Track Day Debrief: Esses of Summer 2022

Sun 26 June 2022

I didn't get on track at all last year [1], so I'm trying to make up for it this year. I made it out to the first BMWCCA HPDE in March, but waited too long to go to the one two weeks ago so I went to a JZilla event at Road Atlanta last week instead.

I think my line through the turn 1-2-3 complex is improving but I still need to work on finding the right braking point for turn 1. My instructor in March told me to stay more to the left at the end of the esses to straighten my braking point into turn 5, but from the ridealongs I got last week I'm apparently staying too far left and compromising my line up the hill. My line through turn 7 feels the same as it always has, passable but not the best.

I hate that I didn't get many chances to work on finding my braking point into turn 10a throughout the weekend since I would always catch people into the braking zone and didn't want to run into the back of someone in case I misjudged; I think I improved my line through the complex and down the hill though.

Despite basically parking the car before the weekend so as to not break anything, I still had some problems pop up during the weekend that were thankfully not enough to keep me off the track (although that was strongly in question early Saturday).

Anyway, I've already signed up for two more weekends this year (one right after I get back from hacker summer camp), here's some assorted pictures from last weekend.

I can't believe I found someone else with my ridiculous license plate

A particularly fancy photo of me rounding turn 3 with the esses and turn 5 in the distance

A photo of me navigating turn 12, a good six or so feet from the apex

A photo of me setting up for turn 1 behind a Miata; I was only a little bit slower which I will feel proud about even though the Miata had much less power

[1]I still can't believe I didn't get on track at all in 2021, I swear I did but I can't find any pictures, videos or charges for track day entry fees.