Week five of NASRS season 15 was at Laguna Seca with the season’s “hot” race. Air temps were close to 50C, which made for some interesting racing conditions that required us to keep a keen eye on our tire temps and wear. I’m usually not very quick at Laguna so I was not very optimistic about my chances at a good result. However, it’s a fun/challenging track to race on as any mistake will put you into the sand, at best, or the wall, at worst. So, low expectations for results, but high hopes for fun.

Like every other NASRS race we had 10 minutes for qualifying and I made a mistake by not leaving enough room to the car in front of me. I had an OK first lap, but on my second lap, which was a lot better, I ended up too close to the car in front and had to back out. By then my tires were losing a bit of performance so I didn’t end up with the qualifying lap I know I’m capable of and ended up in P5. I was disappointed, but the three Porsches I’ve been racing all season are all piloted by faster drivers and I really didn’t have any chance of doing any better than P4. So I was hopeful that I’d be able to make up the spot quickly once we started racing.

And that’s pretty much what happened. I got a really good jump at the start and had picked up P4 by the time we were into the first real turn. I settled into P4 and tried to look after my tires while also maintaining contact with the aforementioned fast guys. To my surprise I was able to mostly do this, due in part to P2 and P3 battling a bit and P3 making the periodic mistake, which allowed me to stay close. P2 spun out on lap 13 and I picked up a free spot, which put me in P3.

P2 was slowly getting away from me, but at the end of lap 17 he had a moment and nearly lost the car. He decided to pit since he figured I would probably be able to pass him while he let his tires cool down a bit. So I was in P2, a few seconds behind P1. On the next lap P1 decided to pit, which kind of put me in a bind because I felt like it was really early to be pitting, especially given how hot it was. But the leader was afraid of getting undercut by P2 so he decided to cover it and pit early. I stayed out for one more lap and since I was in some traffic I made the decision to pit. My tires were still feeling (surprisingly) good, but I didn’t want to lose a bunch of time being stuck behind slower cars. However, right at the end of the lap I was able to get some open space and had to make a split-second decision as to enter the pit lane or not. I was afraid of getting undercut so I darted into the pits, which turned out to be a mistake, I think.

I had a decent pit stop and when I exited the pits found myself in a bunch of traffic. I was a couple seconds behind the guy I was battling for P2 earlier, but was losing time due to the traffic. I worked my way through the traffic and started chasing down P2. The leader lost the lead after hitting a kerb and bouncing into the sand. I was able to battle with him for the remainder of the race and nearly got the position on a couple occasions. However, I wasn’t able to make a safe pass so had to settle for P3, which to be honest was a pretty good result for me. So, happy with the way I drove and with the result I got.

Next week is the last race of the season. We’re at Kyalami for a night race. I’m optimistic about this one – I love the track and I think the Aston is pretty strong there. You never know what’s gonna happen, but hopefully we’ll have some fun and can end the season strong.

Week 5 final results (Laguna Seca)

• Qualifying: P5/24
• Race: P3/24

Here are a few highlights from the race

The fourth race of NASRS season 15 was at Donington Park and the weather was billed as a “highly changeable.” However, there was only a 5% chance of rain so most of us were focused on getting used to the changes introduced in the ACC 1.9 update and not on preparing for a wet race. I guess Britain had something else in mind, though, because as soon as we started the formation lap medium rain was forecasted to start in 10 minutes.

Backing up a little, I was able to put in a pretty decent lap in qualifying and qualified in P4. I had a fairly clean race start with only some minor contact in T1 and was able to maintain my position and get settled in. P1 and P3 both got DTs at the start for, I’m assuming, being out of position or perhaps going too fast. Bad news for them, but good news for me since that effectively moved me into P2.

As predicted, the rain started after about 10 minutes. I was keeping an eye on how long it was showing rain and from what I could tell it seemed like it was going to rain for at least 15 minutes, maybe more. The ACC weather widget can be a little cryptic to decipher so I think some folks were thinking it was only going to be a quick shower and that staying out on slicks would be the right call. I decided to do whatever P1 did and since he stayed out, I did too. He stayed out on the second lap as well and I followed suit. However, I was really starting to struggle and it didn’t seem like the rain was stopping any time soon. I didn’t think the track would dry out very quickly since it was an evening race so I decided to risk it and pit for wet tires on lap 9.

It didn’t seem like many other folks were pitting so as I rolled through pitlane I was thinking I made a big mistake in doing so. But it was too late so I was focused on setting my pressures and getting the tire change ready. I was thinking the whole time that I would have to make another pit stop to change to dry tires once the track dried out. That said, I forgot to change my pit strategy to not add fuel so I ended up leaving the pits with a completely full tank. That “mistake” ended up saving my race so it was a good thing I made it.

Anyway, I exited the pits in P13, about 3/4 lap behind the leader. I was about 3 seconds ahead of Lund, who pitted at the same time I did. I think I was lapping about 4-6 seconds faster than the leader and after only 2 laps was already into P6. I had so much more grip than folks who were still on slicks so I was starting to think I had made the right choice. I figured if I could get into the top 5 by the time the track dried out and everyone else needed to make their mandatory pit stop, then I’d be on the same strategy as them and would still have a chance at a decent race.

But it kept raining and the track remained pretty wet so I kept making up a lot of time. By lap 17 I was in P3, going about 4 seconds a lap faster than P1. I moved into P2 on the next lap and was about 20 seconds back. However, I made a stupid mistake on lap 20 and spun out. Lund passed me and I ended up behind him by about 6 seconds. That mistake would come back to haunt me at the end of the race.

We caught P1 on lap 24 right as he was entering the pits for his mandatory stop. I was in P2 then, 1 second behind Lund. At this point the rain had stopped and the track was starting to dry out a bit. I started thinking we might have a chance to finish the race on wet tires if we could keep them alive for the last 20 minutes of the race. So I was just following Lund, trying to save my tires and stay close enough to maybe have a chance to pass him for the win at the end.

Unfortunately I made a small mistake on lap 38 and lost any chance of a race win. So I ended up finishing in P2, which was a pretty amazing result for me. I’m a little disappointed because I think if I hadn’t spun out I could have gotten my first league win. But, that’s the way it goes sometimes. I think we were around 30 seconds ahead of P3 so changing to wet tires and using them for the rest of the race was definitely the right strategy.

Next week we’re at Laguna Seca for the season’s hot weather race. Laguna isn’t my best track so we’ll see if I can stay out of the sand and keep my tires from melting.

Week 4 final results (Donington Park)

• Qualifying: P4/28
• Race: P2/28

Here are a few highlights from the race

NASRS was at Silverstone this week for the rescheduled “first race” of the season due to a server issue on March 28. This was the last race before the long-awaited ACC 1.9 update, which will be dropping tomorrow.

Qualifying was done prior to the race, as it was used to both determine who is in the pro and am classes as well as set the grid for the Silverstone race. I had qualified in P5 which, given the current pecking order of this season, is about the best I could hope for.

The first sector at Silverstone can always be a bit hairy at the start of a race so I was a little worried about getting through that cleanly. Unfortunately P4 jerked over a bit right before T2 and bumped me off track. I lost one place, but thankfully was able to maintain control and not have any major issues. It was kind of a bummer, though, because I felt like I had a little more pace than the guy who got past me, but not really enough to get around him cleanly. So I was stuck in P6 for the entire first stint. I did my best to stay close and not really fight him as I didn’t want to get embroiled in a battle where we’d both lose time to the front-runners and let the folks behind us catch up. One of the really fast Porsche drivers had “a moment” and we were able to get around him. But, he was only a few seconds back so I knew we’d have a hard time staying ahead of him. I had a couple opportunities to make a pass into P5, but couldn’t make it happen so had to stay put.

However, I got lucky during the mandatory pit stop because P5 exceeded the pit speed limit and got a stop-and-go 30 penalty. He let me by right as we exited the pits, which was nice. But, that speedy Porsche was right behind me and I wasn’t able to hold him off for more than a couple laps so I was back in P5.

The Porsche got ahead of me by a comfortable margin but with only a few laps to go made another mistake and I was able to get within striking distance. I made a clumsy lunge in the hairpin and we had contact. I waited and let him go back ahead of me and we ended the race a couple laps later in the same position. So, a P5 start and finish for me.

Overall I was pretty happy with how the race went. I felt like I had consistent pace and didn’t make any major errors. Maybe I could have got P4 if I hadn’t lost that spot at the start, but you never know.

We’re onto Donington Park for another changing conditions race next week. I’ll have to spend some time getting used to the tires and suspension changes introduced in the ACC 1.9 update so it should be an interesting/fun race.

Week 3 final results (Silverstone)

• Qualifying: P5/32
• Race: P5/32

Here are a few highlights from the race

The second race of the NASRS season was at Spa. It was raining the entire qualifying session and race, but the rain level was pretty light so the track condition was actually “damp” for most of the race. I was really happy with my qualifying lap and ended up in P6.  P6 is not that great, but there are so many fast guys in the Tuesday split that being in the top 10 is a decent achievement for me.

I had a clean race start, which is always a roll of the dice at Spa. The Aston has decent straight-line speed here so I was able to make a couple nice overtakes in the first two laps. I decided not to take tires during the mandatory pit stop. The car didn’t feel great during the second stint and I felt like maybe I should have taken tires. I don’t think others suffered as much so I probably over-drove the car during the first stint and cooked the tires. Fortunately the driver behind me in P4 also didn’t take tires so his pace wasn’t any quicker during the second stint or I probably would have lost the position.

One of the drivers ahead had a solo spin so I moved up one more place to get into P3. I picked up my third and final track cut warning with about 15 minutes left in the race so I had to dial things back a bit to make sure I didn’t get a drive-through penalty. I was able to hang on to my position which landed me in P3 and on the podium for the first time this season.

Really happy with the result here – moving up from P6 to a podium spot in the rain at a tricky track is about the best I could ask for. Looking forward to the next race at Silverstone, which is the last race before the big ACC 1.9 update hits, which might through a big wrench into the car physics (and setups) for the last three races of the season.

Week 2 final results (Spa)

• Qualifying: P6/31
• Race: P3/31

Here are a few highlights from the race

The first race of the NASRS season 15 was actually race 2 on the schedule since race 1 was postponed due to server issues. The race was at Barcelona and was billed as “low changeable weather,” but stayed dry for both the qualifying session and the race. I qualified P4, which was a nice surprise since I didn’t expect to do that well. I had a clean race start, which was really lucky since there was a major incident just behind me on the main straight. I think over half the field was involved in it so it was pretty bad.

I slotted into P4 after the first few corners and tried to get around the Aston Martin in front of me. I couldn’t make a clean pass and since we were pretty close on pace I decided to be patient and wait for a mistake. Unfortunately, that didn’t really happen so when we started to run into some backmarkers with about 40 minutes left I dove into the pits and tried the undercut. Somehow that worked and after things got sorted out I was in P3 a couple seconds ahead of P4.

The Aston in P4, though, was on tires that were 10 minutes fresher, so I was worried I wouldn’t be able to hold the position for the remaining 30 minutes. I made it till the penultimate lap where I tripped over an ill-timed backmarker in the last exit and lost P3 on the main straight. I tried my best on to get the spot back on the last lap, but again, my tires were shot and couldn’t make a clean overtake.

Overall I’m pretty happy with how I drove and how the race ended up. I’m not sure if I would have had better luck not doing the undercut, but it was fun to try. It stings a bit to be so close to the podium and not get it, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Onwards and upwards!

Week 1 final results (Barcelona)

• Qualifying: P4/35
• Race: P4/35

Here are a few highlights from the race