Hello from Wisconsin, Race Fans!
It's the first day of August. Today finds us with a most agreeable respite from the brutal summer heat sweltering at home. The north wind has brought temperatures only in the mid 70's to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin where the Road America 120 runs on Saturday.
This weekend is Round 7 of IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Morgan and Gordon partner again in CSM’s Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 RS Clubsport #67. The red/white/black livery with blue mirrors remains. Each week, it gets easier to pick it out quickly. Watch the race either on Peacock or YouTube.
THURSDAY NOTES:
The track walk is a vital part of driver preparation for an event. This is the one chance they get to take a slow lap and really absorb the details of the circuit. They find the sight lines and visual cues they'll need to see at speed. They also discuss various approaches to the turns in different scenarios. Are they chasing and looking to make a pass? Are they ahead and running some defense against pursuers? If they are solo, what's the ideal line through the section? It's a lot of fun to watch that discussion because they all use their hands and bodies to describe the motion of the cars. Usually, the track walk is the last thing on the schedule for load-in day and it's usually walking only, no wheels allowed. Road America is different this year. This time, it's at 11:00 AM and best of all, they get to use a golf cart. After all, Road America is 4.048 miles long with 14 turns (that mostly are fast) and the officials need to be sure everyone gets to finish their laps well before the first hot sessions begin.
FRIDAY NOTES:
We arrive at the gate really early today. Like really early. The sun is still low on the horizon (and very orange). Mist pools in the hollows. People laugh and hug and catch up with each other. It is a special time to reconnect before the crews start gently waking up the race cars and getting them ready to go play. The team is excited and optimistic and it feels like it’s going to be a good weekend.
We do a lot today. We start with Practice 1 going out at 8:00. Then Practice 2 goes at 12:40. We wrap up the day with qualifying at 6:15 tonight. It’s a super long day - this is a sprint weekend for the crew. It helps that everyone is comfortable here at Road America so we are hopeful for clean sessions and good results.
So much to see! The route between our paddock and the pit lane is a visual cacophony of colors and patterns with the crowds of people and the bright, eye-catching liveries on the cars. Everyone tries to stand out so cars and crews can find each other easily. It also makes the cars photogenic for the specatators.
At this track, the midway with food vendors and merchandise booths is surrounded on three sides by the paddock. Further, the grid entrance is in the middle of the midway so the race cars have to travel right through the crowds of fans to get there. It’s yet another chance for them to be close to the cars. And there certainly are more spectators this year. The viewing areas (and Road America has a lot of really good spots) are all full too.
There are so many people walking in the paddock but it's easy to tell the difference between the groups. Members of teams are mostly clad in shades of black, usually in long pants, with headsets, radios and gloves. Often there are several of them together bustling about their work. Spectators look very different. Their attire is in all varieties of color and coverage and they stroll with cameras, cups, and bags of souvenirs in hand. They enjoy the glory and beauty of the cars and are fascinated by the crews at work. (Honestly, who isn't fascinated by this feast for the senses?)
But the biggest difference between the groups is situational awareness. The team people have an extra sense for traffic and they don’t step in front of it. Spectators carry more sensory overload because they aren’t as used to the chaos of the paddock. Everyone needs to be heads up because carts and tuggers zip around, rushing on their errands. Add to that all the race cars, either driving or being towed, most of which need lots of room to maneuver, and it gets quite chaotic and crowded, especially when cars head to the grid or come off the track at the end of the session. When you come to a race (and you really should some time), keep your eyes open and watch your step while you explore.
The Pit Lane: While the actual pit lane where the cars come in, stop for service, and go out again is three very generous lanes wide, the space for the pit boxes is quite narrow - just about equal to one of the traffic lanes. It is jam packed with spare bodywork for WeatherTech cars, stacks of tires, more carts loaded with tires, fuel jugs and drums, countless toolboxes, and shelving for gear, drinks and more stuff. So much equipment is needed, that there is yet more of it stacked up on the paddock side of the fence. And then there are the people: the crews (including those for our series overlapping with those from the previous series on track and the next), firemen, Michelin tire staff, IMSA officials, drivers, and VIP’s. They are all hustling along while simultaneously trying to stay out of the way. Keep an eye out and don't trip on power cables, hoses to run air wrenches and jacks, or tie downs that keep the tall pit structures anchored in the event of winds.
Practice 1 Results:
We come out of Practice 1 with the car in 13th place. Morgan has a
quicker lap, but it is invalidated by going outside the track limits at
Turn 1. It’s all paved out there beyond the rumble strip so the grip is
adequate and there is no drama when doing it.
Practice 2 Results: The mid-day Practice 2 yields better times for us. Morgan spends much of his stint with the car in 2nd place, barely a whisker off the top spot. Gordon’s times in his stint steadily improve too. We end up in 5th when a couple of other cars lay down burners (very best efforts) right at the end of the session.
Qualifying Results: At the very end of the day we finally get to qualifying. The sun is low and shadows are long. Gordon has the wheel for this session. He is ready. He keeps getting quicker almost every lap. By the end, we are 9th, with the #2 sister car right ahead of us. The top three were noticeably ahead, but the next 12 cars (including 4 in the TCR class) are all within just one second of each other. This is a tight field. With so many so close together that means there is a lot of opportunity to advance in the opening stage of tomorrow’s race, but it does come with risk. This evening, the team and drivers will work out the strategies to use in a variety of cases.
Once the cars are back under the tent, there is little for the crew to do beyond the typical post race check up and tidy up. Everyone will be able to enjoy and good night’s sleep before we are back again in the morning.
SATURDAY NOTES:
It’s Race Day! The cars have had their rest and are all shiny and ready to play. The drivers and crews also have rested and are keen to get going. The energy in the paddock is supremely positive in the morning. Little is needed to get the cars ready to go to the grid leaving plenty of time to socialize. The families and friends of many team members have the opportunity to share this event so there are lots of extra excited people around to join the experience.
This looks to be the warmest day of the weekend. Up to now, we have enjoyed pleasantly cool and lovely breezes, keeping both people and cars cool and comfy. Today is forecast for about 80 degrees. Thankfully, the humidity is falling rapidly as the sun clears it away. This is pretty good weather for August!
Grid Walk: When we get to the grid walk, there are so many people that the cars all lined up are hard to see. So much upbeat, positive energy. Just incredible. The marching drum band spurs interest and buzz as they come down the pit lane towards us and put on an invigorating and impressive performance right next to us. An enormous crowed collects around our pit box watching the band and awaiting the next act. We have a special treat! This weekend, Morgan’s car and crew get to perform the fan favorite pit stop demonstration! That is done right in our pit box during the fan walk. This lets the crowd see what really happens when the car comes into the pits. We have rehearsed and are ready. The IMSA official introduces the crew and describes what's about to happen. The crowd does the count down and with the lollipop, John signals the crew to jump into action. We change all four tires, do a driver change, and simulate a full fuel fill. It is clean and quick and we are psyched to do it again in the race! Check it out on Instagram. We also have some fun with the Michelin Man!
The Race: The broadcast for the 2-hour race goes green at 2:00 central (3:00 eastern) this afternoon. You can watch the race either on Peacock or YouTube. Everyone is feeling good and we are hopeful for a good race today. Jump on board!!
Now it's time to roll the car into its grid spot and reset the pit box for the real show. Lots of fans come meet the drivers, get an autograph and wish them luck. They have someone they've actually met to root for now! Once the fans clear the grid, things move quickly through the invocation and anthem. It feels like only moments before we are all back behind the wall and the engines fire up to get the pace laps underway.
The race starts well enough for us, but it it's apparent right away that this is going to be a gloves off aggressive race across both classes and all the drivers from the drop of the green flag. There's a yellow before the end of the first lap when several cars get together coming out of Turn 2. With broken suspension, some of them don't get going again. That brings out a full course yellow. It's early enough in the race that the pits stay closed. We go back to green about 10 minutes into the race, but less than 5 minutes later, we are back under full course yellow again for an incident in the TCR class. This time, the pits open up so it's not until 30 minutes into the race that we go green once again.
All three of CSM’s cars are are in the top ten, holding position and keeping it clean through the first third of the race. Still, watching the behavior and trends, it is a real nail biter trying to see if we’ll get through it all. Ten minutes later, it's back to yellow for the 3rd time. Ordinarily, this would be when driver changes get done, but this is a short yellow (another 10 minutes) and the pits stay closed. With nearly half the running time so far under yellow, everyone saves a lot of fuel. All the teams are weighing the factors and reevaluating the strategy and potentially this may be just a one-stop race. We get another 9 minutes of green flag before the next yellow.
Unfortunately,
that yellow is because Gordon had a shunt. It is only about 5 minutes
before we'd planned the driver change. Even though it happens in the
kink - arguably one the most feared turns in North America because it
has a tendency to really break cars - Gordon is quick enough with the
wheel to make the car spin around further and minimize the damage. He manages to scrape the right side of the car instead of smacking
the rear (engine end) of the car. But it does end our session before
Morgan has his stint in the race.
Despite that, we again have many positives to take away from the weekend. The car gets better every time and the drivers like it more every time. The trends for pace and handling are really good. We always have a great time with the CSM team. We are again optimistic for the next event at Virginia International Raceway. It’s another 2-hour race on August 23.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Are you coming to see Morgan race live at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Virginia on August 23? You know you want to! If so, or even if you can't make it in person, you need your Morgan Burkhard merch, right? At long last Morgan Burkhard Racing's online shop is open! We have a few items available now, with more coming later on.
Also, don't forget to get your tickets for the race from VIR's website.
On Saturday afternoon, the grid walk opens at 1:35 (don't miss it) and
the race goes green at 2:20 PM. The VIR weekend also includes several
series in addition to Michelin Pilot Challenge for lots of exciting and
close racing. Come early and hang around later to catch the WeatherTech
GTD and GTD Pro classes, Mazda MX5 Cup, Mustang Challenge, and VP Racing
SportsCar Challenge.
Road America Bonus Story
I like to bake. Fortunately, racing wqith a big team like CSM gives me a marvelous opportunity to bake a lot of cookies for each event to bring a little treat and some smiles to the whole team. After Mosport, one of the car chiefs let it slip that he had a birthday to celebrate during the Road America weekend. Naturally, that opened the door to expand the baked goodies to include birthday cupcakes. When I noted that I'm not great at fancy decorations, he responded that it didn't matter what it looked like, it could even look like poop, as long as it was good buttercream frosting he'd be more than happy. Challenge accepted! The cupcakes were swirled with chocolate buttercream adorned with little sugar googly eyes. You know what they looked like! They were very well enjoyed and provided lots of laughter!
