This weekend was my first time ever doing TT. There were six cars registered so I was looking forward to it especially since I am doing the Hoosier contingecy. One of the cars wrecked on Friday in the rain and was done for the weekend. Another one didn't show up due his car not being ready so we were down to 4. We ran the club course all weekend. It rained on and off all day Friday so no dry sessions at all and it was cold into Saturday afternoon; in the 40's. The track finally started drying in the afternoon on Saturday and lap times started picking up. I got 1st on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday. I almost beat the lap record for TTB Club Course on Sunday too. The record is 1:41.695 according to the NASA Great Lakes page. I ran a 1:41.8. The guy who beat me on Sunday ran a 1:41.4. We both ran those times on the same session. So it looks like he has the lap record now. In the video below he is the gold Nissan 240 in front of me. We pretty much ran TTB all weekend getting first and second between us both days. Reppin' for the Nissan community!


I let an S2K by me towards the end of the video and he wrecks coming out of the back straight. I felt bad for him. I talked to him afterward and he was ok, but done for the weekend. Me and him were playing cat and mouse all weekend too. He was in TTC just slaughtering everyone in his class. The guy in 2nd place in TTC was about 4-5 seconds behind him all weekend...LOL

Hope you enjoy. I know some of you SE guys are wanting to check out Mid Ohio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pssQhrcfsz8

Should be able to set it in HD to view.

 

Looks good and congrats on the successful weekend! What is the difference in times between the Club and Pro, and what do they run at Nats?

 

Congrats

 

Looking at it again, looks like the S2000 could of just stayed off track drivers left and rode it out...looks like he fought it all the way to the wall. Just an observation, I have never been on the track so not sure how that turn feels.

 

Op, how far is this track from Cincinnati?

 

Great vid, congrats!

 

Dude that's awesome! Congrats on doing so well! That really sucks about the S2k.

Totally wish I went out there, stupid school and work. I love the club course way more than the pro course.

 

I have not run the pro course yet on my new setup, but the track records are about 2 seconds difference. The only difference between the club and the pro is they add a chicane before the keyhole. On the pro course it is just a straight shot from T1 to the keyhole. I think they are going to run the pro course at Nats.

 

I would say about 3 hours max depending on where at in Cincy. Maybe 2.5 hours from the north side of Cincy.

 

Agreed. He stayed in it a little too long. He was pushing that car really hard. The elevation changes at Mid Ohio are way more intense than they look in the video by the way. That part is down hill.

 

I live in Dublin (NW suburb of Columbus) and have been there once. I can barely drive on the highway, but I'd love to go around the track a few times. I took my son there for a race several years ago. Fun day.

 

Wow, awesome first TT event - congrats!!!!!

 

At the 2007 NASA Nationals, I ran a 1:41.655 and finished fifth in TTB. This, after driving my '03 track model out from Colorado and putting on Hankook R-compounds at M-O. The TTB winner was John Slinkard, who runs a very fast, supercharged S2K at 1:36.531.

My congrats on running the time you did! M-O is a fast and technical track that requires both courage and skill to put down fast times.

 

Thanks! 1:41.6 is awesome. Was that on the Pro course or the club course? The 1:36 sounds more realistic on the pro course than the club for TTB. I'm pretty sure they run pro for Nat's. I'm confident I can squeeze some more time out with a little more courage, seat time and fresher tires. A 1:36 though...that's pretty far out there for TTB club. The best TTA time this weekend was a 1:37.x on the club. I'm going again in July and August. Hopefully I can get it down into the low 1:40's on the club. Should be in the 1:39's easy on the pro course based on my club time.

 

The 2008 TTB Champion was an Evo IX that did a 1:36, probably pro course.

 

Are you going to be at Grattan in June with NASA? I know that track is much closer for you than Mid Ohio. I should be able to make that one. I have never been there and they are not running a Friday practice day for some reason. I'm gonna need some pointers.

 

NASA ran the pro course for Nationals, but I've raced at M-O on both configurations for different years at the SCCA Runoffs. I wouldn't say it's easy running faster times without the chicane; the approach to the carrossel is tricky and demands precise threshold braking on corner approach and turn-in. Be careful about setting too many goals as far as times go- that's usually a recipe for getting in over your head and by the time you realize the mistake, it's too late. Instead, try to analyze specific sections and knock the rough edges off your driving in those sections. If you can remain consistent in driving the course, you'll naturally find your times dropping. Remember that M-O is a track that rewards flow and balance, but penalizes impulsiveness. It's also a track that suits the Z33 well.

David Muramoto
Editor-in-chief
Nissan Sport Magazine

 

Not sure man, I know it's so close to me (only 2 hrs) but I have summer school until the end of June so we'll have to see when my exams are

I'll definitely try my best to be there, but I've never been there before either so I won't be any help lol

 

Congratulations! Nice driving. Can't wait to hit MO this summer.

I ran Grattan last season but it was in really NASTY rain... We ran the course in reverse in the afternoon too but my tires were too worn for the water. I even ended up skipping the last session.

I hope to hit a few NASA HPDEs this year but I'm having a hard time planning so far in advance.

 

I hear ya man. T1 and T13 are two turns that I am focusing on carrying more speed on, but like you said this track rewards flow and balance. I need to carry a tiny bit more speed on these turns and also be incredibly smooth to pull it off safely. We'll see what happens in July.