So somehow we avoided the rain on Saturday. I celebrated the day with several brews! I awoke to clouds but not rain, and it looked threatening all morning. Lining up for the first session it was still dry. We were allowed to line up wherever we wanted, which I didn't agree with because I ended up behind a few cars that I was faster than on Sat. It didn't seem like a big deal until the pace lap started.... It stayed dry for... about 1/2 of the pace lap! Seriously.
So as we're gaining speed for the first timed lap of the day, I'm reaching for the wipers. (see video) Knowing full well I'm on Hoosier slicks as is nearly everyone else. I still hammer it and fly into T2 where I already see a yellow flag. There's 1 car off on the outside of the turn and another on the exit of the turn. I slide it through and hammer down the backstraight but brake early and pass a few cars. After that I take it easy to keep it on track to get a lap down - a 1:55x. They then black flagged the session to pull cars out. My time put me #3 in grid and first in class.
For S2 it was sprinkling, then started to pour in grid. I was already lined up and had a passenger jump in with me so I soldiered on out. I had heard there's a river across the backstraight when it rains. I found out... On the pace lap no less. I started to hydroplane and could not even make the kink. It was like slow motion; in a bad way. I went off, and thought I was going to find the wall with a passenger. As soon as I touched the grass I was able to correct with the wheel and all was good (with more hydroplaning). Disaster averted... Yah!
S3 at 1:40pm was going to be my last; no matter the weather. It'd been a long weekend and I had 450 miles to drive home yet. I prepped for it; and by that I mean reset tire temps; that's it. I packed up and ate a bit during the downtime. Turns out... it would start dry! I ran a 1:33.9 but the car wouldn't turn like I wanted - especially into Thunder Valley. Checking tire pressures when I came in, the RF was 5psi higher than everything else. It was a difficult situation with rain/sun/clouds/repeat for the first 5 hrs of the day and my guess at tire temps was only 3/4 correct!
While it was a good time, it wasn't my best. Once I checked the results of the session, I found myself in 2nd out of 8 in class. That's where I finished for the day. All-in-All it was a really fun weekend. Learned a bit more about Mid Ohio, reinforced some ideas I had and confirmed a setup idea I was pretty confident in. I made nearly 0 changes to the car, so the stress level was low and I was able to visit with a lot of friends.
I've got a few ideas on how to better my times for Nationals next month. I've had a specific time goal in mind and I still think it's possible and probably needed to take the podium. 15 cars already registered for NASA TTA Nationals! Wish me luck...
Sun S1 (rain started):
Sun dry vid:
Details involved in preparing, choosing and competing in various wheel-2-wheel events mainly in the Midwest both in my previously owned 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX and other racecar rentals!
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