This past week I was at Mid-Ohio for the first time this season, working with Mark and Jordan Sandridge at their home track as they prepare for the upcoming International GT race there in just a couple of short weeks.
We got lucky with the weather, and despite some rain showers early on the first day, things cleared up, and we got some good runs in that afternoon, followed by an absolutely gorgeous second day.
It was an extremely beneficial test. Not only was it a chance for Mark and Jordan to refamiliarize themselves with the track, but also, Jordan will be campaigning a car new to him moving forward, and he got to turn his first laps ever in the car.
The advantage of Jordan’s move is that it now allows the team to have two identical cars, so we can work on setup with one car and transfer the information to the other, and vice versa. That really helps us move forward faster.
By the end of the second day of the test, after a tremendous amount of laps, both drivers were in a very confident and competitive place. I was so impressed with the gains they had made in their performance. It was a lot of fun to come away with so much success from the test, and I’m excited for the momentum it gives them heading into their Mid-Ohio race event.
Before IGT hits the track, though, this coming weekend is IMSA’s turn at Mid-Ohio. That means I’ll be heading back there for the next round of the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series. The series has taken quite a long break since the last event, and I know that all the drivers and teams are eager to get the summer stretch underway.
The cadence of the races picks up from here all the way through season’s end, and it’s still wide open in terms of championship points, though we have seen some new names emerge as contenders in recent races. The points battle is just heating up!