There’s some good marketing behind the idea of naming a track in Hastings, Neb., Motorsports Park Hastings, and there’s a fine driver behind the wheel of this S2000 because this is the Time Trial 4 lap record at MPH.
Driving a largely stock powertrain S2000 tuned for 93 octane fuel and running on Hoosier R7s, NASA MidAmerica driver Eric Lehnen made the most of the freshly repaved track when notching is 1:31.798 lap record. Lehnen said he was “chasing the green” on his Garmin Catalyst and waiting for his tires to come in so he could go for it.
“It often takes about four laps for my tires to reach optimal grip, but once I feel the grip, I focused on sending it as hard as I can in the next lap – almost to the point where I start to scare myself a little bit,” Lehnen said. “I was delicate with loose hands in the sweepers to keep it stable and minimize weight transfer so it doesn’t push me off track. With the slower/medium speed corners, I would just throw it in as hard as I could and run over the rumble strips. I truly embraced Ross Bentley’s “fast, fast” mindset in the entire lap.”
I think he’s losing a ton of time off turn 2, which is most important turn on the track, leading onto the longest straight. Should be apexed and on power much earlier. Why not use the whole track on the exit?!!!!
Exit turn 1 all the way out onto the exit curb, come off just a tad and turn right back in so you’re hugging turn 2 from the very beginning and feeding power. Minimum speed should have never gotten that low.
On the double apex left toward the end of the lap I wouldn’t miss the first apex. If anything I’d miss the second one, track out more, then brake at a diagonal as you’re coming over to the left to turn in for the right. This allows you to carry more apex and minimum speed throughout the turn. It’s more technical, but you lose nothing on the turn in for the right as long as you get all the way over to the left and get turned in at the same point.