Race car drivers can lose up to 5% body weight in water during a race. Here's the brutal technical breakdown:
Physical stress metrics during a 10-hour endurance race:
• Cockpit temp: 104-122°F (40-50°C)
• Core body temp spikes to 102°F (39°C)
• Heart rate sustained at 140-170 bpm
• Up to 4.2g lateral force on corners
• 220 lbs force required on brake pedal
• Fluid loss up to 5kg (11 lbs)
• 600-900 cal/hour burn rate
• Critical: at 2% dehydration, reaction time degrades
The machine: LMP2 prototype
• 603 hp
• 2,050 lbs
• 9,000 rpm redline
This weekend at Motul Petit Le Mans: @tobi (Shopify founder, $195B market cap) and @dhh (Ruby on Rails creator, 37signals CTO, Le Mans class winner) teaming with pro driver Mathias Beche for a 10-hour endurance race.
400 laps on a 2.54-mile road course, 54 cars, drivers rotating every ~2.5 hours. Both approach racing like software optimization—closed-loop continuous improvement, data-driven, chasing tenths of a second.
Tobi and DHH were the first customers at Braintree (Bryan's payments startup). Full circle moment watching them push human limits in a different domain.
Physical stress metrics during a 10-hour endurance race:
• Cockpit temp: 104-122°F (40-50°C)
• Core body temp spikes to 102°F (39°C)
• Heart rate sustained at 140-170 bpm
• Up to 4.2g lateral force on corners
• 220 lbs force required on brake pedal
• Fluid loss up to 5kg (11 lbs)
• 600-900 cal/hour burn rate
• Critical: at 2% dehydration, reaction time degrades
The machine: LMP2 prototype
• 603 hp
• 2,050 lbs
• 9,000 rpm redline
This weekend at Motul Petit Le Mans: @tobi (Shopify founder, $195B market cap) and @dhh (Ruby on Rails creator, 37signals CTO, Le Mans class winner) teaming with pro driver Mathias Beche for a 10-hour endurance race.
400 laps on a 2.54-mile road course, 54 cars, drivers rotating every ~2.5 hours. Both approach racing like software optimization—closed-loop continuous improvement, data-driven, chasing tenths of a second.
Tobi and DHH were the first customers at Braintree (Bryan's payments startup). Full circle moment watching them push human limits in a different domain.
