This past weekend was a wet and wild SRO World Challenge event at Circuit of the Americas. After the Mazda MX-5 Cup event in St. Pete, I hustled to Austin to help wrap up a test with the Forbush Performance team. We had a very productive test and felt great about our progress going into the SRO weekend.
Matt Forbush and his co-driver Damon both got not only valuable seat time prior to the race but also continued to gain experience with their step up into the Supra GT4 platform. With close to 40 GT4 cars in the race, it was quite the impressive sight!
To add to the challenge, heavy rainstorms persisted throughout the weekend, which made for an additional learning curve for both drivers. Ultimately, they kept their car clean and came away with a lot more experience as well as a lot of hunger to continue making progress.
The other part of the Forbush Performance team is made up of two Touring Car entries. Caleb Bacon and Luke Rumberg are the two drivers piloting the team’s Hyundais. This is Caleb’s second season in this class, and because he started last year at just 15 years old, he has been on a fast learning curve and making rapid progress.
Now that Caleb has another year of car racing under his belt, his approach, experience, and maturity have all progressed. It was really apparent throughout the weekend. Not only did Caleb grab the pole position in the rain, but he also went on to win both races: one in the wet and one on a drying racetrack. It wasn’t as straightforward as it sounds, with a tight battle for the lead. Caleb showed a lot of maturity in his approach to getting to the top of the podium.
The event was also a testament to good teamwork between Caleb and Luke. We compared data between the two drivers, and it was a classic opportunity for both drivers to learn things from each other in different portions of the track. Those aspects ranged from things like gear selection to driving technique, and their shared knowledge helped them put together a successful weekend.
I’m excited for the entire Forbush Performance team in both the GT4 and Touring Car categories, especially as Matt’s experience continues to develop and Caleb is on his way to being a championship contender.