After the success of the Lime Rock experience, the Patron Highcroft Acura is still on a great roll. After Lime Rock and a sore head from celebrating, we went onto Mid-Ohio and Road America and had more good results to talk about.
Mid-Ohio was one we really felt strong about as the Acura has good downforce and this was a place that loved the big Gs. Going into qualifying, the car was a little off the pace, which was a little concerning, but one thing this team is really good at is getting back up to speed quickly. I did the qualifying again and the car felt a lot better than it did in practice, so I thought we could do well. I drove the car pretty hard and found myself P1 for most of the session. Then, right at the end, my mate Gil put in a stellar lap and got the overall pole with ol' DB next. It was the first all-Acura front row, however, so I was pretty happy after struggling in practice.
The race was going to be a close one as the nature of the track makes it difficult to pass at Mid-Ohio, but a bit of traffic in the wrong part and your race is done. Scott started the race and drove a great stint by keeping Gil in check - and keeping the Porsches behind - but we lost time in the pits due to an airjack problem and the Dumas Porsche jumped us during the safety car period.
When we got the restart, my tyres were taking a bit of time to get up to the grip I was looking for, and I got passed by Fernandez and then another Penske Porsche. I have to say that really pissed me off but, when the tyres came in, the car was really hooked up. I got past Adrian and then I was off after the first of the Porsches. I got a good run on him out of turn one and we split a GT car - I'm not sure if you could have put a sheet of paper between us as I went past, but it set me up for an inside pass on Pat Long into the turn three hairpin.
