Last week, I was back at Mid-Ohio for a third weekend in a row! This time, I got to enjoy working with Mark and Jordan Sandridge in their campaign in the International GT series.
The season has gone very well so far for both Mark and Jordan, who have been competing on a regular basis with the series and gaining performance every time out. This weekend was no different, except Jordan was actually racing a car new to him. Luckily, we had tested and gotten in practice time a couple weeks before with that car, which gave Jordan a big head start.
Our primary focus for the test was to get the new car dialed in and adjusted to the nuances of Mid-Ohio. The race weekend was all about optimizing race craft and continuing to evolve the car setup as conditions changed.
Mid-Ohio is such a technically demanding track, with all its undulating crests and corners that feed into the next. Luckily for Mark and Jordan, it’s their home track, so they have plenty of laps around there.
The series had a great size for the field, especially in the 992 Cup class, which is where Mark and Jordan compete. It made for some fantastic racing and very tight competition throughout the weekend. After qualifying, the top handful of cars were all within a tenth of a second of each other.
In the end, Mark came away with a couple of podium results in the sprint races, and Jordan had a strong result in the one-hour enduro on the final day. Overall, it was a successful event, and it was a lot of fun to be at their home track, since a lot of friends and family came out to support them.
We’re looking forward to the next race, which will be at Watkins Glen in July. I’m eager to go there, since it’s one of my favorite tracks on the calendar.