We were supposed to be at NJMP with S2K takeover earlier this month with Global Time Attack and SCCA TNIA but that event got cancelled. Thankfully, Brad was able to get us in with NETC instead yesterday which turned out to be great because S2K Takeover had our own session so there were only S2000s on track when we ran which made things super fun.
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| NJMP Lightning - 9-28-2020 Photo By: Ben Tiu |
It's been over 8 years since I last ran at NJMP Lightning. Last I went in Bumblestook, she still had her F20C and big wing. It rained heavily the night before but thankfully it was bone dry by the time we ran. The track is still as fun as I remember and it was an excellent learning opportunity to follow some of the fast S2K track guys to learn their lines. This is definitely a track where aero is highly beneficially to gain lots of confidence in keeping the rear settled. I found myself having to back off a bit to keep the rear in check during quick transitions but at the same time I was also struggling getting the nose tucked in during some of the faster sections like the light bulb.
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| Andy filling up my side mirrors |
I was able to get into the 1:20 lap time after I remembered to check my tire pressures which had risen quite sharply throughout the day and way out of the optimal tire pressures for the Yokohama A052s. Just lowering them down to 28psi/27psi helped me find 2 seconds in my final session. I think more time can be had by doing some minor tweaks on the dampers and maybe swaybar settings. I'm resisting all temptation to get big aero, big brakes and R-comps and turning the car into a dedicated track car. I think there's still plenty of time on the table as is. There's quite a bit of self-preservation going on here since I do actually care about this car so I'm not actively trying to stuff it into immovable objects by going full send. I just need to find the right balance between fast and safe. Not trailering and having a strong desire to drive the car home on its own power are strong incentives to not roll the dice. NJMP is thankfully more forgiving than other NorthEast tracks with adequate runoff in most sketchy areas so there's at least that if I can accept going into lawn mower mode once in a while.
Unfortunately, this is my last track event for the year. Hopefully next year will be a bit more normal so I can actually get the cars out to more events.
