![]() Saturday was a tough day for everyone – full course yellows (not caused by any of our drivers) were rampant, despite dry conditions. The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport was consistently hitting 150mph+ before braking for “Rollercoaster”, which was indeed, a roller coaster! In the BMW M240iR, we were hitting in the low 140-142mph without a draft and up to 145mph with a draft. Oak Tree leads to the longest straight away, which makes it the most important corner to hit well and consistently. In recent years, VIR has added extra pavement beyond the traditional FIA exit curbs which means more track and thus the ability (and requirement) to use all of that extra track on exit. There is a moment of releasing the brake about mid corner, a focus on getting wide to the left to open up the radius of the corner and then attack the apex with full throttle application right at or before the apex. You can also brake less than you initially think, because the entry is uphill so the grip increases, the further into the corner you go. The entry is best when you can brake into the corner and in a straight line. While it’s referred to as a single corner, it’s more like two corners in one and it is * not* a slow speed corner. Open wheelers/formula cars showing the line through Oak Tree. Further, the forecast didn’t call for rain during the weekend so using up new rain tires under those circumstances wasn’t a good use of the tires. Not just because it was raining but torrential downpour and the poor souls who decided to go out (and survived) ended up getting black flags in each session as the conditions were just horrible. We had 2, maybe 3 cells roll through and the middle two sessions were shot. Conclusion? The simulator model was pretty spot on!Ī few minutes after our session ended, a thunder storm rolled in and another, and another, and another. The first session was dry and we all got out and started familiarizing ourselves with the track in real life. We all arrived and were fully setup on Wednesday night for the weekend and Thursday morning we awoke to some dew on the grass, dry track and chance of a shower here or there throughout the day. Thursday Test Day – More Inclement Weather (Massive Thunderstorm Edition) On average, each driver (and crew member) had nearly 100 laps at VIR on Assetto Corsa with similar or the exact same cars as we were driving in real life. Just as before, each driver logged multiple hours in the simulator so that we all knew the track by heart and could dive into the test day with a focus on establishing a baseline performance and chipping away at the times. Proper technique and equally proper commitment are critical to get into a groove and start attacking the lap times. VIR is almost like a bigger Road Atlanta in that it is made up of mostly medium and high speed corners. Road Atlanta ended up being a primer for VIR for the team. Hats off to Jordan and Memo who drove our trucks, trailers and cars for every single mile.
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