Nelson Ledges (Crap Cans)

Todays results were a 6th place and 5th place overall finish at Nelson Ledges, our best results yet (not including wet skid pad on the first day, 3rd).

Last time we were here, it was for a 24 hours of LeMons race last October. The track was in rough shape, bumpy, and low grip. It’s also an extremely fast and flowing course with high speed sweepers and only one short hard braking zone. This was the only track during the One Lap that I’ve had experience on so it was a bit relaxing doing the course walk, knowing that there wouldn’t be any big unknowns. Turn one is a high speed right hander with more run off room than you initially think. Turn two feels even faster as the track narrows. Turn three takes you in to a banked left they call nascar corner which shoots you on to a short straight with a kink in it before adjusting your speed going in to the carousel, a large banked right. The back straight is long and I nearly reach the rev limiter in 5th. At the end of the straight it’s a kink and you need to build up the courage not to brake. With the crap can lemons car last year we could go flat out without lifting. Now with better suspension, but also three times the horsepower, I had to lift, but I think it could still be taken flat out if there wasn’t so much to risk and with more laps.

The bumps going down the front straight are so bad that my butt is jumping out of the seat. I am concerned that when I hammer the brakes, if I will even be sitting in the seat.

By the afternoon, we’ve secured both the lead in economy class and can’t do any better than 8th in the overall standings. The idea was for me tmo go ut and make some safe laps around the track. But that’s not as fast as going fun, so I focus on using up the track through T1 and T2. Take it a bit slower around the carousel to get a good launch down the back straight and just a short, late lift through the kink at the end. Times get posted this evening and a 5th place is our best track result. We’re just ecstatic. The only cars ahead of us are Porsche GT2, a GTR and two Corvette. We’ve for the first time beaten the450hp BMW 325 and the beautiful white WRX Sti that’s a veteran of One Lap.