Well, it was a total bust. May weather in Ohio is unpredictable and Monday the 13th proved again why early season track events are a gamble. The forecast on Friday leading up to the Monday event was overcast, but clear. However, it was clear by Sunday afternoon that rain was in the forecast. Not only would we see rain, but temperatures would struggle to get above 45 degrees. If it were any other track other than Mid-Ohio, it might be manageable, but Mid-Ohio is notorious for slick conditions, even with the best rain tire setup. Over the years, the track owners have used various sealants that make it hazardous. The common recommendation is to use the “rain line”, which consists of running off the race line altogether – typically where you’d find the marbles or clag . Even then, in the 3 prior times I’ve been on track, I’ve never been able to get any grip above 50 mph. Of course, I had just switched out to Proxes R888Rs, which is a terrible set up for cold weather, let alone a wet track.

Throughout the event, I struggled with on-track session schedule updates. At events with perfect weather in 2018, these handy lanyard badges were a cool idea. They were a quick reference, easily accessible – more so than the excel spreadsheet printout that most clubs hand out. I have to wonder if there isn’t a better way of doing this. Of course there is. I’m in IT and I know this could be done through an app. Time to search if something doesn’t already exist.

Anyway, with the rain coming down heavily at times, the schedule changed a LOT. On top of that, I couldn’t hear the updates from the PA system. The other drivers in my garage were all running around outside trying to hear the muffled garble. It sounded like the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. I was late to grid on 2 occasions, losing time on track. I will need to think about the fix.