Coming soon..
In this review, I won’t be going race-by-race, but instead will highlight a few key moments and learning experiences from my first season of semi-professional competition!
1) The Weather (Rain, Endless Rain)
One completely new element (for me) that featured at nearly all races throughout the season would surely have to be the weather. More specifically, rain. And lots, and lots of it. Being a resident of San Diego and local California racer, I can honestly say that my “racing in the rain” experience was woefully low coming into the season. With the championship consisting of races in Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana, I was sure to get a chance to improve my wet skills. What I didn’t expect however, was an amount of water so large that you’d swear a nearby dam was busted. In 6 race weekends, 5 of them featured rain. The first of which, the season opener at NCM Motorsports Park in Kentucky, I won! As it was the first race, in a car and track I’d never seen before, in a type of weather I’d never driven in before, it was one hell of an exciting performance to pull off! One minor achievement I’m quite proud of is that through all the rain, I never once spun the car around (seriously!) Inclimate weather also played to my favor in the finale at Road Atlanta. As the rain fell before our qualifying session, our MX-5s were fitted with rain tires. However, the weather cleared up just in time and the track was drying fast. By the time we got on circuit, only large puddles remained amongst an almost completely dry track. Our tires quickly lost grip and many drivers lost control, spun, or went rallying off going for quick lap. I was able to make the best of it, and qualify pole by .4s, a nice day in the office for sure!