Two Mid-Ohio Podiums for Jim Taggart!

World Challenge ran at Mid-Ohio this past weekend with IndyCar, and I was there working with Jim Taggart and his Taggart Autosport Porsche. IMSA isn’t running at Mid-Ohio this year, so I was happy for the opportunity to go there with Jim: it’s a great track with really supportive fans.

Last year at Mid-Ohio, we had a mechanical issue in race one, then Jim got run into on the standing start of race two. We were hoping to turn it around this weekend, and we really did!

Practice was positive, and we made some changes to the car to adapt it to track conditions. Jim got a good qualifying result, only 0.7 seconds off the GT-A pole for a fifth-place start. It was a really well-matched field!

The first race, on Saturday, started under sunny conditions, but about halfway through the race, the clouds rolled in. Turn one and the Keyhole – the first two turns of the track – were getting rained on. That made it really exciting, and a lot of cars started to slip and slide around. The advantage of having a spotter during the race meant that Jim knew there was wet track in that area.

The rest of the track was dry, and because we knew where it was wet and where it wasn’t, Jim was able to gain a tremendous amount of time on the top two cars. When the rain kept coming and wet the whole track down, there was a huge incident on the back straight and I was able to let Jim know we’d probably be going to a full-course caution. He was able to make the pass for second place just ten seconds before the double yellow came out, essentially ending the race.

Race two on Sunday stayed dry and sunny, and Jim started fifth again and moved up to third to hold on for another podium. This time, thanks to the sunshine, we were able to have the podium celebration outside!

Saturday was Jim’s first pro racing podium, and he managed to collect two podiums this weekend! After running in the series for two years, it was nice to come away with two podium finishes, especially when we were up against both tough competitors and challenging track conditions. Jim really adapted well and we were able to work as a team to get great results.

 

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Final Test for Taggart Before Season Debut

We had a beautiful day at VIR last week (with no snow this time!) to put the final touches on Jim Taggart’s Porsche GT3-R in preparation for the 2014 World Challenge season. That’s right: Jim decided to compete in the new GT-A class, so he will debut his Taggart Autosport Porsche during the opening round this weekend at St. Petersburg.

We were able to run the car at its full pace, and Jim is getting comfortable in the car and learning a lot about its potential for grip, braking and acceleration. This Porsche really has amazing aerodynamics and down force, which isn’t surprising when you look at that rear wing!

The test also showed us how much more the new surface at VIR has to offer. It seems to be faster and the grip is definitely a lot better. I think we’ll see faster lap times in each series that races there this year.

By the afternoon, Jim was feeling really comfortable and we continued making setup adjustments to fine-tune the balance and handling. St. Petersburg is a street circuit, so it’s a lot different from a traditional road course like VIR, but the test will really help us. The St. Pete schedule only has two short practice sessions for the series, so we need to be as prepared as possible heading into the weekend. It’s important to have a strategy even for practice since time is so limited. Both Jim and the team have a lot of confidence going into the event thanks to our successful test.

I’m heading to St. Pete on Wednesday, and I’m looking forward to seeing such an incredible mix of cars out there racing together in the GT-A class, with entries like Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Mercedes, and Ferrari.

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New Driving Experience, New Helmet

I did an event for some good friends of mine last week who are very involved in the Porsche community. The family has an amazing collection of Porsches. The two brothers of the family are both involved in the day to day of the collection. One of the brothers restores historic Porsches and competes at Pebble Beach and other concourses throughout the U.S. The other manages the collection and hosts various special events, like wine dinners.

They are starting a new program called the Ingram Experience, an exclusive lifestyle event they’re putting on at Virginia International Raceway. We had the inaugural event last week. The event started with a dinner, and the next morning everyone met at the track, where Porsche 997 track cars were waiting for the participants. The event creates an exciting environment in which business people and colleagues can interact. It’s like a round of golf, but a lot more exciting!

I had the opportunity to conduct classroom sessions in the morning to introduce the participants to the track. I’d ride with them during the day as they drove the South Course, which was a perfect setting: you get a beautiful layout with a variety of turns and elevation changes. There will be more Ingram Experience events next year, and I’m looking forward to it.

Before the event at VIR, I dropped my helmet off with Indocil Art. Ryan and Dwain have taken great care of me over the years, and this is the fourth helmet they’ve painted for me since 2006. They’re based outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, so they are close to where I live. These pictures are of the helmet they painted for the 2013 season, so I’m anxious to see what the new one looks like for 2014!

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