Hello, Race Fans!
THURSDAY NOTES:
Once again, Morgan has only driven at Watkins Glen International in the sim so it’s important to get some real laps in before the weekend event begins in earnest tomorrow. So far, he’s loving it with the fast flowing turns, swooping elevation change, and fun technical challenges.
Look for Morgan in the red and black Apple Motorsports Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, #27 this weekend, again with the most excellent support of Mike Amy and Dog Gone Racing. Here are your links and session times for all three days.
- Friday Qualifying scheduled for 2:45 PM Eastern
- Saturday Race 1 scheduled for 10:55 AM Eastern
- Sunday Race 2 scheduled for 9:50 AM Eastern
FRIDAY NOTES:
We had an easy lunch today. Peanut butter, strawberry jam, a bit of salty/crunchy and some fresh strawberries. Now, since everything is ready to go, we simply wait until it’s time for the circus’s next act. He goes out again at 2:45 Eastern. The YouTube stream will be active!
Qualifying: That’s a wrap on Friday! The qualifying session went down very fast. Or at least it felt like it. Laps take a wee bit over two minutes and it takes a little while to reset the internal lap timer so that I instinctively know when Morgan should come into view. Once the clock in my head is set properly, I can get a good feel for what is a good lap and when he’s a little slower. Often traffic makes it slower, or perhaps a little bobble. A good draft makes the lap time quicker - we like that!
After the session, the top drivers hang around in impound while a few things are checked for compliance. It’s fun to watch them talk because they all use their hands and bodies to describe the feel of the cars through the various sections of the track. Morgan is very happy with his 4th place grid spot for tomorrow’s race. Even with the little end piece on the muffler parting ways with the car, costing him a little straight line speed, his time for the day was quite good.
Tonight brings pizza in the paddock for dinner followed by the fire pit and s’mores. We hang around with friends and family, share stories, and enjoy the company. This is a good day at the race track! Looking forward to the race tomorrow morning, we go out at 10:55 AM Eastern.
SATURDAY NOTES:
Race 1 at WGI is in the books. Much warmer, and much less windy today. Still beautiful. A driver can imagine a hundred different ways to run a race, but the only thing that is certain is that none of them will materialize exactly as imagined. It’s still a useful exercise because you may have to use bits and pieces of many of those plans as the race progresses.
Morgan ran as high as 3rd and finished 5th. This is a really fast track and the draft here is different from other places. He’s doing his homework tonight and hopefully will be better tomorrow. Times weren’t faster in the race than they were in qualifying yesterday so I believe that tomorrow’s grid will be the same as today’s. He should start 4th again tomorrow. Pop into the YouTube tomorrow by 9:50 AM Eastern.
SUNDAY NOTES:
This was a wonderful race! While Morgan did not stand on the podium today (he finished 5th), he did drive a very strong race. He started 4th, ran as low as 6th and as high as 1st. It’s staying up there that is the very tricky part. This place is all about the draft and every lap was a new lesson. Morgan is happy with his performance and learned quite a lot as usual.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The carnies have nearly packed up the last of the rides. Soon the SCCA circus will be on the road again, but next week, Morgan will rejoin the IMSA circus that is back at Mid-Ohio on Wednesday for Michelin Pilot Challenge. Look for updates on that coming soon. Cheers!