This past weekend I was at Road America for the first time this season to coach and drive in an endurance race. It felt great to be at that track again, even if it was a bit chilly in the mornings—and by “a bit,” I mean low 30s! But it was an exciting event with a huge turnout of close to 80 cars.
I was there with clients and friends, and we really enjoyed ourselves. The goal for my clients this year, in regard to this car, is to race in the World Racing League endurance series. This was their first race of the season with the car.
Our first day of practice and qualifying started off smooth. It was productive because everyone got a lot of seat time and we were able to focus on reviewing data and video to optimize everyone’s driving and make changes to the car’s setup. In short, it was everything you could hope for in a test day.
We were optimistic about the twin 8-hour races on tap for the weekend. After a great start and leading at times in race one, the car unfortunately developed a fuel pressure issue that was related to the fuel pump and sensor. It sidelined us for a couple of hours. The team was able to resolve the issue, and I was happy that both Rob and Reg, my co-drivers and clients, got back on track for some great seat time and racing experience. We knew we would be competitive in the race the next day, and we used the time in the remainder of race one as an additional test day. We reviewed data, quantified the gains the drivers had made since the previous day, and prioritized what to focus on in race two.
As the second race rolled around, we were off to another great start, leading overall at times. We had some fun, quality racing, but again, we had another fuel pressure issue that sidelined us and kept us from getting the results we were hoping for.
Although the race days didn’t go how we wanted them to, we certainly couldn’t let the results define the weekend. We had great camaraderie, the drivers were able to learn a ton, and we know we’ll be able to regroup and be even better for our next outing. We’re all looking forward to our next World Racing League endurance race!