Mansfield, OH - Mid-Ohio Raceway
We have just completed the final race weekend prior to the national championship at Mid-Ohio. THe field at this event was huge as teams came out to prepare for the nationals which are in a scant 4 weeks. With predictions of rain for the entire weekend, it was sure to be interesting. THe skies were overcast each day looking like rain any minute.
Starting the weekend with teams in our class, GTS4 was looking to be a real dogfight. This weekend along with the many out-of-area drivers, we were in a new (to us) racecar with very little development time. We purchased this 2001 GT3 Cup to spend more time focusing on driving and setup than on maintenance. Naturally the first day brought us clutch problems that necessidated dropping the transmission in the paddocks and fixing the clutch which was completed at midnight.
Once out on track we were fast but struggling with handling and setup, which we did expect in the new car. In fact every session we had a spin pushing the limits in the Mid-O carousel. These are just teething pains and we expect that they will be worked out within a few events. Spins and clutches not withstanding, the car was fast. Fast enough to be on the pole for Saturdays race, followed closely by the Porsche of Joe Magalotti and the BMW of Max Fischer, both less than 3/10ths back.
Joe Magalotti: "I was quite please to be getting into the 1:33s in qualifying, however I found that a fellow good racer that I hadn't seen in some time (Chris Streit) did a little better in his new Cup Car. The race was actually the closest that I've been to someone the entire race. I was on his (Chris Streit's) bumper the entire time. In a few locations I was quicker, but Chris closed the door hard every time, so I just stayed there and waited for the opportunity."
We had a late-race spin letting two cars past but securing third place.
Sunday brought rain on qualifying. We were quoted later: "We took a gamble on the weather and went out on dry tires despite the rain. It turned out to be the right choice. It was raining lightly in various corners throughout the race but just enough to make it slick, then it would dry there and rain somewhere else. The race ws as much about weather, line management, and watching the windsheild to see how much water accumulated before each major turn complex, as it was about driving fast." As a result though, we started 12 and finished first that day despite a mid-race spin in some water. The video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnTdDnXlDrw
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