The rain was getting fierce just before the first car reached our area. My time control station issued a small slip to each car that indicated to the crews their departure time from this area. This slip was important for them. I thought the co-drivers wouldn't want to come out of the car to receive this slip due to the rain. I was going to hand over the slip from the chief of the station to the co-drivers and was waiting for the cars in front of the station.
A small car number of cars were coming into our area, the Parc-Fermes. The crews whose car number was less than twenty are highly professional drivers worldwide. Such co-drivers got out of their cars with no exceptions. They were gazing at the chief's hand and they seemed to be checking the time that the chief was filling in. If the chief made a mistake, the co-drivers would appeal to him for modification. I knew why they were pros among the pros.
Look at the picture. Two guys in blue uniform are standing in the tent avoiding the rain. They are co-drivers of the Subaru Rally Team. They are waiting for the time to leave. When the time comes, they hand in the paper that we call the "time control sheet" and the station chief fills the time on the sheet. After that, they went back to their cars to set off.
Famous crews were within close reach. That's why I went all the way to Sapporo. I wanted to chat with them, but I wasn't allowed to do so. I could only exchange short greetings, but that was enough for me. It was great for me to have conversations with them, even for a short time.
(Vocabulary)
highly professional プロ中のプロで
a pro among pros ロ中のプロ
within close reach 手の届くところに
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