;)
Yesterday's race at Homestead was an absolute MONSOON. It rained all morning and all through the race, including all day on Saturday, so the ground was so drenched that the water on the race track had nowhere to really go, and was flooding quite badly. But, it was the same for everyone, so whatever - let's race!
Since qualifying was canceled the day before we were gridded off of championship points, which meant Ed was starting in 15th position. Ed's mere few years of racing experience hadn't provided him with much racing in the rain to date, but he was certainly ready for the challenge. The race started under yellow conditions and when it finally went green, Ed held his own and drove really well. Unfortunately our strategy didn't pan out, as the race stayed green longer than we expected and Ed eventually got passed by the GT leaders and went down a lap. Of course, that happened just minutes before the full-course caution we were waiting for finally came out.
We're 45 minutes in, down a lap and in 19th position. Off to work I go. Conditions are treacherous! I came to grips with the rivers, puddles, streams and LAKES on track while under yellow, and once we went green started working my way forward. The Skies, however, kept DUMPING on us with torrential downpours, so each time the conditions got really bad, Grand-Am would go to a full-course caution and make us circulate behind the pace car. The objective was to wait for the rain to slow down a bit and let the standing water drain off enough to actually get under way again. But Mother Nature just wouldn't let up.
At this point some cars had pitted and I'm now sitting right behind the class-leading GT car of my good friend Jeff Segal and his AIM Autosport / FXDD Ferrari - the only other Ferrari in Grand-Am competition at the moment. So here I am, thinking that when we go green again, I'll pass Jeff, get back on the lead lap, wait for another yellow, catch up to the BACK of the pack, go green again, pass EVERYBODY, and WIN!
Sounds like a great plan, right? I thought so! Grand-Am? Not so much... Instead, we circulated behind the pace car for another 20-30 minutes or so while Mother Nature kept hammering us, and rightfully so, Grand-Am decided to cut the race short and throw the checkered flag.
So, my grand scheme to charge through and make history was truncated, and we finished 13th. Certainly disappointing after being so quick all weekend and showing we were the car to beat. But, life goes on, and so does racing! On to the next one...
Lasting thoughts? Our Grand-Am program is strong, our Ferrari is FAST, Ed got some really valuable rain experience, and I'm ready for the next race!
Thanks for following, and I look forward to seeing you at the races!
Guy