Here is a clip of two of my fast laps, which I ended up doing back-to-back. I was really hoping to get below 1:18, as this had been my previous fastest time at NJMP Lightning. The 1:18 lap I had run before, though, was last November in 55-degree weather, on a grippy track, while this weekend's temps were in the 90s and the track was getting greasy. So, comparatively, even though I didn't break below the 1:18s this time, I was probably running faster than last November--it certainly felt like it!
I was experimenting with coming into the bowl or "lightbulb" a little bit faster, so that I could carry more speed through this turn and onto the front straight. I had been feeling the car move around a bit under braking coming into this turn, and was using this to help rotation. This clip shows me trail-braking a bit too much and unsettling the car when it's on that fine edge. My hands were definitely too slow in responding.
In addition to the usual HPDE participants and spec racers running with IMG over the weekend, a new Grand Am Rolex series team from New Jersey, Limitless Racing, brought their Audi R8 GT car for testing. Very cool looking racecar, with evil-looking red lenses on the headlights. It ran in the race group and the advanced HPDE group. On Sunday intermediate and advanced groups were combined, so I ended up on the track with this beast. Needless to say, I was quick to give a point-by.
Here's what it sounded like blasting by me. Even as it pulls away and puts a few hundred yards between us, you can still hear it downshifting while approaching corners.
Again, it was a fun weekend with a nice group of people. Wishing IMG every success in the future as they build and grow.