flag.
“The throttle cable that broke, it’s not one of those things that you really think about happening,” he said. “To have that happen near the end of that race while leading is quite heartbreaking, but you can’t see that coming.
“It’s a $20 part,” lamented Karl Egner.
“My dad, he’s funding the majority of the program,” Mitch said when asked about the dollars involved to chase his dream.
“It’s obviously tough, but we want to give it a shot. The next step is to run that pro series next year.”
The Pacific Formula F2000 Championship Series is included in the Mazda Road to Indy, the only driver development program in the world offering a clear, scholarship-funded path to the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. It’s heady stuff for the Victoria-born Egner.
“I think it’ll be a defining year in the direction I take,” Egner said when asked about the potential to secure a ride at the next level.
“I’ll be 25 at the end of next season, and that’s kind of getting to point where I could get overlooked.
“But if I can make an impact and continue to set lap records and win races, that’ll make it hard for teams to overlook me.”
For Egner, it’s all about securing an IndyCar ride, a passion that began with racing go-carts as an eight-year-old. And, for what it’s worth, a career in open wheel racing will enable the youngster to leave the Bennett Bridge gridlock in his rear-view mirror.
If I can make an impact and continue to set lap records and win races, that’ll make it hard for teams to overlook me. Mitch Egner