I spent the later part of the holiday weekend at Circuit of the Americas in preparation for the Carrera Cup finale, which will take place during the Formula 1 weekend there in October. It’s always exciting to race with such a prestigious group. It will actually be the second time this season Carrera Cup has raced with F1, since we were with them at Miami in the spring.
The weather at COTA was—as expected—hot, with triple-digit temperatures on tap. We hope and expect it will be cooler when we’re back for the race. The Apex testing organization adjusted their running schedule around the weather, starting at 7am before track conditions got well beyond what we’ll be running in when we come back in October. (In the afternoons, track temperatures were over 130 degrees, some of the hottest I’ve ever seen recorded!)
We emphasized running in the morning, which were the most relevant conditions for us. It was kind of fun to be testing right at sunrise!
For the JDX team, it was a very productive couple of days. More specifically, it was one of the most successful tests Elias De La Torre has had, not only from a pace standpoint but also in how his experience in the car is really showing. He is continually progressing throughout each event we do, with never a sign of a plateau. This is really exciting as we go into the races next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Elias at an all-time high in his driving experience.
Next week’s visit to Indy will be the first time IMSA has been to those hallowed grounds since 2014. It will be a big sports car weekend there, with nearly all of the IMSA series competing.