With the July 3 Whelen Modified Tour race date at Lime Rock Park (Lakeville, CT) quickly approaching, Renee has been busy working to learn the intricacies of road course racing.
To that end, she has been out at Lime Rock’s 1.53-mile track twice in recent weeks. First, Renee ran the course with BMW Instructor Bob Rivard at a club event. Then, most recently, she had the opportunity to work with Simon Kirkby and Peter Argetsinger – both highly accomplished and respected racers and instructors.
“I’ve been racing for a long time, but I have virtually no road course experience,” confessed Renee. “Actually, the experience I do have is an embarrassment. Back when we did Setup
[a racing themed reality TV show that aired on SPEED in 2007], we excelled at everything until we went to the first road course – then we got sent home,” she continued. “Now the stakes are much higher and I want to know what I’m doing when we get to Lime Rock.”During her time at the track, Renee focused primarily on learning the line, and braking and shifting points. But, was also able to get a feel for what she wants out of her Modified.
“Even though I was in BMWs – not a Modified, I was able to feel what the car was doing and related the differences to my guys,” she explained. “It’s not just turning right, it’s a totally different feel in the seat of your pants. My first impression – and I mean like the first 30 seconds I was on the track – was I need big brakes and a really well balanced car. How we achieve that balance, in cars that were designed only to turn left, is something we’re already hard at work on.”
“From what’s been explained to me, from a technical standpoint, Lime Rock is as complicated as it gets. It was an unbelievable opportunity to work with Simon and Peter. They got me to concentrate on my line, working to erase early and late apexes. Obviously there is no way to conquer Lime Rock in just a few sessions, but at the end of the day, I think I left having both a better feel and understanding for where the car needs to be and why it needs to be there.”
In related news, NASCAR and Hoosier held a test last week with four teams (see the YouTube clip below) at Lime Rock. Additionally, an open test has been scheduled for June 29 at Lime Rock. At that point, Renee will be given an opportunity to see what she can do with her new-found knowledge. For more information on additional Lime Rock track time, please click here.