(reprinted from https://www.jackholmesracing.com/)
First and second place at Laguna Seca! It was a close fight for first all weekend with some seriously exciting battles.
Laguna has always been one of my weaker tracks, but I showed up ready to fight and win. I was able to grab pole position in Saturday’s qualifying for race 1 by just 0.1 seconds and I knew this would be my biggest challenge yet this season. In the first laps of the race, I was able to build a few seconds lead, but quickly began to struggle with heat in the rear tires. P2 saw the opportunity and closed in over several laps, keeping the pressure on and forcing me to push hard. My tires were in a bad spot and he was right behind me, but I should have been able to keep him there if it weren’t for some bad timing. With only a few laps remaining, defending hard for the lead, the faster F3s caught us on their lead lap. As the leading F3 passed me, I lost the apex to turn 4, and then all the other F4 had to do was follow him by. I was forced to tuck in behind and hope for an opportunity to come back at him, but at this point my pace had fallen off and the focus shifted from pushing hard to cooling the tires. A few laps later I crossed the line for a P2 finish with lots to cover in the debrief.
Sunday morning I showed up hungry. We made some changes after reviewing the data from race 1 and improved one-lap pace by a full second in the second quali. I secured the P1 start for race 2 by a comfortable margin and knew what I needed to do to win.
I got a solid start and passed a few FMs into the first corner which gave a 3 second gap to P2. From there, I settled into a groove and pumped out some consistent laps while maintaining my lead and conserving the tires. This time it was enough, and P2 never had the pace to close the gap. Overall a difficult weekend, but still a good one. I’m happy with the ultimate pace I found, and I’m ready to win next time back at Laguna.
Next up is Thunderhill on June 17-19 for rounds 7 & 8. Feeling confident as always and excited for some more close racing.
I couldn’t have made it to where I am without the continued support from every one of my amazing sponsors and donors. It means a lot and I’m glad I can keep sharing wins with you. Thanks to everyone for being a part of this with me.