Last track event of 2020! Cannot believe what a year it’s been with all the covid-19 cases, uncertainty going on, event cancellations, and work from home since March, likely extending until at least next March. We decided to wrap it up with one last event at Gingerman Raceway for Grid Life’s Midwest Festival.

With the Sequoia as our tow car, traveling long distances for events have really become a breeze. The entire event is much more enjoyable, as we are able to leave the Evo & the trailer in the paddock while going back and forth between the track, the hotel, and restaurants in the comfort of the Sequoia – making me wish we had done this way, way sooner.

Going to Gingerman the week prior paid dividends here. I was already familiar with the track and able to go for it from the start. The weekend was interspersed with rain, which left me with 4 sessions total to set some times. The first session, cold and damp, left me about 2s off the pace of the prior event, at a 1:44. By the second session however, we were able to pick up the pace – hitting a personal best of 1:40.20 with some very consistent times. That turned out to be the last session of day 1 as rain had come in for the 3rd session.

Day 2 stayed thankfully dry, but due to the gopro failing to record, I was left with nothing the analyze or evaluate during the evening. As such, for the 3rd session I ran a nearly identical 1:40.22, not getting me anywhere. I did, however, get the video & the data, and I went back to the hotel to review the lap, and picked out a couple spots to improve. The fourth session turned out to be my last, and the temperatures had dropped a bit, making the Evo a touch loose out on track, resulting in some pretty fantastic drifts. However, I was able to get a clean solid lap in with a 1:39.88 – making the sub 1:40 club after just two events at Gingerman. For the first time in a while, I felt really proud of the run. I feel like I got as much out of the car as possible, and while there’s always room for improvement, I am pretty happy with how things ended. Plenty of upgrades coming for the 2021 season…

Set Up (Evo):

• Ohlins DFV (Custom valved); Shocks 2/5
• OEM FSB 4/5; WL 26mm RSB; Medium
• RE-ACD: Tarmac; TRE-OSG Rear Diff
• Camber at -3.5, -1.9 rear,  0 toe all around
• Brakes F: Girodisc 2-pc & ST43s Brakes R: Girodisc 2-pc & ST43s
• CE28N 18×9.5; 255/35-18 Falken RT660
• 35psi

Notes (Evo):

• 2020 Evo: 6 autox runs, 24 track sessions (12 on Falkens)

2020 Event Count: 4 Autox, 7 Track Days