BRAUN: Back to Victory Lane

Well, what a weekend at Mosport! The Meyer Shank Racing team was coming off a podium finish in Watkins Glen, so we were bringing in some good momentum!

Mosport is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule and is one that I always feel really excited to drive. It is fast and flowing with super high-speed corners that push the driver and car to the limit.

It’s also been a historically great track for Acura, HPD, and the ORECA chassis. All that said, we were ready to head up North.

The practice schedule was tricky since we raced in the afternoon but only had one afternoon practice. The Michelin tire is very temperature dependent in the GTP category, so tuning the car around a cold morning track temp is a tough path to follow.

We focused on the balance and chassis tuning in the first session and used the second session to do some tuning on the “systems” side.

The job Acura and HPD have done on the “tools” we have in our car has been incredible. So much of the chassis’s performance and balance comes from the car’s “systems” side.

Most people would expect these cars to have a sophisticated TC [traction control] system, which they do. The hybrid component means a lot can be done on the braking end, too, with how the regeneration and brake systems work. Tom was also able to log a simulated qualifying run in the second session to get a feel for the upcoming qualifying session.

Tom did a great job qualifying, sticking it on the pole with a nice lap. These cars are sensitive to fuel load, so on new tires and a light fuel load, they really come alive. However, that slightly changes the balance, so our engineering group nailed our qualifying setup to lock in the pole.

Post-qualifying, we met a bunch of diehard fans at the autograph session, which was great. Then it was dinner time, Tom and I ate at the same restaurant every night we were in Canada.

It was close to the hotel and good food! And luckily, our hotel was also close to a Dairy Queen. I will admit to loving a little ice cream treat at night (always going for a Mini Blizzard), so we also made that a nightly routine.

Come race day, we were ready to go! Tom had a great start and led for his entire stint. Traffic plays a huge role in these races, and the gap swung back and forth between nothing and a few seconds between us and our sister Acura GTP car.

I knew I would likely jump in under green and have a “cold tire” out lap to nail, so watching the gap grow was great, but I hated seeing traffic erase it.

Tom came in leading, and I jumped in and maintained that lead until the first stop. We had a small issue on the stop and dropped back to P3. Shortly after the re-start, the first and second place cars dove in for their final stop.

We planned an over cut strategy, but the caution came out just as we were on our way in, and the pits closed.

We were in the lead but a bit short on fuel if it went green to the end, so we rolled the dice and hoped for a yellow while doing some fuel saving.

Fortunately, we had a few yellows that worked in our favor, allowing us to manage a strong pace while continuing to save fuel. Coming to the last re-start, our sister Acura was behind me (who was plenty good on fuel), so I knew I had to push hard for a few laps before returning to fuel-saving mode.

It was unfortunate to see the crash with the No. 01 at the end, as we were good on fuel and would have liked to finish under green for the fans.

Luckily everyone was okay, and we grabbed win number two of the season! It was a great way to repay everyone at MSR, Acura, and HPD for their hard work in giving us incredibly fast cars all season!