Lots of good news to report. The SCCA Club Racing Board thoroughly reviewed the history of the CN rules since the inception of the P1 rule change 2 1/2 years ago. After confirming the original intent was to allow for an unrestricted engine build, they reversed their prior decision and our developed motor is now approved for competition again. So we will get to show what we got...can't ask for anymore than that.
Our maiden outing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course located in the beautiful farm countryside near Lexington was truly memorable. This course is steeped in history as the USA's best have raced here over the years--Indy car preceded us just the week before. It is a highly technical track but flows like a roller coaster and takes some time to get down pat.
I'd run the track hundreds of times on my IRacing simulator so at least knew where I was going, but there are many subtle nuances you can only learn on-track. With the exception of the very last race at the end of Sunday, we improved each time out. The weekends activities included 3 test sessions and 4 official timed events (Q1, Race 1, QRace 2, Race 3) and we kept our season long streak alive but just barely...by just 3/1000s of a second over a fast bunch of F1000 drivers. We've set fastest lap in every quali and race and won overall every time we've finished this year.
It was great to get to meet other racers, crew chiefs, mechanics, etc. and jaw bone about what it will take to win the Runoffs. We were able to turn consistent laps in the 1:21 range which historically would measure up quite well. But a couple of local insiders think it will take 1:19s to get pole and race laps in the 1:20s to win. So if that's the case we've got some work to do and we'll be going all out from this point on. Our new race engineer and driver coach, Eric Purcell, was on-hand and he's been a fantastic addition to our program. He knows the track well and is a wealth of knowledge. He will put together a full testing program for us to try out during 4 days of practice preceding the Runoffs.
Jason will give the new car a thorough going over in preparation for the Runoffs. It ran flawlessly this past weekend and we never placed a wheel wrong or went off track. Jason is a true master mechanic and solved a difficult problem by simply thinking it through during a late Friday night at the track. I was amazed Saturday morning when his idea worked perfectly.
