Emerging Out Of The Fog and Onto The Podium

Back with Hicks Motorsports

With this being my first West Coast race since 2024, it meant that I had the opportunity to reunite with Hicks Motorsports. This would be our first Spec MX-5 race together and first race with them since I won the NASA SoCal Spec Miata and Teen Mazda Challenge Championships in 2024. Back at the track after a break and seeing so many familiar faces was a reminder of what makes racing special and why we do this.

Fog Delays

This seemed to be the common theme of the weekend. On Friday we lost more than half of the day’s running due to extreme fog that was not safe to drive in. Visibility was near zero.

Finally On Track

Friday’s on-track running was a bit of a joke. Only 3 sessions, and on top of that, we had 2 red flags. As a result, we only got in 20 laps for the day and most of those, I was stuck in traffic for.

Unknowns

Given the lack of running on Friday, we truly didn't know where we were pace wise amongst all the other SMX cars. While the car felt good and I felt good with my driving, I had no idea how we were actually performing.

Only 1 Qualifying Session

On Saturday the fog continued and both the final practice session and Race 1 were canceled. As a result, we only get 1 qualifying session for the entire weekend. I ended up P4, a second off of pole position. Following the session I had a very long debrief with the team and we made some big changes to the car for the race.

A Great Turn Around

The next morning, on Sunday, the extreme fog continued, and as predicted, Qualifying 2 was canceled. Lining up P4 for Race 1, I knew the start would be everything. The car felt great on the formation lap and I knew we would be a lot closer. I had a great reaction and was already up to P3 before Turn 1.

Holding On

The setup change from Saturday night found us 7 tenths of a second. This was a significant step forward, but still not quite enough to fight for the win. The safety car soon came out and I misjudged the restart and lost a full second. As the tires got hotter and hotter I kept fighting the car and was losing more and more pace.

Fight For 3rd

Once the leaders were out of sight, I had to defend for 3rd place. I ended up holding my spot and crossing the finish line in 3rd. While I was disappointed not to be fighting for the win, this was a huge step forward from last year.

The Grind Continues

Overall, this was a great weekend. We found our weaknesses and are finally close to being at the very front. Now it’s time to keep pushing and come back even stronger for the first round of the Super Tour in February!