Mazdas and Maseratis at VIR

It was exciting to be at my home track of VIR last weekend – it’s been a couple of years since I got to drive in a pro race there. It was great to see so many familiar faces on race day. I had a lot of friends and family there, and it reminded me how lucky I am to have so many people supporting and cheering me on. We had some national media on hand, too, following Liam Dwyer’s weekend, and a lot of local media came out.

Unfortunately, the circumstances leading up to Saturday’s Continental Tire race were a bit crazy: Randy Pobst was traveling home from a trip abroad, so he didn’t get any track time before the race, and Andrew Carbonell was under the weather but persevered and started the race, holding out as long as he could before I took over from him.

We ran as high as third in the No. 26 MX-5, but we had an issue that caused the engine heat to leak into the car, right below the driver’s seat. The heat was so extreme that it ended our day early. Mazda Motorsports posted some great photos from the pre-race Fan Walk and the race, which you can check out here.

On a positive note, I also got to team up with Jim Taggart and Taggart Autosport for the Maserati Trofeo World Series, which was also running at VIR. It was their only stop in the U.S. this season. Jim and I both started our Saturday with a sprint race. I finished third and was the top American driver, which was a nice bonus! Jim had the drive of his career, starting 12^th and finishing 5^th. It was a textbook-perfect drive for him, and it was so rewarding for Jim.

On Sunday, there was a Maserati enduro, and it was fun sharing the car with Jim. It was the first time we’ve been co-drivers, so we got to do our first driver change! We had a good time, and we came away from the weekend with a smile, despite the bad luck in the Continental race. The Maserati series is going to Shanghai and Abu Dhabi next – I wish I could join them!

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Fresh Surface, Fresh Snow at VIR

A track walk at VIR on Wednesday.

Last Wednesday was the kickoff for the 2014 season at Virginia International Raceway. Members were able to come out for events and a track walk on Wednesday followed by a track day on Thursday. I got to be a part of the track walk, going over some of the finer points about the new surface and some of the changes that happened over the off-season.

Kerrigan Smith and his staff at VIR worked so hard over the winter to make changes that will better suit both the racers and the fans – there are updates throughout the whole facility.

We had about 40 club members who walked the track. Some of the changes they saw were widened areas, adjustments to some of the curbing, and of course the repaved surface. Most of the changes are even factors that will make drivers recalculate their driving strategy for certain sections. Once again, local knowledge will be a key factor when IMSA comes to visit in August.

Snowed out on Friday at VIR!

During the members day on Thursday I worked with Jim Taggart and his Porsche once again. We had a beautiful day, and we had no idea that the following day was going to be a snow day! We got snowed out and couldn’t get on track Friday.

With a forecast calling for sun and temperatures in the 60s for the rest of the weekend, we were able to look forward to a great Saturday and Sunday. I worked with some new clients at the Chin Motorsports event and really enjoyed coaching each of them. They all got quicker lap times and learned more about their cars, and that always puts a smile on a client’s face!

Now I’m heading to Florida, and I’m excited about competing in my first 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday. You can follow @tomlongracing on Twitter to see my updates during the week! 

Read Full Post »