- 12/31/2017
- 4 Min Read
- By: Anthony Magagnoli
Driver's Log - 2017 PWC Season Rounds 11 + 12 - Laguna Seca
Coming into the final weekend of our rookie season, I had fallen from 4th to 6th in overall points after contact in the previous round at CotA resulted in me not finishing the second race.
I had only driven a few laps at Laguna Seca before, so I felt like I was coming into the last round less prepared than most of the drivers, who had either raced here before, or even live locally. I find that I really enjoy the dynamic nature, elevation change, and flow of Laguna Seca, but there are a few points on the circuit that take precision and consistency to make maximum commitment, namely the blind-entry Turn 6. Having fallen out of the top 5 for overall points, we were just outside of our season target of 5th, so Todd gave me every opportunity to try to make it up in the last race, which would require me to finish at least one position ahead of Mason Filippi on average over the 2 races. We had an extra set of sticker tires to practice on so that we could get the most out of those sessions and I was hoping to take advantage of that. Unfortunately, a work emergency delayed our race engineer from joining the practice and qualifying day, so we would find ourselves a little behind on setup by the time we made it to race day. To compound things, I made a mistake that threw away the majority of the opportunity that we had made to maximize our practice session. In Friday’s first practice, I was on tires with only 1 heat cycle, when I turned in slightly early for that blind Turn 6. This turn is a blind turn-in and then drops into a huge compression at the apex. Once turned-in, if I had tried to correct, I would have headed off the track with a lot of speed. I had to follow my trajectory at that point, which led me to hit the tall inner curb which is there to discourage cutting the corner. With the enormous compression at that point, everything in my left front corner bottomed out, leading to a broken wheel and sheared coil-over shock absorber. OUCH.
Eric, Marshall, and Kevin did a great job springing into action to get the car fixed up for the next practice session and qualifying. I qualified in 8th place, starting beside 5-time PWC champion Pierre Kleinubing and immediately behind California local, Mason Filippi, and I knew my target was right ahead of me. On the start, I stayed on the outside as everyone dove to the inside of Turn 2. This netted me a couple positions through T2, but my compromised exit gave them back up by the time we came out of T3. I settled into 8th and found myself defending against Mark Drennan in the MX5 Miata, which owns the track record here. I held him off for a few laps before he got by under braking into the last turn. I got onto the back bumper of 2016 TC Champion Toby Grahovec and got by him while also battling with Tony Rivera in his 370Z. It was then on the next lap that I turned in just a hair early for Turn 6 and clipped the tall inner curb AGAIN. I kept on the gas up the hill, but then found myself unable to adequately slow for the corkscrew, going off a bit wide. I managed to gather it up and stay out of the way of the other cars as I ashamedly called to Eric on the radio that I had broken the car again and wouldn’t be able to continue. I made my way into the pits, with the left front corner dragging on the body.
UGH… I felt horrible to have made the same mistake again, breaking another wheel, coil-over shock, and even a hub. Not only that, but I’d now lost any points that would have kept me in the hunt for that top-5 season finish we were seeking. I was certain to have disappointed Todd and the rest of the team, in front of several friends, family and FCP Euro reps. I was down on myself for a while and it must have been apparent to those around me. But, in perfect example of what a great team I’m part of, I received nothing but more encouragement from everyone. Furthermore, I did not hear a single complaint or hint of frustration from the boys who were taking care of the car, nor did I have a question in my mind that we would have any trouble making the second race that day. Eric, Marshall, and Kevin got right to work and had the car back to being race ready with time to spare. I can’t thank everyone enough for rallying to get me and the car ready for the last race! It was great to have so many guests for our west-coast race, too. Attendees included my cousins Melissa and Mike and their girls, Bella and Gianna, my friends Simon and Karlie and their girls, Charlotte and Lucy, my friend Fabien, who I hadn’t seen in 10 years, and, in attendance for the first time as my wife, Christina Magagnoli!
I was starting in 8th again for the second race, which would be a standing start. I didn’t get a great start, basically maintaining position over the first several laps. It’s worth noting that I haven’t lost a single position on a start all year, as far as I can recall. I was behind Tony Rivera’s 370Z for the first couple laps until he got by the Accord of Karl Wittmer, who had his rear bumper flapping in the wind from contact on the start. Karl was eventually shown a flag to pit for mechanical repair, which allowed me to inherit 7th place. I maintained pace with Rivera and got 6th position when he had a momentary engine stumble headed up to the corkscrew. Shortly thereafter, Nick Wittmer caught up with the two of us, having started from the back. Nick was hooked up this weekend! He got between Rivera and myself and was putting the pressure on me. As all 3 of us were battling, Rivera got back by Wittmer. I was considering not putting up that big of a fight to Nick, knowing how much pace he had this weekend, but when I saw that Rivera had successfully battled back, I looked at the gap ahead and calculated that Nick wouldn’t be able to catch the next guy ahead in the remaining time, even if I let him by unimpeded. So, when he got back by Rivera, I drove hard and defended where I needed to. We ran side-by-side in corner after corner, battling hard. I love racing this guy! Eventually, he got a bit of a run down the front straight and got side-by-side with me through the Andretti Hairpin (T2). On the way out, pulling back off the exit curbing, he gave me a sizable hip check that sealed his advantage and he got the position going into T3. It appears that he hadn’t meant to bump me and we were frankly both a bit confused as to why it occurred. I hadn’t called it in, but the stewards reviewed the incident on their own accord, appropriately electing to take no action. From this point, Wittmer gradually pulled a gap on me, while I eventually put enough room between Rivera and myself to secure my position of 7th place, where I finished the race.
Closing out a difficult weekend with a 7th place finish felt acceptable, but I couldn’t say I felt great about it. I suppose that’s to be expected, though. I won’t feel fully satisfied with a race result unless I’ve reached the top step of the podium! I did, however, take the time to reflect back how far we’ve come this season, and I felt that we had a tremendous amount to be proud of. We came into Pirelli World Challenge as a new driver and new team, trying to make a mark in the front of a hotly contested class of pro racing.
We suffered a rough introduction at our first weekend at VIR, when I was blatantly taken out by a car that had missed it’s braking point while running 5th in BOTH races that weekend! From there, we went to a track that was new to me, yet we improved at Mosport to finish 6th in the first race and 5th in the second. Lime Rock was another track that was new to me and things started a little rough, but we netted a 9th place finish in the first race and improved to 5th in the second race, in front of a huge turnout of employees from FCP Euro and their families. After the summer break, we headed out to Utah where evading the Lap 1 / Turn 1 melee in each race was initially the key to success. After that, it was managing the heat at high elevation that was causing all the cars to overheat! Quickly adapting to the conditions helped to net us our first podium position with a 3rd place finish! We ended up with 6th in the second race, leaving Utah feeling a new high that we found we liked very much. At Circuit of the Americas in TX, we showed true pace and strength, as had finally started to figure out a setup that worked well on the car. We were a force in the first race, finishing with another 3rd place finish! That podium celebration, standing in the same place as the Formula 1 winners, was an incredible experience. In the second race, we had the pace and I was in a position to win it. That was, until the yellow flag came out. That lap after the restart was the most exciting of the season. It ultimately ended with a crash between me and Liefooghe that ended my race, but the conditions surrounding the contact also were an important statement of how I was going to race – and I wouldn’t be pushed around.
Our final position in the championship was 6th, just one spot away from our target. But the other target was to run up front and be noticed. I think we achieved that in spades! To top it off, at the awards banquet in Monterey, I was awarded the PWC TC class Rookie of the Year! We can improve our finishing position next year, but we only had one shot at this! I am incredibly proud of the Rooster Hall Racing team, thankful to our partners at FCP Euro, Rowe, and Rein, and so thankful to Todd Brown for giving me the opportunity to pilot the car. HRX has provided me incredible safety gear that also had me looking great and feeling confident every time I suited up. Getting to this point started a long, long time ago. It was the support of my parents, in particular, as well as my family, friends, and wife that enabled me to pursue my dream. It was also my racing friends, students, clients, and co-drivers who have graciously given me so many opportunities to demonstrate my ability over the years. I offer a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone and anyone who contributed even the slightest bit of support to me. I hope to continue to make you proud and build on our success in 2018!
