It has been a couple of weeks now since Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta. My buddy Gill Cutchen and three friends decided to run the endurance race on Friday so I went over to help them out. The picture above is of our endurance pits.
Friday practice was fine with no problems at all. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the race. The endurance round at Road Atlanta is a tough one. Six hours in the sweltering Georgia summer heat. I don't know how they do it.
Gill was on the bike at the start and was running well but a false neutral and an accidental downshift in 7 sent him low-siding off track. He came in with a broken front brake lever. That was quickly replaced and he went back out to finish his turn on the bike. Here's a photo of Gill after his session. Man the heat really saps your energy.
Scott took the bike out next but a few minutes later a WERA official came by and told us he had pulled off with the bike smoking. We hoped it was minor but soon we learned it was a blown motor and he was coming in on the crash truck.
I was sorry to see their race end that way and so early but that's racing. Fortunately, it gave me some time to run around Road Atlanta on my pit bike and enjoy the racing.
So, my hat is off to the entire GTR Endurance team for their hard work in putting together their racing effort this weekend. Guys you did a remarkable job and I'm proud to have been a small part of it. Sorry it ended the way it did but we'll be back and better than ever.
