It's 3:30am in Dubai. We've not slept for 40 hours. We're also very hungry. But the entire Middle East is shut.
So we turned to the brave knights of endurance racing for inspiration. This entailed bothering drivers, mechanics and team owners to discover what professional stayawakists eat to help them, err, stay awake.
It was also an auspicious opportunity to check up on their racing progress
Our findings were intriguing. And delicious.
Click forth for more, internet.
Advertisement - Page continues belowSedrick Viranaiten, team manager, GC Automobile 1
CAR #106: GC 10.2 (VW Scirocco silhouette), #105 GC 10-V8 (BMW 1-series silhouette)
FAVOURITE SNACK miniature Bounty bar
FOR WHY? "They're just delicious. The coconut flavour tastes really very nice."
THE RACE "Car #106 is OK, but 105 has had gearbox problems. We're missing a part to repair it with and our couriers couldn't get it here in time."
James Kaye, driver, Racer Industries Australia
CAR #63: Holden Astra VX-R
FAVOURITE SNACK Melons
FOR WHY? "Melons always get you through the night. They're wonderful to finish on, too."
THE RACE "We got bumped up a class to SP3, so we're racing with the Astons and Evoras. But we're still sixth in class, even after a small issue with the turbo. Not bad for an Australian shopping cart."
Advertisement - Page continues belowPaulien Zwart, driver, The Racing Divas
CAR #84: Renault Clio RS Cup
FAVOURITE SNACK miniature Milky Way
FOR WHY? "The chocolate's great for energy.. And they're very nice and sweet to taste."
THE RACE "It's going very well. Since the 5th driver change, we've had problems with the driveshaft and wheel bearings, but we really hope to finish."
Michael Budde, team owner, Hamburg Racing
CARS #31: Aston Martin Vantage N24 GTS, #127: Aston Martin Vantage N24 GTS, #125: Aston Martin Vantage N24 GTS
FAVOURITE SNACK German sandwiches
FOR WHY? "They have German meat for energy. And they're made by the most beautiful German women in Germany. One of them is my wife."
THE RACE "Two of our cars have had very big gearbox problems and issues with brakes. We have one car running and we really hope to finish."
Darren Achilles, mechanic, Nissan
CAR #100: Nissan 370Z
FAVOURITE SNACK Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar
FOR WHY? "I'm on a diet, you see. I need to get down to racing weight."
THE RACE "We've had a few hard hours. The main problem's been with the brake bias - each driver's been wanging it all on the fronts, so we've had to change them a lot."
Uwe Versten, mechanic, Fach Auto Tech
CAR #17 Porsche 997 GT3 R, #18 Porsche 997 GT3 R
FAVOURITE SNACK Mars bar
FOR WHY? Because here they have cool Arabic writing on them. They still taste the same. This is disappointing.
THE RACE We've been very lucky and not needed to do many things. We're hoping it will be OK and we'll finish intact.
Advertisement - Page continues belowMartin Baerschmidt, driver, Gulf Team First
CAR #119 Aston Martin Vantage N24 GT4
FAVOURITE SNACK Banana
FOR WHY? "I just love ‘em. I eat a lot after triathlons - they give you lots of energy and you don't have to deal with the taste of chocolate. I reckon I eat eight to ten a day when I'm racing. It's probably the first thing I have when I get out of the car."
THE RACE "We've had some real gearbox issues - we were stuck in fifth at one point, then it wouldn't select at all. We had terrible ECU problems, too, but Hamburg racing leant us one of theirs. After we fitted it we were running qualifying times. But it's great fun - I'm Australian, we've got another Australian driver, a Lebanese guy and a Japanese girl so we've been described as team UN."
So they you have it, TopGear.comniverse - this is what the pros eat to keep them sane.
Slice of melon?
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