Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen 2023 was probably one of the hardest events I have ever undertaken. As a driver making your WeatherTech debut in a prototype is physically and mentally stressful enough, but to add to it I still had engineering duties to fulfill on the MLT front and in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Paddock. The start of the weekend was flat out with practice and qualifying for the #30 ANSA Lamborghini Hurracan EVO 2. We battled pretty hard on and off the track with that program, and it ultimately paid off with a podium overall in Race two with Nico Jamin and Sebastien Saavedra driving.
One of the harder parts of the event was the paddock layout, between the trailers, catering, and pit lane I was putting in at least five miles per day with laptops in hand. A golf cart would normally be the solution, but due to the large crowds now gathering for IMSA weekends, walking is the fastest and most reliable means of paddock travel (this is a great problem, not a complaint). Aside from the running around, we had a few late nights on the setup pad and digging through data to find some speed that had gone missing on both programs from each last respective running at Watkins. Not a lot of the drivers in the paddock were putting in 14-hour days at the track.
On the driving front practice was stressful in a good way, I was tasked with shaking down the car and making the initial setup changes. We were making good progress relative to the field with their pros in and just as we were getting into some substantial changes the rains came. Between rain and red flags both practice sessions were shorter than they should have been. It is definitely a daunting task to get up to speed with how traffic works in just two practice sessions as everyone is constantly in and out of pit lane on their own programs.
Race day was an early start for morning Warm-up, and then a quick data debrief session in the office on fuel rig performance and pit stop planning. Jason rabe took the start in the car, while I sat on the stand and called the first two stops before getting in.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a photo of it, but once we hit the minimum drive time threshold I was fully suited up with my helmet on while plugged in to the stand intercom. I called my own pit stop to jump in and assume driving duties.
My first stint’s pace was there but I got pushed around in traffic a bit. I could see it in my heart rate data, nerves and readjusting to wheel-to-wheel racing, all in the most competitive 6 Hour field in history took me a stint to settle in. I had to remind myself after the race that I had not been in a professional race in over two years. My second stint did not start great as we had a TPMS sensor fail and cause a puncture. After recovering from this we were three laps down and I was tasked with pushing on to try to regain a lap before handing over to Stevan McAleer.
On the stop I jumped out and went over the wall to recover before getting back on the timing stand. Race day was significantly warmer than it had been all week and to add to it our drink bottle failed in my first stint. After twenty to thirty minutes of cooling down and getting fluids back in me, I was back behind my laptop to ensure we executed the rest of the race despite being laps down.
It was great being back behind the wheel, and I am working for the driving side of my work to be more regular than once every couple of years. I will be back on timing stands, engineering, and coaching around the IMSA and SRO paddocks for the rest of the season.