Subscribe to the
TDMS News Letter
Today: 11/27/2009
 
 
   

 
 

 
 

 


Toyo


 

August 21-22, 2010

Summit Point Main

 

September 25-26, 2010

NCCAR

 

Tempuratures were at record levels for the latest Mid Atlantic NASA event at VIR.  Reports of 107 degrees on Saturday topped the 100+ 4 days there and if I hear right not a single person was overcome by heat thanks to Bob the water Nazi.  LOL

This event was a normal NASA MA event with the added bonus of the Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by GrassRoots Motorsports Magazine and Pirelli Tire that so many drivers competed in.  It was reported that 65 cars were signed up to compete against each other in several classes to determine the ranking of pure speed at VIR.  Some owners enlisted pro drivers to take their cars to the top and some of us amature drivers chose to take matters in our own hands.  Either way you look at it...it was man and machine against the clock.

For me...I found myself on a new setup which proved effective and predictable even though I just could not find the edge to push into the next level of finding time on the track even though I picked up 3 seconds over my best overall time there.  This will come in time with the help of many people.  My best time this weekend was 2:29.7.  Many thanks to King Rat Motorsports for the support this weekend.

 

From our young driver that has discovered the addiction of HPDE's with NASA.  This is his recap of the weekend.  

Road Atlanta... the fearsome beast of the Southeast. An internationallyfamous track that I've driven on countless times in dozens of different virtual vehicles in racing simulator video games. None of this could prepare me for the incredible experience that is Road Atlanta.

This track honestly robbed me of my confidence as a driver. The first two sessions on Saturday proved to be very frustrating, influenced by the incredibly slow and fearful drivers that accumulated into massive impenetrable trains on track, causing me to have to brake far earlier and turn far slower than I was capable of if the track was open. This lack of practice with hard braking and fast cornering resulted in my first unintentional off-track excursion while passing an E90 M3 on the front straight. I had forgotten what the feeling of needing to truly stand on the brake pedal was like, and didn't attempt to turn as sharply and as quickly as my car was capable of. This lesson resulted in a good hour of picking gravel out of my suspension; I was lucky.

This experience drained me of my confidence, and it took until mid-day on Sunday when I had finally gained the trust in myself and my car to really crank out some hot laps. I have to thank Joe Ippolito for having faith in me as an instructor; showing me the ropes even after slipping up.

Riding in his monstrous VQ35-swapped Sentra was an absolute treat, and provided me with insight as to where I could safely push harder, brake later, turn in quicker and exit faster. By the final session with the DE2 students mixed with our class, I was able to take the dreaded turn 12 at full throttle. I conquered my demons from turn 1 and pushed to the absolute limits of the car's grip, gaining on all those with higher horsepower in front of me. The downhill esses turned into a hectic roller coaster. My confidence was back.

While this was an incredible experience, what I realized most was that I have an incredibly long road ahead of me before I come anywhere close to keeping up with someone like Joe on track. I hope to eventually possess his level of trust and confidence in his own abilities and his car's capabilities. He really opened my eyes to what a driver can truly be capable of. While I was faster than many, I have a ways to go before I am fast enough to satisfy myself.

The beast known as Road Atlanta not so easily tamed... but I've got many years ahead of me to practice and keep trying. Perseverance will be the key.

 

Road Atlanta HPDE Laps from David Escobar on Vimeo.