recap: #gridlife streets of willow
My time attack experience thus far have been limited to the local events organized by TRD Series and 86 Cup. However, in the back of my mind was always the goal of participating in some of the larger events held across the country such as Global Time Attack, Super Lap Battle, and GridLife. I would get my chance. GridLife was coming to SoCal this year.
So once the registration for GridLife at Streets of Willow was opened, I signed up immediately . Although I knew my car wouldn’t be that competitive, I wanted to just get experience of a GridLife event, and have some fun.
GridLife recently created a new class called “ClubTR”, which is considered their entry level, “enthusiast” class. The rules were quite basic. The class would be limited to 2.5L naturally aspirated, or 1.6L turbo engines, E85 is ok, basic aero mods (wing and splitter allowed), and a spec tire with size restrictions . Otherwise, it’s pretty free to modify the engine and car as you like. My car would fit into that class easily, and I was already running the required Falken RT660s tires.
Registered, Inspected, Sticker’d, and ready to go. - Image by @nic.tellez
When I arrived to the track that morning, the vibe was already different. The events I’m used to are really just HPDE/track days with organized and ranked timing. But this was a Time Attack first event, with HPDE sessions in between. The energy level was turned up a notch. The cars were more modified, more tuned, and more serious. Cars and drivers that I’ve only saw on social media were now sharing the same paddock as me. This was different.
Although registration was ordinary, the pile of stickers that I received to put on the car was not. Five horsepower for stickers I shrugged. GridLife also required you to go through inspection. I’ve only experienced that with NASA before, but otherwise most events I’ve attended were all of the self-inspection, honor system of scrutineering.
Once I was through registration, drivers’ meeting, inspection, and getting the car ready (sticker’d), it was the usual waiting for your run group to be called, or in this case, texted. GridLife used text messages to communicate to all drivers. I thought this was a neat idea, and it worked fairly well once everything got rolling.
In the first session, all time attack drivers were grouped into their classes (four groups), and in alphabetical order by last name. Then once you had some lap times down, GridLife re-gridded all groups, and organized the groups by lap times. So it didn’t matter what class you were in, just what lap times you were doing. I thought this was a good idea, and kept things flowing really well throughout the day. The sessions were also a bit shorter than your standard 20min. HPDE sessions, as most were going out strategically for a flyer lap, and not just continuously lapping, using up their stuff.
My previous best time at Streets of Willow CCW was multiple 1:28.4XX. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect as it’s been about six months since I’ve driven this configuration. I’ve felt like I’ve improved since the last time I was here, but it’s hard to quantify improvements into milliseconds.
Attacking the clock. - Image by @nic.tellez
On my first session out, I was struggling to find clean air, and particularly struggled in the braking zones. I was just braking far too late for the Hawk brake pads and OEM brake system can handle. I wanted more, and stubbornly only inched my brake zones back when I should have been taking meters. I sloppily put down a new PB of 1:26.422, and ended my first session short as I encountered the back of the grid, lots of sand on track, and a cloud of dust from an understeering competitor who went off in front of me.
For the second session, I was moved up a group during the re-grid. I should have a cleaner session now I thought, but for some reason, it felt like there was more traffic during the 2nd session. After hitting a large rock, getting off to check it, and then coming back on in hopes of some better spacing, I was only able to manage another 1:26.660. This was quite off the pace of the top 3 cars, so I knew a podium wasn’t in my cards, but I set sight on hitting a new goal of 1:25. If I can do this, it would be a win for me.
Going for another flyer. - Image by @nic.tellez
After lunch I regrouped and knew I had to correct some things. I was asking too much of the brakes, and trying to carry too much entry speed (2021 emphasis). Simple solution I thought: Brake earlier, and lighter. Roll speed through the mid-corner. Get the car turned, and commit to going to FULL throttle sooner - something I’m trying to emphasize for 2022.
This worked magnificently well. I couldn’t believe the improvement. You can see in the comparison below. I braked earlier in nearly all corners, yet kept my minimum speed up, and was able to get back on throttle SOONER.
Lap Compare 1.25.151 (red line) vs 1:26.422 (blue line)
This all added up to a time of 1.25.151 (1.25.167 on transponder).
I was ecstatic. A new personal best, and deep into the 25’s.
I’m knocking on the door of a 1:24 at Streets of Willow CCW. Something that’s never even crossed my mind or thought even possible with my car. At this point the results didn’t matter much. I felt like I unlocked another stage in my driving progression. Another lesson learned. Another experience gained.
I wouldn’t improve again in the 4th session, however I was consistently in the 25s now. A new benchmark and baseline has been laid, and I’m super excited to get back out there and try again.
Here’s the in-car video of my best lap of the day. If you see where I can find 0.2s, leave a comment below. Any feedback is welcomed!
GridLife was a blast, and a very enjoyable event. I look forward to the next one.
Thanks again for following along guys.
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Fast In, Fast Out.
-P
Final results for #GRIDLIFE ClubTR at Streets of Willow