Challenge of the Americas - Race 5
| Date | Apr 2, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Track | Simraceway, Sonoma, CA |
| Total Drivers | 15 |
| Qualify Position / Time | P12 / :50.764 |
| Heat Race Position / Best Lap | P12 / :50.879 |
| Main Race Position / Best Lap | P11 / :51.331 |
| Points Earned | 41 |
| Standings Position | 15(T)/30 |
Home field advantage, baby! Challenge of the Americas Rounds 5 and 6 take place in Sonoma, CA at Simraceway. Leading into the weekend, I was feeling pretty confident about how my performance is going to turn out. After practicing on Thursday and Friday, I knew that there was still a lot of work to be done.
Warm-Up
I decided to try out a certain technique that Nic told me about at the end of Friday's practice. The results weren't drastic, but I definitely noticed a significant change in the chassis' reaction to this change in driving. The effect was completely positive, so I decided to keep working at it for the rest of the day.
Qualifying
During qualifying, I had a lot of open space to land some fast laps. However, one flaw that Nic and I acknowledged afterward was my inability to set a fast pace early in a session. The logic here is that the faster I can set a pace, the faster my lap times will be. In the end, I qualified in P 12 with a lap time of 50.77s.
Heat Race
There was nothing special about the first heat race of the weekend. Starting in P 12 gave me the disadvantage of gridding up on the outside, meaning I had to get down to the apex before the drivers beside me. I stayed in P 12 for the majority of the time, but I wasn't left in the dust.
Main Race
The main race went better for me than the heat race did. Despite still finishing 11th, I was able to maintain a good pace against the other drivers, showing that I am capable of competing against these guys who are far more experienced than I am. There was another full day of racing ahead of me, and this event led to some great preparation.
Full Results:
Current Standings:
Read about the other races from 2016 Challenge of the Americas