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Le Mans / ALMS
IN THE COCKPIT: Colin Braun, VIR
What a weekend at VIR for CORE autosport! A win for Jon and me and the 2012 ALMS PC driver’s title for the lead driver of our sister No. 06 car, Alex Popow...
Jon Bennett and Colin Braun celebrate their third victory of the season Saturday at VIR. (Photo: CORE autosport)
Wow, what a weekend at VIR for CORE autosport! A win for Jon and me in the No. 05 Composite Resources ORECA FLM09 and the 2012 ALMS PC driver’s title for the lead driver of our sister No. 06 car, Alex Popow.
Congrats to Alex – he won four out of the nine races this season and finished on the podium every time. If only Jon and I hadn’t had some bad luck at Mid-Ohio or Baltimore, we really could’ve made him work for it, but sometimes racing luck has its way.
But we gave it everything we could at VIR.
It was the first time for ALMS at the track, but not for Jon and me. Both of us had thousands of miles around the place in many different cars, so our learning curve was basically setting up our PC car, not learning the track itself. Our knowledge helped us right off the bat with some very fast practice times and the pole position.
I don’t think I’ve ever worked quite as hard for a pole position as that one at VIR. We got it, by .001 seconds and .002 mph. That worked out to a tick over two inches over the 3.27 mile track. Does it get any closer? I don’t think so and I’m sure it’s kind of a record.
But when race day came, it was a different story. The start was tough – VIR is narrow and Jon was forced off-road twice during his stint, but the car was strong and he was able to bring me the car with all four wheels attached and in relatively good shape. Thanks to some great strategy by team manager Morgan Brady and engineer Gary Davies, we were able to finish in first spot by more than a lap.
It was great to win pole and the race for the first time at VIR, one of my favorite places.
It wasn’t just about racing for me this weekend – I actually made my debut as an auctioneer! CORE autosport hosted a charity auction at our transporters in the VIR paddock on race day for the Austin Hatcher Foundation, and thanks to some generous fans – as well as Alex - we raised $3145. We were told that was the third-best result of the season.
And yes, I bought something, a history of Sebring poster. Actually my wife bought the poster, but my credit card was used. Maybe one day I’ll learn how that situation works. Or I’ll just stick to driving race cars.
Speaking of race cars, this week at the SCCA Runoffs you’ll see what car I’ve been testing for so long. It’s a D Sports Racing car that’s got a small motorcycle engine and is pretty cutting edge. And it’s blindingly fast. How fast? It’ll lap Road America at the same pace as an ALMS P2 car! No, I won’t be driving it at the Runoffs, but it should be a lot of fun to watch.
Next on my schedule is the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – the final ALMS race of the 2012 season. Although that’s not until October 20, I’ll be keeping quite busy between then and now. Of course I’ll be training and working with CORE autosport as we prepare for the finale, and getting behind the wheel of a kart and whatever car I can. And I’m told my wife is kidnapping me for a few days of R&R. She deserves that.
But Petit…man am I looking forward to that race! I’ve done a ton of laps around Road Atlanta over the years, between NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series cars as well as GRAND-AM Daytona Prototypes, but not for that length, which is 10 hours or 1000 miles, whatever happens first.
I really love endurance racing. There are so many aspects that go into the race and the strategy can really play out over long periods of time. It’s a very intense high-speed chess match with a ton of variables – from fuel and tire stops, to driver lineups and how long each one runs, to traffic, to weather. The fans may not see everything that the teams are doing, and I encourage them to read as much as possible and spend time with the teams asking questions – I guarantee it’ll be worth it!
So I’ve been around Road Atlanta a lot, but this will be my first time driving the track at night. I love to drive in the dark. Yes, it’s more challenging as there are less reference points, but I tend to get into a groove and focus, running as fast as the car and traffic will allow.
You know how I learned to do that? Practice!
As many of you know, I grew up in Ovalo, Texas, and was lucky to literally have a kart track in my backyard. When I was 15 years old, I knew I’d be running the Daytona 24 Hours as soon as I turned 16, and I’d be running through the night for the first time. My dad, who definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to racing, suggested I take my kart out at night.
No lights, just the moonlight.
Talk about a learning experience. I loved it and did it as much as I could. Learned to conquer my fear, and learn to use all of my senses.
At Daytona that year, it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought as that track is very well lit, but when I drove Le Mans, man did it come in handy! Even this year at Sebring those lessons came back to me. There’s no question at Road Atlanta they’ll be handy again.
Hoping to see you there!
~Colin
The youngest-ever race winner in GRAND-AM history, Colin Braun returns to his sports car roots for 2012, competing in the American Le Mans Series with defending class champions, CORE autosport. The 23-year-old star, who spent the last few years in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, co-drives the No. 05 Oreca FLM09 with team owner Jon Bennett as they pursue the LMPC championship.
For more information, visit: www.colinbraun.com. You can also follow Colin on Twitter @ColinBraun
Congrats to Alex – he won four out of the nine races this season and finished on the podium every time. If only Jon and I hadn’t had some bad luck at Mid-Ohio or Baltimore, we really could’ve made him work for it, but sometimes racing luck has its way.
But we gave it everything we could at VIR.
It was the first time for ALMS at the track, but not for Jon and me. Both of us had thousands of miles around the place in many different cars, so our learning curve was basically setting up our PC car, not learning the track itself. Our knowledge helped us right off the bat with some very fast practice times and the pole position.
I don’t think I’ve ever worked quite as hard for a pole position as that one at VIR. We got it, by .001 seconds and .002 mph. That worked out to a tick over two inches over the 3.27 mile track. Does it get any closer? I don’t think so and I’m sure it’s kind of a record.
But when race day came, it was a different story. The start was tough – VIR is narrow and Jon was forced off-road twice during his stint, but the car was strong and he was able to bring me the car with all four wheels attached and in relatively good shape. Thanks to some great strategy by team manager Morgan Brady and engineer Gary Davies, we were able to finish in first spot by more than a lap.
It was great to win pole and the race for the first time at VIR, one of my favorite places.
It wasn’t just about racing for me this weekend – I actually made my debut as an auctioneer! CORE autosport hosted a charity auction at our transporters in the VIR paddock on race day for the Austin Hatcher Foundation, and thanks to some generous fans – as well as Alex - we raised $3145. We were told that was the third-best result of the season.
And yes, I bought something, a history of Sebring poster. Actually my wife bought the poster, but my credit card was used. Maybe one day I’ll learn how that situation works. Or I’ll just stick to driving race cars.
Speaking of race cars, this week at the SCCA Runoffs you’ll see what car I’ve been testing for so long. It’s a D Sports Racing car that’s got a small motorcycle engine and is pretty cutting edge. And it’s blindingly fast. How fast? It’ll lap Road America at the same pace as an ALMS P2 car! No, I won’t be driving it at the Runoffs, but it should be a lot of fun to watch.
Next on my schedule is the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – the final ALMS race of the 2012 season. Although that’s not until October 20, I’ll be keeping quite busy between then and now. Of course I’ll be training and working with CORE autosport as we prepare for the finale, and getting behind the wheel of a kart and whatever car I can. And I’m told my wife is kidnapping me for a few days of R&R. She deserves that.
But Petit…man am I looking forward to that race! I’ve done a ton of laps around Road Atlanta over the years, between NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series cars as well as GRAND-AM Daytona Prototypes, but not for that length, which is 10 hours or 1000 miles, whatever happens first.
I really love endurance racing. There are so many aspects that go into the race and the strategy can really play out over long periods of time. It’s a very intense high-speed chess match with a ton of variables – from fuel and tire stops, to driver lineups and how long each one runs, to traffic, to weather. The fans may not see everything that the teams are doing, and I encourage them to read as much as possible and spend time with the teams asking questions – I guarantee it’ll be worth it!
So I’ve been around Road Atlanta a lot, but this will be my first time driving the track at night. I love to drive in the dark. Yes, it’s more challenging as there are less reference points, but I tend to get into a groove and focus, running as fast as the car and traffic will allow.
You know how I learned to do that? Practice!
As many of you know, I grew up in Ovalo, Texas, and was lucky to literally have a kart track in my backyard. When I was 15 years old, I knew I’d be running the Daytona 24 Hours as soon as I turned 16, and I’d be running through the night for the first time. My dad, who definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to racing, suggested I take my kart out at night.
No lights, just the moonlight.
Talk about a learning experience. I loved it and did it as much as I could. Learned to conquer my fear, and learn to use all of my senses.
At Daytona that year, it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought as that track is very well lit, but when I drove Le Mans, man did it come in handy! Even this year at Sebring those lessons came back to me. There’s no question at Road Atlanta they’ll be handy again.
Hoping to see you there!
~Colin
The youngest-ever race winner in GRAND-AM history, Colin Braun returns to his sports car roots for 2012, competing in the American Le Mans Series with defending class champions, CORE autosport. The 23-year-old star, who spent the last few years in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, co-drives the No. 05 Oreca FLM09 with team owner Jon Bennett as they pursue the LMPC championship.
For more information, visit: www.colinbraun.com. You can also follow Colin on Twitter @ColinBraun
Monterey
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