Test’n'tune @ Gingerman
Another fun test’n'tune event at Gingerman Raceway yesterday. I got the opportunity to try out the new front brake pads and also experiment a bit with my line at the 2.21mi 2010 layout course. Firstly I have to say that I am very happy with the performance of the Carbotech XP10. With the Yellowstuffs I was finding that I had to press harder on the brake pedal as the pads got up to temperature, but on the Carbotechs the bite feels a lot more consistent between cold and hot. Overall the braking power between both compounds is hard to judge because it feels like there is now too much front bias as the XP10s have more bite than the EBCs. That’s not to say they have more stopping power, but just that the brake balance is a bit off. I will either need to change the rear pads/rotors to Carbotech XP8/XP10 or consider getting a brake proportioning valve installed.
No open-wheel cars showed up, therefore the 3hr test’n'tune was split amongst two run groups, with 1.5hrs of track time per group. As for the event, there were a few drivers in the novice group that had never been to Gingerman before so the first session was run under full-course yellow (no passing). I went out on track first but by lap 3-4 was catching up to the back of the group so I decided to pull in and request some open track space. Back out again and a further 2-3 laps into the session I’m back stuck behind again. With no point-bys and basically getting 1 lap of running between warm-up and cool-down laps I decided to scrap the session.
After the run the course director suggested that I try running with the intermediate group to see if that would get me some more open track. Obviously I was slower but at least I could point-by the faster guys and focus on my own driving. I tried different lines and shifting during the session, setting several 2:04.7s laps (about 4 laps timed at 2:04.7 during the session). That’s a slight bit slower than the times I estimated from reviewing video footage from the last time at Gingerman (2:02 +/- 1s) but the track and ambient temperature was also about 15F cooler, and the Azenis are probably closing in on the end of their usefulness. All in all I feel like I was driving pretty hard on the tires so I’m not sure where the discrepancy is in the timing, though I will review the on-board footage in more detail later.
(note: after reviewing the previous footage it looks like I was running a low 2:07 last time around, so a 3 second lap improvement this time around is a pretty productive day!)
At least I wasn't being easy on the tires...
On-board footage from session 2 of 3 with the intermediate group:
$60 entry fee for the test’n'tune (not bad for 1.5hrs of track time!) puts the season entry fee total to $815.
