The rain stopped right as lunch ended, and then the fast cars went out. They were having a little trouble putting the power down in turn 6, and I got some pictures of them playing the 'slide' game coming out of it on the cool-down laps. After a while I stopped popping pictures and talked to Bill & Sean (the canucks) about the track conditions. Then it was time to grid up, and sit and wait. As I was doing that the sun came out and the car started getting hot, so I turned on the ac. Finally, the last group of cars (in the same order, BMW, Boxster, Fit, Crown Vic) went out. I gave the Boxster a little room and got the feel for braking and cornering... and I could tell there was more grip... it was feeling good. Pull up to start finish, wait for some cars to clear the cross-over, and then the BMW takes off, heading wide braking and going into turn 1. The Boxster doesn't go as wide, but still brakes. I'm thinking I'm not going to have to brake. The flag drops and I hammer it, the front wheels spin some but they hook up before I cross the timing light, I snap through 2nd and 3rd and toss the car into turn 1 holding throttle... it feels just about right. I start feeding in more throttle as I exit, handle the little right hander and look up to see the Boxster braking for turn 3. {expletive!} I've picked up ~3seconds just on the start & first corner... oh, it's on. I start hitting my lines and catch snippets of what the Boxster is doing; and I realize I'm definitely going to catch him on the second lap. So I keep an eye on the lines he's taking and where he's braking. I'm braking much later than him. Turn 1 of lap 2 he's taking much slower than I and I figure I need to catch him so that I can pass him on the back straight. Things are looking up, in turn three I close on him big time and I know I'm going to be right on him in turn 6... which I am... but then I have to check up a little mid-corner 'cause I didn't plan well enough for his being there and he puts that extra liter and half to work and pulls away enough that I can't catch him down the back straight... so I late brake the left hander at the end, and put as much speed through that and the other turns as possible. We go down the front straight and we're about even with him a bit farther out than I can really strike with. I realize I've gotta do something to set up the pass and expect him to brake early and take turn 1 slow... and I know that'll kill my momentum down the combo from 1 to 3. So I let him brake early and close in, then brake late, and keep about a car length wide and hold more speed. We exit 1 and he leaves some room for me, then I see him point right and I motor by as we accelerate through 2. I brake real late for 3, but the car is fine and I carry some extra speed into 3 and it feels great. I don't look back... and just try and take the last few fast corners as fast as I'm comfortable with. Going down the front straight to checkered flag I can't resist tossing a fist out the window.
The only unfortunate thing? We switched batteries & memory card out of the goPro, and it wouldn't turn on (I find this out on the grid), so... no video of a lowly fit passing a Boxster :(. Oh well, I'll be replaying it in my mind for a while (weeks?), and will be happy to repeat it to anyone curious.
Greer checks the car over as we pack up to try and beat some of the atlanta traffic, then asks a question... "Dude, did you have the AC on?" Sonofa... I'd forgotten to turn it off! We won't tell the Boxster that, though ;) :D
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