https://www.scca.com/downloads/58713...ional/download
Status Update
After qualifying 1 we found ourselves in 13th, 14th and 16th respectively.
After qualifying 2 (of 3) we are now 12th, 13th and 18th respectively.
Broken records
The top 11 cars have beat the existing qualifying record. I am 2/10ths away from doing so myself which I expect to do tomorrow. My goal is to qualify in the top 10, which means I need to find 7/10ths of a second - my data suggests this is doable.
The Year of the Miata
You will notice that in the top 10, 7 are MX-5s, 1 RX8 and 2 86s. This is very much the year of the Miata in T4 because of the current BOP (balance of performance) which favored them. After all, the MX5 that won the runoffs last year is currently the pole sitter. They are every bit as fast as the 86s in a straight line, yet carry 300 fewer pounds on the same tire.
46 cars have posted a qualifying time. 7/10ths of a second covers 9 positions while 8/10ths covers the next 8 positions.
The primary reason I want to qualify a bit higher is the fact that behind the front pack is where all the shenanigans are expected to occur. In 2017 they were considered a "good group" yet there was plenty of contact and this year, we are not frankly a good group. Every session has been littered with yellow flags, even a black flag. During the first qualifying session we only got 1 flying lap, then we had: car to car contact, a car with a major mechanical failure, another car spun while another car came to rest against the wall leading onto the straight. On the Test Days there was so little cautionary driving around yellow flags that the safety crews were going to stop doing hot pulls because they didn't feel safe. Only God knows what's in hold for the race.