A Great Start, Until It Wasn’t

A weekend that could have been, 2 races, 2 DNFs

Walking away from VIR with zero points and not even a race finish is brutal, but that’s racing sometimes. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

A Rough Start

Friday’s practice day was a disaster, with only 3 laps total across all 3 sessions. We lost a battery connection after 1 lap in Session 1, which ended the session early. Not a big deal, but with limited time, it cost us that session. Session 2 was red flagged after 1 lap due to a crash, and Session 3 was red flagged after 1 lap due to oil on track. Other drivers’ misfortune turned into ours, leaving us with no practice. This meant we were going straight into qualifying with zero practice.

In qualifying, I was on my fast lap when I got held up through the first four turns, costing me about 9 tenths. That put me P16 for Race 1.

Race 1 and Race 2

Race 1 started great as I climbed all the way to P9. But after just 3 laps, my engine lost significant power, and I quickly fell back. With no working radio communication, I decided to retire the car out of an abundance of caution.

With the team, we worked to find a fix for the second qualifying session, but couldn’t come up with anything. Before Race 2, we found out that cylinders 1 and 2 were down 50 psi on compression compared to cylinders 3 and 4. That meant damage we could not fix at the track.

Starting Race 2 P17, I knew I would be down on power, so I used it as an opportunity to get some seat time. I quickly fell back and then felt the brake pedal go soft when the safety car came out. Once again, with limited radio communication, I decided to retire the car.

Great Instincts

That turned out to be the right call. The top brake caliper pin sheared off, the caliper was loose, and the inner pad flew off. One more lap and I would have had a catastrophic brake failure.

Looking Ahead

Weekends like this are brutal, but the reality is it could have been so much worse. So for that, I am grateful. Just over 2 weeks until we are back. Redemption time at Hallett with everyone at X-Factor Racing.