Last Friday was mays ARDC private practice at SMSP. The group of usuals is slowly growing and we now have enough people to fill a 4 car garage each month. I really encourage anyone wanting to try SMSP to do it! It's an amazing track!
This practice was the first with the new wing on the car. I decided to test both wings on the day and see how the new wing affected drag/downforce. The morning sessions were run with the old type 1 and around lunch time I swapped over to the new type 7.5.
The morning sessions were the usual. Spent time getting tyre pressures correct and finding my groove in the first session. Second session I got a couple of 48s and high a high 47. Third session I got a 1:47.3 which equaled my PB from the last practice. The 1:47.3 this time around felt like an average lap though compared to last time so I knew I could definitely beat my PB in the afternoon sessions.
On went the wing and man oh man what a difference! Not sure if it was just the wing, the placebo of having a bigger wing and pushing harder or a combination of both but instantly In the fast corners I felt like I could just keep pushing the car! And that's what I did. Each lap I would just brake later, carry more speed, accelerate out earlier and the car kept going. I was finding speed everywhere!
Straight away I got a 1:47.1 followed by a 1:46.4 and at that point I was .1 off achieving my long term SMSP goal. The car felt amazing in the high speed stuff but the slower corners I was suffering from a fair bit of push understeer. Still the car was performing well.
For the next session I went out with the sole purpose of finding that .2 and achieving my goal. Another 1:47.1 then bam I pulled out a great lap and went 1:45.6!! I smashed my goal and my PB! I was ecstatic! Still it felt like the car had more in it though.
The last session was going so well. I pushed my hardest into T1 without touching the brakes and went through at 190km/h! I put in a good 2nd sector and was a whole 1sec up on my 1:45 lap before I lost the rear on the last turn coming onto the straight and spun
A 1:44 wasn't meant to be that day but I know the cars more than capable!
Still by the end of the day I had a new PB and had smashed my 5 year goal at SMSP. The new wing was doing wonders. 15km/h up through T1, 9km/h up in T4, 12km/h up at T7 and 10km/h up at T11. All while not affecting my speeds down the straight. I'd call that a win/win!
Here's the lap!
And some pictures. Thanks to jono for the amazing picture of me heading out for the final session.
Sent from my VTR-L09 using Tapatalk
This practice was the first with the new wing on the car. I decided to test both wings on the day and see how the new wing affected drag/downforce. The morning sessions were run with the old type 1 and around lunch time I swapped over to the new type 7.5.
The morning sessions were the usual. Spent time getting tyre pressures correct and finding my groove in the first session. Second session I got a couple of 48s and high a high 47. Third session I got a 1:47.3 which equaled my PB from the last practice. The 1:47.3 this time around felt like an average lap though compared to last time so I knew I could definitely beat my PB in the afternoon sessions.
On went the wing and man oh man what a difference! Not sure if it was just the wing, the placebo of having a bigger wing and pushing harder or a combination of both but instantly In the fast corners I felt like I could just keep pushing the car! And that's what I did. Each lap I would just brake later, carry more speed, accelerate out earlier and the car kept going. I was finding speed everywhere!
Straight away I got a 1:47.1 followed by a 1:46.4 and at that point I was .1 off achieving my long term SMSP goal. The car felt amazing in the high speed stuff but the slower corners I was suffering from a fair bit of push understeer. Still the car was performing well.
For the next session I went out with the sole purpose of finding that .2 and achieving my goal. Another 1:47.1 then bam I pulled out a great lap and went 1:45.6!! I smashed my goal and my PB! I was ecstatic! Still it felt like the car had more in it though.
The last session was going so well. I pushed my hardest into T1 without touching the brakes and went through at 190km/h! I put in a good 2nd sector and was a whole 1sec up on my 1:45 lap before I lost the rear on the last turn coming onto the straight and spun
A 1:44 wasn't meant to be that day but I know the cars more than capable!
Still by the end of the day I had a new PB and had smashed my 5 year goal at SMSP. The new wing was doing wonders. 15km/h up through T1, 9km/h up in T4, 12km/h up at T7 and 10km/h up at T11. All while not affecting my speeds down the straight. I'd call that a win/win!
Here's the lap!
And some pictures. Thanks to jono for the amazing picture of me heading out for the final session.
Sent from my VTR-L09 using Tapatalk
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