CCiS 2023 Round 5: Watkins Glen - Miata NC - P19

It has been a good month since I have put in good practice on the Sim. The Love Racing squad and I just got done being devastated by the near Overall Win at Ozarks, and we also were down about missing the 4-hr Sim Enduro. Nonetheless, I was going to do the best that I could and get some good data from Round 5 of the CCiS series. Leading up to the race, I felt a bit slower on my pace than other races. This would be a good chance to really test and lean on my racecraft.

ChampCar iRacing Series 2023

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Qualifying & Race Results:

Driving Analysis & Areas of Opportunity

Focus: The nerves are so much more intense before a Sim race start. I am still deciding whether I like that, or not. I had good focus for the whole race, even after needing a tow about 1/3 through.

Ramp Up: n/a

Raw Pace/Line: A big variable that I observed between last race and this race is that practice is directly related to my raw pace. Last race, I did much more intentional practice in preparation, and actually did not see a significant drop off in improvement in my raw pace. This race, I did not take nearly the same approach and I know a lot of pace was just out there.

Braking: This paddle shifty stuff allows for a larger operating envelope for most controls, especially shifting while braking and turning. It definitely took time to start utilizing it and there was a lot headroom from the limit. For sure there were many spots that I overslowed consistently.

Throttle: n/a

Passing: I crashed while trying to overtake. 4 of us were jostling for position as the race was settling down. Mid-way up the uphill straight, the 3 cars behind me had a good run out of T1 and a powerful draft up the hill. By the end of the straight, right before the bus stop, I had a solid move made but I opened up the entry to the complex too soon and clipped the car on the left...we had been 3-wide for most of the front-straight. I ended up with too much damage, so I had to pit.

Car & Team Opportunities:

• Update CrewChief settings for "Car Right" and "Car Left"

• Watch more videos of relevant overtake and defense areas on track

• Do more laps for practice...start sooner