Second event in the VN and I’m starting to explore more of the limits of the car. Again with NNJR, this is probably one of the most fun and interesting autox courses I’ve driven in a long time. This was a great event with a lot of fast drivers, an amazing course, and perfect weather.

The car felt really good. This was the first event I tried using the tire blankets for the rears, and while I’m sure they were effective, I’m not sure how much they contributed to the added rear stability, given the temperature was already warm and I was running in the third heat for the first time in a while. The balance was very good – the car only bit me once, and I never fully lost it. The time it did bite was in a tricky section with a need for sharp direction changes and it was early in the event and early-ish in the runs.

This was also the first event in a long time where I was consistently finding time every run. The first runs were super conservative, and I started to push harder as the tires warmed up. I gained a ton of time carrying speed into the braking zone after the slalom around the 50s mark – it felt like the car could do even more than I was doing in that spot. Typical other driving issues – jerky steering, maybe pushing too hard in some spots and not enough in others. Think I should have braked more for the final u turn before the finish – the downhill kept catching me off guard from a braking standpoint, which probably cost some time. But in general, it felt great to be exploring the limits without having to have someone show me the car can do this or that – it was me, on my own, naturally exploring and gaining tons of time. For 4 straight runs I gained 1s or more in time, and still gained a half second in the last run. The last run included a spot where I completely missed on braking, but still stayed clean – which tells me I could have pushed the car even harder.

This was also a fast course that flowed really well. I was on the limiter multiple times. Front set of offsets, the sweeper-ish section in the back, the big slalom in the middle of the course through the left kink, and at the final where I did ultimately start shifting into 3rd. The limiter in 2nd gear is about 56mph as read on the speedometer. That is a little low – would prefer if the limiter were at about 60mph. I can shift easier than most for sure, but it’s mentally taxing in autox, especially when there is more than one spot for me to do it at. Given the amount of time I was finding from the end of the middle slalom into the left kink, I’m sure I could have shifted to 3rd and then back down there. And while I’m really happy with my run, there were some pro DS drivers driving BRZs that put ~2s on me. That is definitely not a gap that I can surpass, but for now I’m happy with how I improved through my run and was consistently finding time.

Set Up (VN):

• DS
• 255/35-18 Vitour P1, 35psi/35psi
• WL 24mm RSB on soft
• Camber at -2.0 0 toe, -1.5 0 toe
• Brakes: Stock

Notes (VN):

• 2025 VN: 5 autox / 0 track
• Balance is solid, car feels good – just need to keep getting more comfortable in the car

2025 Event Count: 6 Autox, 1 track day