The funny part is I'm afraid of roller coasters.

     Time to try and recap another awesome day...

     I didn't get much sleep (read that as about 3 hours) since I got home from work Friday night around 11:30pm.  I still had to pack up a few things and go over the mental list, then I tried to relax and couldn't due to bullshit from work.  Long story short...fell asleep around 2am and woke up around 5am and just kinda layed in bed till about 6am.  Jumped in the shower, packed up and headed out...to Dunkin for coffee and breakfast.  Finally hit the road for real at about 7:45am.  Got stuck behind some slow people and finally made it to the track around 10:45am.

     My dad arrived before me and staked out a spot, so with my help we quickly got the EZ-up up to have some shade.  I hit registration and tech, then went about pulling the front wheels off to check the torque on the spacers as well as what the brakes looked like.  Checked over a few other things are all systems were GO.

Cliff notes style recap:    

Session 1 - 15 minute run time.  Told myself I wasn't going to push too hard and just re learn the track and find the limits of the new tires.  Well I wound up doing none of that.  Right off the start getting on the brakes for turn 1 provided a nice shudder in the pedal, and a now expectation that the brakes were shot, and not gonna have a good day.  Had a few moments missing turn in for turn one having to stand on the brakes so hard, but rode it out and luckily it seems it was just deposits cleaning off from street driving as the judder mostly went away, and I put down a 1:12.66 lap.

Session 2 - 20 minute run rime.  With a little more confidence in my brakes I was just gonna go out and drive and practice some hot lap cool lap ratios/strategies to try and keep the brakes and tires at useful temps.  Dealt with some traffic because one of the guys thought i was a slow car and not cooling so he subsequently dive bombed me into turn 1, and i was able to ride his ass for two laps before he got the hint.  In clean air right from the green flag I layed down a 1:12.09 then 1:09.92 then a 1:08.86! NEW PERSONAL BEST!  For the rest of the session I hovered in the 1:09-1:12 range.

Session 3 - 20 minute run time.  By now I was psyched, and was planning to push it.  Did the warm up lap and then got up on the wheel and pushed (this is what you will see in the video).  In three hot laps I ran 1:08.34, 1:07.87 and then 1:07.79 for a new PERSONAL BEST.   Unfortunately the session was black flagged due to two wrecks right after I layed down three of my fastest laps

Lime rock 6-16 from Nathan Bookbinder on Vimeo.

     I know 3 spots I'm leaving time on the track.

      - I can't get the braking point/turn in point dialed in for the left hander (turn 3), even though         

        I have big bend figured out (turn 1 and 2)
      - Slowing too much for west bend
      - Need to use the downhill to 7 to my advantage. Compression=grip, and if I can run

        harder into/out of turn 7 I will lower my times

     Guys running around 1:03's claim a turn 7 exit speed of 100mph.  Early in the day i was in th elow 80's, but definitely increased that exit speed and it became very obvious the benefits...my top speeds were climbing all day (best was 115.6mph) 

     Anyway...the question now stuck in my mind is, that due to the fact that i was pushing MUCH harder and the brakes showed signs of this, is it the pads, old rotors, or fluid?  I have new rotors, lines and fluid waiting to go in.  Definitely need to get my cooling ducts in now too...

Can't wait to get back to LRP and get my 1:05.xx