Moving Up And Breaking Down At Road Atlanta

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It was a beautiful morning for the 1st session on Sunday at Road Atlanta. About half the cars from Saturday decided the track wasn’t for them so the grid was lite. I also got out early to make sure I was the first car and had plenty of clear track to enjoy. It didn’t take long to get back into the grove and put what I practiced on Saturday to good use. I could get fast laps in the 1:50 range but really wanted to break into the 1:49s.

The “quiet” hours on Sunday at Road Atlanta provided the C Group with a nice long session and an empty track. Some of the track prepped cars couldn’t run because they are too loud. Between the light traffic and a good starting spot at the front of the grid, I was finally able to string together some great sectors into my fastest lap of the weekend at 1:49.427.

After lunch my instructor came by my paddock spot to give me some good news, I had been moved up to the B group! For BMW CCA driving schools this not only means running with faster cars, but you can pass anywhere on the track with a point-by. I was excited and nervous to run with the B group for the first time. The big difference is that I am getting passed as often as I am passing others so you really have to pay attention to your mirrors and not just look down track. Despite the added traffic I managed to break the 1:50 barrier again and got plenty of practice driving off “the” driving line.

Towards the end of the session I worked my way through some traffic and headed down the back straight when my car lost power. This meant the traffic I just passed through was now hot on my tail going into turn 10. What was a hair raising moment on track, provided me with good practice in staying calm when something goes wrong. I managed to stay out of the way and get my car back into the pits.

It turns out that my charge pipe cracked, a common problem with the N55 engine and already on my list of upgrades. Now it is on top of the list!

BMW CCA Driving School At Road Atlanta

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This was my second time at Road Atlanta but my first time behind the wheel of my own car. The last time was at a Cadillac sponsored event and we only did a few laps at about 6/10ths. We had beautiful weather for the weekend and it is always great to drive with my friends from the Peachtree Chapter of the BMW CCA.

As is always the case, the first session of the weekend in the C Group is slow going for the first couple of laps to help everyone get familiar with the track. There are typically lots of “trains” and today was no different. You have to remember to your first weekend of HPDE and be patient.

Still getting familiar with the track at Road Atlanta during session 2 on Saturday. Like most tracks, there are a couple of tricky turns to work through. Road Atlanta is a great combination of technical driving and put your foot down all out straight aways.

By session 3 the first timers were getting used to being on track and there weren’t as many trains to contend with. I was able to carry a bit more speed in a few places and had to adjust my braking points, but all minor tweaks.

During session 3 we started lining up early on the grid to get out in front of slower cars and drive in some clean air. Unfortunately I screwed up the Track Addict app and selected a AutoX segment instead of Road Atlanta. This messed up lap data and times a bit, but none of that matters when your in the car on the track!

All in all, a good 1st day getting up to speed at Road Atlanta.

Monkey Wrenches On Day 2 At Barber Motorsports Park

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After hard rain most of the night the track had mostly dried out by the time we ran the first novice session on Sunday. The only point of caution was the potential for pooling water in the curbing. The first session of the day was really a warm up for me and the car. I got right back into the groove with the first monkey wrench of setting the car up in Sport+ instead of Sport mode. I had been hesitant to reduce the nannies but it turns out I had no need to worry.

After the first monkey wrench of switching the car to Sport+ in session 1, I threw another one in the mix. During the morning classroom session I talked with the instructor about shift points in 3 of the tricker places on the track (turns 1&2, 7&8 and 11&12). Most of this session was spent getting used to the new downshift points so I could apply what I learned in the classroom on the track.

The last monkey wrench thrown at my Sunday session was moving from Novice to Intermediate 1 so we could run with some faster cars. I was certainly nervous that I couldn’t hang but quickly realized I would be just fine. This session really helped with my track awareness as I was having to give a few point-by’s instead of waiting to receive one.

With all the monkey wrenches out of the way I was finally able to get my lap times below 1:50 and did my best lap of the weekend at 1:47.186. It felt good to be able to shave 3 seconds off my lap time with a few minor changes from my instructors.

The final session of the weekend confirmed that I could consistently put down some nice laps in the 1:47-1:48 range. Instead of pushing too hard after a long weekend, I was satisfied that the work on and off the track paid off this weekend and look forward to my next weekend at Barber.