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| Annie makes minor adjustments while Jeff Naeyaert checks the data logging equipment. |
I came into the pits after that quick warm up to adjust the tire pressures, and to make sure that all of the data logging equipment was functioning properly only to discover that I had forgotten to adjust my Koni Yellow shocks, which were at full soft, to firm.
After that quick correction, I headed back out to the track, this time to see what kind of flogging I could do to it before it broke down on me. Amazingly, the adjustments to the shocks made a world of difference. I took a couple warm up laps to get the tires up to temperature, and as I came around the front straightaway for the third lap, I laid the pedal to the floor.
The body roll was reduced dramatically when going in to turns, and the car actually felt like it had the potential to handle like a decent track car. The car still pushed when I took it into it in to Cotton Corners, but it was a manageable, predictable push that was correctable with a little bit of trail braking. Although much stiffer that the previous session, the quick left turn after the initial right turn into Cotton Corners was a little harder to handle. The suspension still wasn’t stiff enough to be able to handle the swift shift in weight from left to right, then left again as I exited Cotton Corners and unwound the wheel in preparation for the Bus Stop. But still, I was carrying far more speed this time around than my first time out. The bus stop was a little bit harrowing. I breathed the throttle a little before diving into Taladega and realized that my car just couldn’t effectively disperse the weight needed to carry me through the turn, causing me to understeer. Sliding sideways, I nearly ran off track to the right as I had my car pointing left. Luckily, I clipped the FIA curb and I continued on a healthy drift through the sweeper and carried that speed through Magic Mountain.
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