09-04-2012, 11:41 PM
Round 4: NJMP THUNDERBOLT - #75 2012 PCA Club Racing Season
The first weekend of August saw the #75 RS Barn - AJ Hartman Racing - Hoosier GT5S Porsche 968 take on NJMP Thunderbolt Raceway in what was our Round 4 of our National Championship 2012 Season run.
Friday was an all out testing day for the freshly installed Blown Diffuser setup developed by AJ Hartman Racing after some brainstorming while we modified the rear exhaust setup and vented the gearbox to fight some remaining diff/box overheating issues. Well, with the muffler gone, and a fancy diffuser in place, what else to do with the actual exhaust but blow the diffuser!?! Of course I went for it....! We had some issues with the setup, but really as a result of it working so crazy well. The added down force at lower to mid speeds during mid corner and exit on throttle open is now noticeable better. Actually, kinda EPIC! An EXCELLENT result given that at those speeds the wing is supplying minimal down force. This allows me to work the damping settings a little better to move some grip forward... Yeah babeeee!!!!
To make a long story short, three Sprint races saw the team pull in 3 Class and Overall Wins. In the process we also broke the previous track record by well over a second with a blistering 1:30.318 before we started backing off just enough to just stay in front and save the car and tires for Daytona in October. Sprint 1 was especially tricky as it kicked off in wet conditions while running R6 Hoosiers. We lost the lead briefly to a 944S2 Firehawk on wets and even fell to 3rd after a bit of a mishap in T2 as we tried to carry a bit too much speed for the conditions. Before the race was over, we had recaptured the lead and took the checkered 1st overall. We also had
a big scare after Sprint 3 when we were sent to the scales and almost failed underweight!!!! We were pretty much right on the mark after rolling the car back and forth a few times... Phew!
Our class competition was not running the Enduro so we were disciplined and continued with the strategy to safely gain maximum Championship points while minimizing risk. With a combined Enduro and almost 50 cars ranging from Cup Cars to SP1 1st generation 944s, we decided to skip the Enduro Qualifying and start the race from the back of the back and stay out of trouble. After a planned long pit stop, we went back out and finished the Enduro without issues or problems.
We continue to lead the Regional and National PCA GT5S Championship Points race. Albeit my the smallest of possible margins and questionably, even lagging a bit from the missed points at the Rolex race when we got hit in T1 and the 2nd place finish at LRP in the Season Opener....
Videos will be uploaded soon....
And the preparations for Daytona are underway!!!!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rock.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
Cheers.
The first weekend of August saw the #75 RS Barn - AJ Hartman Racing - Hoosier GT5S Porsche 968 take on NJMP Thunderbolt Raceway in what was our Round 4 of our National Championship 2012 Season run.
Friday was an all out testing day for the freshly installed Blown Diffuser setup developed by AJ Hartman Racing after some brainstorming while we modified the rear exhaust setup and vented the gearbox to fight some remaining diff/box overheating issues. Well, with the muffler gone, and a fancy diffuser in place, what else to do with the actual exhaust but blow the diffuser!?! Of course I went for it....! We had some issues with the setup, but really as a result of it working so crazy well. The added down force at lower to mid speeds during mid corner and exit on throttle open is now noticeable better. Actually, kinda EPIC! An EXCELLENT result given that at those speeds the wing is supplying minimal down force. This allows me to work the damping settings a little better to move some grip forward... Yeah babeeee!!!!
To make a long story short, three Sprint races saw the team pull in 3 Class and Overall Wins. In the process we also broke the previous track record by well over a second with a blistering 1:30.318 before we started backing off just enough to just stay in front and save the car and tires for Daytona in October. Sprint 1 was especially tricky as it kicked off in wet conditions while running R6 Hoosiers. We lost the lead briefly to a 944S2 Firehawk on wets and even fell to 3rd after a bit of a mishap in T2 as we tried to carry a bit too much speed for the conditions. Before the race was over, we had recaptured the lead and took the checkered 1st overall. We also had
a big scare after Sprint 3 when we were sent to the scales and almost failed underweight!!!! We were pretty much right on the mark after rolling the car back and forth a few times... Phew!
Our class competition was not running the Enduro so we were disciplined and continued with the strategy to safely gain maximum Championship points while minimizing risk. With a combined Enduro and almost 50 cars ranging from Cup Cars to SP1 1st generation 944s, we decided to skip the Enduro Qualifying and start the race from the back of the back and stay out of trouble. After a planned long pit stop, we went back out and finished the Enduro without issues or problems.
We continue to lead the Regional and National PCA GT5S Championship Points race. Albeit my the smallest of possible margins and questionably, even lagging a bit from the missed points at the Rolex race when we got hit in T1 and the 2nd place finish at LRP in the Season Opener....
Videos will be uploaded soon....
And the preparations for Daytona are underway!!!!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rock.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
Cheers.
#75 RS Barn-Hoosier-AJ Hartman Racing Porsche 968
2012 PCA GT5S NORTH ATLANTIC CHAMPION
2011 NASA PRO RACING (NE) GTS-2 CHAMPION
Track Records: Pocono Long Single Infield CCW | Pocono Double Infield | NJMP Thunderbolt w & w/o Chicane | Lime Rock Park
