This past weekend was a unique experience! I was at the next stop for the IMSA Carrera Cup season, and for the first time, it was held in conjunction with the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
I continued my work with the JDX team, and specifically with Elias De La Torre, who is in his rookie year in the series. Miami wasn’t Elias’s first street circuit since the previous event was at Long Beach, where he had a compelling top-10 run going until a tire puncture in the final minutes of the race.
The Miami Grand Prix was nothing less than impressive. The setting was in and around the Hard Rock Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play. No expenses were spared for Formula 1—the track underwent a fresh repave after last year’s inaugural race, and the facility was immaculate.
The 3.3-mile track is not your typical street circuit, with two straightaways that allow the cars to stretch their legs, with speeds of up 165mph for the Carrera Cup competitors. The track has some very fast and flowing esses, but it also has a section with a tight, twisty layout and even a little elevation change!
One of the views from our track walk.
Practice got off to a good start. Despite the limited amount of access this track has on the simulator, we had done our homework to prepare prior to our arrival in Miami, and we did a detailed track walk once we were there.
Qualifying for Elias didn’t go as planned, which meant he was mid-pack for the start of the race. However, he put in quite the performance once the green flag dropped, moving up 14 positions to get inside the top 10. His 8th-place finish is his best of the year so far.
It was a very satisfying feeling for everyone, since we got to see Elias and the team overcome the qualifying issues to post such a great result in front of the huge Formula 1 crowd.
There were so many ups and downs for the JDX team during the weekend, but we’re focusing on the positives and pushing forward to the next event. This portion of the season gives us a chance to do some testing at the tracks we’ll be visiting next, which will only continue to accelerate Elias’s learning curve. Miami was quite the spectacle, and it was special being a participant at a Formula 1 event!
We were able to get an up-close look at the Formula 1 cars.
In addition to watching the Formula 1 teams work, we also got to watch pit stop practice.