It's a shame it was raining all day for your first track day, but then again...that kind of experience is extremely valuable. I really wish I could have made it out to watch. If I knew it was going to rain, I would have actually ran my car. The summer tires I have on my black wheels are really good in the rain, plus the rain isn't as hard on my suspension (because I wouldn't be able to push it as hard). Plus, I really wanted some wet track experience this year because I think that experience really carries over to the public roads.
Glad you had a great time and glad you were passing some nice cars haha!
That hairpin section (turns 10 and 11) definitely is a tricky one. When it was dry, my 3rd gear was perfect for that section. Although, I do have the turbo and the MS3's have loads of torque around 3200 RPMs. Actually, I think that's about where the peak of our torque curve is. Anyway...when I was running, I noticed almost everyone taking that section too sharp. The best way I figured out for my car was to do a late apex on turn 10. Then, let the car track out as far as possible to the outside of the track through 11. I would say when I hit the apex of 11, I would only be around the middle of the track continuing to let the car track out to the outside of the course. Once I was at the edge and straightened out, I would slowly cut back over towards to right side of the track (probably 3/4 of the way), which would set me up for the last left hand turn 12 leading on to the front straight. I was able to get a much higher exit speed out of that section onto the straight. I was surprised so many cars weren't taking advantage of the full width of the track there. Most of the cars would try to hold tight through 10 and 11 so they could already be setup for the slight left turn 12 onto the straight. I honestly don't think that's even necessary for our lower horsepower cars, because I was still able to take the left turn 12 on the the front straight at full throttle. I remember many times when following a car (with the same or more power) through that section, I actually had to lift off the throttle to slow down and avoid running into them at turn 12. A lot of times, they would see me right on their tail and signal to let me pass on the straight.
One of my favorite sections was turns 2 and 3. It's the down-hill right hand turn section, which is technically 2 separate turns. My instructor told me to treat those as 1 large turn. I was able to basically go full throttle through both turns in that section. I would hit the inside of turn 2 at the apex then let the car track all the way out. I would not let the wheels completely straighten out. As soon as I would hit the far left outside edge of the track, I would smoothly increase the steering angle to make sure the car hit the very inside of turn 3 at the apex. Since the steering wheel is still turned clockwise and the wheels are already aiming right, you don't even have to increase the angle very much. I would then make sure the car tracks out all the way to the left edge of the track, which would set me up perfectly for turn 4. You really do have to treat turns 2 and 3 one large turn, making sure you use every inch of the track. I'm pretty sure that by the time I hit the left outside edge of the track after 3, I was right at my braking zone and turn in point for turn 4. This is a really good turn to practice your trail braking. I learned a lot about weight distribution when braking. When you're braking, a lot of the car's weight shifts from the rear of the car onto the front wheels. If you get the timing of the braking correct, you can start your turn in as soon as the weight transfers to the front wheels. The first time I got this correct on turn 4, I was amazed at how much traction I had...and how quickly the car was able to turn into 4.
