Had a great day at Mid-Ohio with John yesterday. John, Pat and I had been looking at this day and Pat couldn't do it because of work. That, combined with an iffy forecast put me on the fence and I had pretty much decided last week that I wasn't going to do the day. I checked the forecast on Saturday and it was looking pretty good so the trackday gears in my head started turning. John decided on Sunday that he was going, I talked to my boss on Monday, got Tuesday off and that was that. I got my stuff loaded up Monday night, set my alarm for 3:45 AM and hit the sack.

My best lap time at Mid-Ohio was a 1:46.03 so my goal for the day was to run a 1:45.99 or less. I went out the first session and was feeling pretty good. It was warmer than it has been lately and the track felt pretty good for a first Mid-O session (it always feels slippery to me in the AM). I felt like I was running pretty good and was surprised that my best lap was not quicker than a 1:48.89. I went out the second session and I knew I was running quicker and was hoping I made it back into the 1:46's and when I checked the timer I had run a 1:45.37 - Mission Accomplished. The rest of the day continued on like that. I'd go out and feel like I was running pretty good but was surprised by how much time I was taking out of my best laps. The third session I ran a 1:44.48, the fourth I was stuck in traffic and in the fifth I ran a 1:43.87 which was my best of the day. If you can't tell, I'm having fun playing with the lap timer.

I believe I made the most progress in the section from turn #1 to the back straight and in Thunder Valley. I was really trying not use my brakes except for in the three marked braking zones. That just basically showed me that I was using my brakes when I really didn't need to and that I could carry more speed into the corners than I thought. I passed a lot of riders in the chicane and around the outside of the keyhole by going in a bit quicker. I'd go through the chicane in 3rd gear, stand the bike up, down shift to second and turn it in without ever touching the brakes. Some guys were checking up so hard for the keyhole that I could follow them through the chicane, go around the outside of them, and already be in front of them at the apex of the keyhole. I did the same thing (tried to stay off the brakes and carry more entrance speed) on the right hander before Thunder Valley. As a result I had to start shifting to 4th gear to keep stay off the rev-limiter before the baking zone at the end of Thunder Valley.

I spent the last couple of sessions following John around the track. He was riding well and also took 2 + seconds out of his best lap time. I did notice that he was braking later than me in the braking zones and I tried to make that adjustment. We did get a little sprinkle of rain toward the end of the second to last session. At first it was just a few drops on my visor so I pretty much kept going the same pace. Then the rain picked up a bit and things got really slippery really quickly.

It was another fun day at Mid-O and well worth the early wake up and all the driving. I believe STT is running one more day there in Aug and two in Sept and that's it until next year...

i really need to get back out there... just don't want to drag myself that far.

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