Last weekend, the San Francisco Region of the Sports Car Club of America hosted the maiden races on the 5 mile configuration of Thunderhill Raceway that included the brand new 2 mile track addition. About 140 racers competed in various classes over the two day weekend which included the familiar qualify/race/qualify/race format. I competed in my normal P1 class, which had only 3 of us, and the rest of our run group included 6 other competitors, for a total of 9. The challenge was only going to be against the clock to see how low I could go in lap times.
Learning a new track is always a fun experience and this was no different. In fact, the light turnout made it a perfect opportunity to try different lines and braking points without fear of car to car contact. The 2 mile track addition is a real hoot to drive by yourself as it is very technical in nature and is a test of your mental and physical endurance. I don’t believe it will be that great for racing wheel to wheel, though, as this portion of the track is very twisty with a lot of off-camber sections and a lot of elevation changes to boot. It is fun to drive, but it may be difficult to race on with a lot of cars as it has many areas that are single file.
It was carved through the hills so the abruptness of the hillside near the track gave everyone a sense that the track was narrower than the original layout, not the case though. When you watch my video, note the number of times around the track that you see nothing but blue sky for an instant and you will gain a sense of just how much elevation change there is. Now think about that...and you realize then that I'm going over a blind hill at incredible speeds and at the limit of adhesion. It’s exhilarating every time you do it!
The new Norma continues to impress us as she delivered a stellar weekend of performance. The set-up was great and the car was fun to drive. Jason spent time researching brake pads and found a new pad that we tried this weekend and they were awesome. Only issue we continue to have is a dash board that freezes up and refuses to give us data. Norma Concept in France is sending us a replacement that should fix the problem. I basically have to shift by ear once it quits, usually during the 1st lap, and then hope the gauges are all reading fine.
My fastest time of the weekend was a 2:56.787 which equated to an average speed of about 94 miles per hour. I was the only car to go under 3 minutes. As this track configuration will be seldom run, this one lap record may last for quite a while. Watch the lap: click here
Jim