The first session of an HPDE weekend is always a bit slow and a few trains form as people get used to the track. Barber Motorsports Park is a fun track with a few technical sections and plenty of opportunity to pass, even for the novice group.

I got to start to push the car a bit in session 2 but still a few car trains to work through. You get a wide mix of skill set in the novice group so a good bit of focus ends up on the cars around you instead of driving your line. However, it is always fun to pass cars you shouldn’t be able to pass.

By the third session on Saturday I had a good handle on the line for my car and was able to start fine tuning a few of the tricker sections. Turn 1, turns 7&8 and turns 11&12 are the places you can pick up the most speed if you get them right.

It threatened to rain all day and session 4 ended up being the last session of the day as lightening killed session 5 when the skies opened up before we could get on track. I pulled into the pits a couple times to give myself some space as cars seemed to stack up more than they should in this session.

All in all, it was a good first day and first time driving Barber Motorsports Park. I am sure I will fall asleep driving the track over and over again in my head. Looking forward to Sunday when I get to do it all over again.