Stop #3 in the 2024 Hoosier Super Tour took us back to legendary Road Atlanta, our 3rd year in a row and crossing our fingers for at least not a mega thunderstorm, snow, or freezing temps? It didn’t pan out like that at all but one could dream, right???
Coming into the weekend, we had Ann Doherty going for her second race in her new-to-her Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car (991.2), Dave Orem in his BMW Z4M, Gama Aguilar in his Nissan 370Z and making his 2024 debut, Thad Berger in his Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR competing in Touring 1.
Road Atlanta: A Track Like No Other
Road Atlanta is a bucket-list track for racers worldwide. Nestled in the rolling hills of Braselton, Georgia, it’s known for its high-speed back straight away, technical corners, and dramatic elevation changes. The track demands respect and skill, as drivers navigate iconic sections like the Esses and the infamous Turn 12, a downhill blind corner that tests both bravery and car setup.
The track’s layout, with a mix of medium and high-speed corners, challenges a car’s balance and requires a careful blend of mechanical grip, aerodynamic efficiency (where applicable), and driver finesse. Long straights demand top-end power, while technical sectors, like Turns 3 through 5, test the setup and throttle control. Adding to the challenge, elevation changes require cars to manage weight transfer effectively, which puts additional emphasis on precise braking and cornering. This is a fun track, a scary track, and it requires drivers be on top of their game to get the most out of themselves and the car, with high consequences on the outside of most corners due to limited runoff.
The Wild Card: Mixed Weather Conditions
The weekend at Road Atlanta was a perfect example of how unpredictable weather can add another layer of complexity to motorsport. Cold mornings, sudden rain showers, drying lines, and gusty winds all made an appearance, pushing both cars and drivers to their limits.
From a car’s perspective, fluctuating weather conditions impact nearly every system:
- Tires: Tire pressures and compounds become critical as track temperatures rise or plummet. Wet or intermediate tires need careful management to avoid overheating on a drying line, while slicks can struggle to find grip on damp patches.
- Braking: Wet weather reduces braking efficiency and increases the likelihood of lock-ups, especially in high-speed zones like the run into Turn 10A and 10B.
- Aerodynamics: Strong winds can affect a car’s stability, especially in high-speed sections like the back straight. This requires drivers to stay vigilant and adjust their steering inputs accordingly.
- Traction and Balance: Mixed grip levels from a drying track demand precise throttle and steering inputs, as any abrupt movements can unsettle the car and lead to costly mistakes.
For drivers, preparation is key to handling these challenges. We as a team are glued to various weather services and adjust the approach based on the session’s conditions.
In wet conditions, smoothness is paramount—gentle braking, progressive throttle application, and careful steering are all necessary to maintain control. When the track begins to dry, drivers need to identify and exploit the developing racing line, where grip is highest, without overworking the tires (like we did last year, going on wet tires for what ended up being a mostly dry race).
Ann’s Focus: Learning and Feeling the Car
The goal for race 1 in her new car was simply to operate the car and start to acquaint herself with how the car drove; results were a non-variable. As we covered in the last race report for NOLA – mission accomplished! The biggest take-away Ann had from the first weekend was, this thing is a BEAST and without the driver aids of her former car (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport) her inputs had to be that much more precise, especially on brake release and throttle application.
At Road Atlanta, we moved to a second phase of learning the car. She knows how to operate the car and where all the switches and buttons are located, now it was time to start focusing on how the car truly feels. Specifically, how the car communicates weight transfer from side to side (how do we know when the car takes a set?), the balance of the car rear to front when hitting the brakes and most importantly, getting on that throttle.
Throttle application is critical for every corner but especially at Road Atlanta which is dominated by medium to high-speed corners (the slowest corners have a target min speed of 48-50 mph!) and multiple corners with a target min-speed of >70mph, how she applies throttle, even with some of those exits going into a hill-side, would be critical.
By focusing on her inputs throughout the test day, Ann got herself into a competitive window in the first qualifying session on Friday mid-day with a 1:28.743 and P6 out of 14 in GT2 – great start and knowing there was more potential waiting to be unlocked.
Saturday AM was supposed to be a second qualifying session but with a MAJOR storm rolling through Friday overnight, the track was fully wet and zero chance of anyone going faster than the day prior. Ann and most competitors took the session off to focus on the race which would end up taking place on a mostly dry and green track. Ann had a great start to the race, losing one out-of-class position on lap 1 and holding her own through the first FCY of the race. With the cars packed back up for the restart, she lost positions trying to avoid contact and started picking her way through the field and battling an out-of-class Porsche GT3 Cup Car (running in GT1).
Multiple FCY’s ended up stopping competitors from getting into a flow and after another re-start, she got on throttle just a bit too aggressively and ended up having the rear end of the car come around on her. It also didn’t help that there was clay mud all over the exit curbs from the weather throughout the weekend.
Ann gathered herself up, got back on the track and finished in 9th place. Lots more learned and Ann is ready to keep figuring out her Cup Car at VIR!
Dave’s Focus: Better Feel for the BMW Z4M
This would be Dave’s second race weekend in his Touring 3 2023 SCCA National Championship winning car. Dave started cutting his teeth on the Z4M at Sebring but mixed weather conditions and adjusting to car that is not as heavily prepared as a Spec E46 on the drivetrain front, meant that Dave would need to focus hard on those heel-toe downshifts to maintain the car balance as he entered corners.
Dave put his head down and started chipping away at the lap time qualifying P12 but unfortunately the ear on the rear diff cover had enough. The ear failed which started causing harsh clunking/vibrations and while we were able to locate another diff cover, it wouldn’t arrive on time for Dave to make the race.
Big Bummer for Dave but on the bright side and as preview for a future post, this was the straw that broke the camels back. Dave left the paddock determined to learn to heel-toe downshift and leave these issues behind.
Stay tuned for the lengths and efforts Dave went to become a heel-toe master downshifter!
Thad’s Unfortunate Debut
Due to scheduling conflicts, this was Thad’s first race of the season and after an off-season of sim training and building off an incredible driving experience at the previous year’s June Sprints, Thad was ready to hit the asphalt hard!
On the test day, Thad went out for the first session to just shake the dust off himself and the car. Thad came back with smiles and starting to feel it as his best lap time of the session was already near the front of the mid-pack T1 pace that we expected for the weekend! Let’s go!
Second practice session and towards the end of the session, another car loses control coming down the back straight away collecting Thad and causing significant damage to the passenger side of the car.
Thankfully, all safety systems worked properly and Thad walked away from the incident without injury. The Porsche Cayman GT4 MR will need significant repairs and will likely be the last we see the car for at least the 2024 season.
Gama’s Focus: Touring 3 Maximum Results
Quite the race weekend already, right??? For Gama, the focus was on continuing to develop the car by ensuring that we didn’t see anymore the electrical issues and fine tuning the braking system.
The car felt okay through the test sessions leading up to the qualifying sessions but the brake release continued to not feel great, especially when we got into mixed conditions. This meant that I couldn’t attack really any braking zones so the goal was to get up front and stay up front so that I didn’t have to get into too many out-braking duels.
Welp, that plan didn’t pan out too well. haha! Ended up P2 in the Qualy 1 session and P1 in Qualy 2 session, but combined and overall across both qualifying sessions, I’d start race 1 in P3 overall, behind Simon Foweather (Spec E46 in T3) and a Ford Mustang in T2 (out of class car).
Below is a link to a compilation of what would end up being nearly all our green flag running across both races. Each race had multiple FCY incidents where the net result was a P2 in Race 1 and P3 in Race 2. Race 1 started in wet conditions and eventually got to mixed, so it was a game of traction and requiring full wet tires.
Race 2 was full dry but due to the FCY, we simply didn’t have enough green flag laps for anyone to get into a groove and show any sustainable pace.
Was a bummer to not be standing on the top step when we believed the car had the potential and just needed more green flag laps. But all things considered, it’s still a double podium weekend in very tricky conditions, at a fun but dangerous track, and the car is one piece. #grateful