Good morning, Race Fans!
Welcome back to the CSM paddock. This weekend is Round 3 of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and we are at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California. Because it’s such a beautiful area to visit, we came out a bit early. A day spent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and another spent with good friends driving the coastline were so enjoyable and relaxing; it's a perfect set up for the weekend.
Friday, 8:00 AM
Friday morning finds Morgan and Gordon suiting up and getting ready for Practice 1. That goes out at 9:10 am Pacific (12:10 pm Eastern). After that it’s a quick turn for Practice 2, going at 1:00 pm Pacific/(4:00 pm Eastern). We wrap up the day with Qualifying; our bit starts at 6:00 pm Pacific (9:00 pm Eastern).
Tomorrow we have the 2-hour race. It goes at 12:45 pm Pacific (3:45 pm Eastern). Watch that on YouTube or Peacock.
For today, it’s quite cool, lots of jackets and layers are on. Skies are hazy and overcast so between those two conditions, the Porsche should be quite happy on this very busy day. The team and drivers have worked hard to prepare for this event and we are excited to see what happens. Don’t forget you can watch live timing!
Friday 4:00 PM
Where this morning were low clouds and a threat of descending foggy mist, we now have clear blue skies and sunshine. Temperatures have advanced from around 50 up to 62 degrees. It is a supremely peasant and beautiful day!
We have 45 cars entered in Michelin Pilot (31 in the GS class). That’s three more than the number of pit boxes outlined and it makes both the circuit and the pit lane quite crowded. Each box was reduced by about a foot to squeeze in the extra spaces. This weekend, we are sharing a lot box with WeatherTech’s AO Racing, home of Rexy. While it is quite cramped, they have a very nice set up with lots of monitors and displays. I might actually see some of the racing this weekend!
As of now, both practice sessions are in the books. Along with the weather change, track conditions keep evolving as well. We have Mustang Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo as well as the WeatherTech cars playing this weekend. Each session puts down new layers of rubber on the track and that changes the amount of grip out there. It’s surprising how much of a difference the change from clouds to sun makes too. The track surface heats up very quickly when the clouds go away and that affects tire behavior right away.
Both Morgan and Gordon get happier and more comfortable with the handling as the two practice sessions roll forward. They trade places a few times, make a few set up tweaks and get good seat time with the track and the crowd. This weekend, with a full grid, getting long clean runs in is challenging. In addition to the sheer traffic volume, each one of those cars is working on a different part of their strategy. Ultimately, practice results often aren’t always a reliable indicator of qualifying or race results. We land in 24th in P1 and 22nd in P2, but all are pretty happy with the car and the performance so far.
Friday, 7:00 PM
We have about three hours to relax while the drivers and engineers review all the data and video. They figure out what baseline to use and discuss strategy for the qualifying session this evening. We have high hopes that all will go well. As usual, we only get 15 minutes for qualifying. It’s extra difficult to get a clean lap with 31 cars all going at it hard and maneuvering for the best runs possible. If only the driver could turn the traffic in front on or off to get the best use of draft and clean air, but no, you just get what you get and make the best of it. But this is not a video game. It’s so much harder and so much better! Gordon puts together a decent lap and qualifies in 18th for the start of the race tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday, 10:00 AM
This morning, the lovely cool and overcast weather conditions continue. Layers help a lot too, on if there’s a breeze, off if not. Even though the race isn’t until the afternoon, there’s still a lot to do. The drivers and team managers have a briefing this morning where they review procedures and expectations for the coming race. When Morgan and Gordon get back, it’s time for driver change practice. Very little changes from one event to the next, but the practice makes sure that every detail is correct so the change is smooth and quick. That includes the placement of belts, plugs, and safety nets and the order to connect each one.
11:30 AM - At last, it’s time to move to the grid for the fan walk. It’s amazing how many people are here this weekend! We can hardly see the cars at all with the crowds. Morgan and Gordon talk to fans and sign autographs for happy, excited fans. After an hour strolling along the pit lane, the fans gradually filter back into the paddock to find their preferred viewing spots and the teams line up for the pre-race ceremonies. It’s a solemn and thoughtful moment, charged with anticipation. Once the last notes of the anthem fade away, everyone scurries back to their pit boxes and the drivers take that last deep breath and focus before stating the engines.
Green Flag
It’s all in Gordon’s hands now. All we can do from the pit box is give him info he needs and keep him focused, but mostly leave him alone to work. If he stays clean during the first few laps, we’ll be ok. If we can make up spots from 18th, even better. We are starting with a fairly common 2-stop strategy, but we will adapt to whatever conditions throw at us as the race develops.
The front straight is all uphill from the final turn to the start/finish line where the green flag flies. The cars flash by in a roaring mob and disappear over the crest as they fall toward the tricky left hand Andretti Hairpin at Turn 2. There is a wide gravel trap out there waiting to catch anyone who has a misstep, but this time they all flow through well enough. As the field streams through the flattest and lowest part of the course, Gordon takes the inside line on the right for Turn 3. It’s a good thing too because he misses the stack up in the outside line where there’s a little bumping and someone spins. By the time they get to Turn 5, they have mostly gone to single file to begin the long climb up the hill. The circuit repeatedly bends to the left as it winds around the peak, finally reaching one of the most iconic turns in all of motorsport, The Corkscrew. This stomach-dropping plunge down and to the left is entirely blind and taken on faith that the road will be there to receive you. It twists and winds down the hill and only gets sort of flat again for a very brief moment before you see Pit In on the left just before the final corner where it all begins again. It only takes a short minute and a half to complete a lap.
Lap 2 isn’t even done before we get a full course caution. The safety crews need only 10 minutes to rescue the car that had mechanical problems that sent him off into that gravel trap where he rolled over. After only six laps under yellow, the green flag rises again to release the horsepower. But it doesn’t last long. It’s another yellow on Lap 12 for another rollover, this time on the approach to Turn 2. Those are uncommon enough, but two in one race is a lot! This one is due to contact between cars and it takes only another six laps to clear. Both drivers were uninjured because their race cars did their jobs to protect them.
Between good choices and good luck, we don’t get caught up in any messes early in the race. With so much yellow, we stretch Gordon’s stint to 56 minutes before another yellow flag period. Gordon got ten laps under green flag and is up to 14th when it comes out.
When the pits open for the GS cars, pretty much every team dives in to change drivers so the pit lane is busy and crowded. The crew executes a beautiful, clean and smooth stop, putting on four new tires and a full load of fuel. Morgan is on his way fast enough to jump six positions up to 8th! Awesome!
From there on lap 34, the instructions are to save fuel, mind the tires, take no big risks. Oh and go fast too. Morgan has 63 minutes to be patient and wait for opportunities to appear. It takes quite a while, but the race comes to us. Morgan makes moves when he needs to, and stays close to those in front. He makes a pass getting to 7th with 44 minutes to go and that’s a great move and a pretty good spot. We get help from errors by other drivers too. A penalty for another car on Lap 44 (40 minutes left), gives us 6th and we are even happier. With 35 minutes to go, Morgan makes another pass on Lap 47 and he has 5th! Fantastic! Another needs a splash of fuel and when he pits on lap 51 and 28 minutes to go, we have FOURTH!
We are Thrilled being in 4th! That would be a great finishing position. It’s a 7.4 second gap up to 3rd, and 4.3 seconds back to 5th. Now it’s certainly a maintenance race. This is where patience is the driver’s biggest asset. Keep a good steady pace that doesn’t burn too much fuel or over-stress the tires. It’s still a long way to go to the checkered flag. There’s still lots of time for things, both good and bad, to happen for everyone.
We watch the gap back to 5th grow and the gap to 3rd shrink oh so slowly. We don’t dare imagine getting another spot.
Only 5 minutes to go… That gap is still 5 seconds. We feel confident we have enough fuel, but maybe others will run short?
YES!!!! Third place pits last minute to get a splash of gas and we grab a Podium Spot!!!
Just two laps to go… hang on fuel and tires!!! The gap is 1.4 seconds to 2nd.
Last lap and the gap is down to 0.3 seconds. It takes a moment for the timing data to register, but then we see…
ONE MORE SPOT!!!! We Are Over The MOON!!
Morgan is in 2nd place!!
There is a quick burst of cheering, but he still has to bring it back around to the checkered flag. (You won’t see the pass in the coverage, but Morgan gets a real surprise when 2nd slows really early going into Turn 2. Morgan reacts fast to shoot around him.) We hold our breath and cross our fingers until Morgan crosses the finish line under the checkers in SECOND!! Then the real cheering and high fives begin.
THIS is why we come and work so hard every event. All that work between races shows in this performance. Clean, smart, smooth and error free. Beautiful! The podium celebration is wonderful and it feels like we won. The confetti flies, the champagne sprays, and the crowd reaches for hats tossed from the podium.
The pack up takes a little while to get started today. Instead, celebrations and pictures and lots of hugs and congratulations and appreciations take precedence. On a special note, our data engineer, Lily King, is graduating from college and moving on to a new job. She’s going out on a real high and we thank her for all her work with CSM. We hope she’ll be able to pop in again some race down the road. Congratulations Lily!
What an amazing weekend! We all are SO grateful for this CSM team. Everyone gives their all every time and today that hard work pays big! A day like this puts fuel into everyone’s tank to keep striving to do it all again.
And we rise to 6th in points! We are back in the championship hunt!
Can’t wait to do it again! Onward to Mid-Ohio!!!
Check out the Schedules.
Photo credits to Sasha Guinot, Jason Ramirez, Scott Brown, John Burkhard, Beth Burkhard.
