Sometimes it's Antonio telling about the race weekend, this time it is dad.
As a parent, you never know if what you've taught or instilled in them set in, but there are some events that drop clues and some answer questions.. this race weekend answered questions.
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is a tricky one. We've raced RA quite a bit, but it's challenging if you only make it there twice a year. We drove down from Virginia on Thursday, got to the track Friday morning, Antonio was able to get one short test session in.
He ran the second stint of the 8hr race on Saturday, about 3hrs straight turning consistently fast laps. In that one stint he might've doubled the amount of laps he's done at Road Atlanta period.. he said it was the most worn down he's felt after racing, also the most challenging, but he did really.. really well. They started 2nd on the day, fell to 4th, finished in second by the end of eight hours.
Sunday, drenching rain came late morning, I smiled seeing it hit the ground. What I knew that no one else there did, was Antonio spent the entire summer at the house, on the sim in his room (pic added here) running rain races on iRacing.
Practicing for hours and hours, racing day after day, I knew what was about to happen.
Rain starts about the time his stint begins, he jumps in and sure enough he turns laps around 10seconds faster than others in his class.. he's on par with competitors in faster classes, I just knew first place was coming with five hours left in the race but it did not happen, as the race was stopped due to lightning the rest of the day.
They finished fourth in class due to some mechanical gremlins on a restart, but that is okay. If he had the chance to redo the weekend nothing changes, he did everything correct. Mature, measured, fast, and as disciplined as he is skilled. Antonio reflected so many of the qualities his mother and I want to see, especially in defeat.
So it isn't a loss. I am a bit biased, but I am impressed. I'm glad I got to photograph it and share. We are absolutely proud.
Antonio is back to college next week, flying again, and we head out to Colorado in September for the next race. All thanks to Open Throttle Racing team for the best support, hospitality, and giving this amateur photographer the opportunity to learn. OG Racing for the gear, and thanks to anyone who took the time to read all of this, cause I know it is a lot.
The journey continues.
