What a difference good conditions can make. Road Atlanta is so weather sensitive. On some days one or two guys and dip into the low 43’s and maybe the high 42’s for qualifying, and on other days the pole can be set with a 1:45. Its really all over the place.
But this past weekend at the Road Atlanta Hoosier Super Tour the conditions were perfect for fast times on Saturday, both for qualifying and for the race:- early morning session, with very cool dense air on a dry track bathed in sun! Doesn’t get much better than that.
In qualifying, SIX drivers ran in the 1;42’s which has never happened before, and I was fortunate to get the pole with the fastest Spec Miata lap ever run at the track, a 1:42.220. What made that lap even more impressive is that I did it on lap 7, without a draft which at Road Atlanta is worth 0.5 – 0.7 seconds depending on how soon you get hooked up. My theoretical best lap from that session showed a 1:41.751 which is just insane.
In the race, for a moment, I was the new lap record holder, barely dipping under the late John Carter’s lap record, and then Preston Pardus went even faster two laps later setting the new Road Atlanta Spec Miata Lap Record at 1:42.464 in lap 7. Preston has posted his video already showing that amazing lap. Four of us ran in the 42’s that day, also unheard of.
Here is my video of the qualifying lap