What a crazy week! Last week, I talked about how prepared and focused I felt for the IMSA week at Sebring, and I truly feel like it’s the most prepared I’ve been for an event in a long time. But, of course, fate can have a funny twist on things.
On Thursday, I only drove a handful of laps in the Forbush Performance Supra GT4 during Michelin Pilot Challenge practice, thanks to rain during practice one and a fuel pump issue during practice two. Luke Rumberg handled qualifying, and he did a terrific job, giving us 11th on the starting grid for Friday’s race.
Luke got up to sixth during the race, but on a restart, a bump in turn 17 sent him against the tire wall. He continued, but the contact affected the radiator, and the car began to overheat. We had to retire, which meant my few practice laps were the only laps I got in that car.
The Forbush Performance team was dialed in for our Michelin Pilot race, and it was fantastic having CMR special guests trackside with us!
On Thursday morning, before the Michelin Pilot race, we had WeatherTech practice in our Racers Edge Acura NSX. The team had put in a fresh engine from Honda, so we were feeling really good, but unfortunately, an unexpected turbo issue kept us in the pits for most of morning practice. The team turned down the boost so we could participate in practice two, and by that evening, the team had completely replaced the turbo system, which meant Ashton Harrison was able to get some valuable night practice.
Since Kyle Marcelli qualified for us and Ashton drove during night practice, I literally only got a handful of laps in the car before the race! Sound familiar? But that’s okay, because, like I said earlier, I had showed up prepared! Plus, we all got plenty of seat time during the race.
The team was flawless with pit stops and strategy during the entire 12 Hours of Sebring. Ashton’s performance in her debut WeatherTech race was phenomenal. Ashton’s preparation, determination and execution all came together in the race. It was a really proud moment to be able to share a race with her as co-drivers and to see her perform at the level she did.
Teammates at last!
With our limited practice time, we really had to sacrifice our finite dialing-in of the setup, but we were able to persevere. There had also been a plan to install a driver cooling system, but with the turbo issue, the team didn’t have a chance to install it. (After all, getting the car working right was the priority!) It got up to 140 degrees inside the cockpit! Luckily, we had cold water to drink.
In the end, our Racers Edge/Wayne Taylor Racing NSX finished eighth in GTD Pro. We had a clean race car at the end of 12 hours, and everyone involved with the program deserves huge kudos for such a great performance, especially under such challenging circumstances.
The support by Harrison Contracting was incredible!
I’m really grateful for the competitive program Harrison Contracting put together and invited me to be a part of. I was excited to be back in WeatherTech competition. Of course, I’m disappointed the week didn’t go as we’d planned, but that’s what we call a “character building experience” and one that makes me push harder the next time around. (And you can bet I’ll be just as prepared when that “next time” comes!)
No dents after the race, but lots of bugs!