This past weekend was my first trip to Road Atlanta for the season. We were greeted with gorgeous spring weather, and after a rainstorm passed early on the Thursday test day, we had ideal conditions for the rest of the event.
I was coaching and teaming up with Mark and Jordan Sandridge for their second race of the International GT season. It was their first trip back to Road Atlanta in a year’s time, and getting them refamiliarized with this fast, flowing circuit was key.
After having the chance to help dial in car setup for them on the test day, we shifted to qualifying and races. They had plenty of competition, with a good-sized field in each of their classes. Mark and Jordan were both able to find the podium in a couple of their sprint races while gaining performance every time they were on the track.
It was exciting to witness their progress and to join them in the car for Sunday morning’s one-hour enduro. After Mark and Jordan both put in their best lap times of the event during the enduro, it was rewarding to see that culminate in sharing a podium result with them, finishing third.
I was really impressed with Mark and Jordan’s continued progress as the event unfolded. Mark shaved over two seconds off his lap time from Friday’s qualifying to Sunday’s enduro, which is truly remarkable. I’m proud of both of them for being so disciplined as they put in the work to improve constantly.
It will be a couple of months before their next race, and in the meantime, we plan to go testing so they can keep up that momentum.