The Setup: Part II

Team Architecture: 

The 2025 "Roar Before the 24"
sparked my interest in endurance racing. The cornerstone of any endurance racer’s career is a good team, and I found mine with El Slow Mo’s. In searching for endurance teammates, I met Marius Pretorius, the founder and architect of the Sim Teams’ Architect (STA) program. He designed it to match like-minded drivers to teams. In my case, I wasn’t looking for a top-tier team; I wanted to "manage expectations" in 2025. This more laid-back approach meant I was looking to simply enjoy the experience of a 24-hour race.

Meet the team:

​Our first endurance event was the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. It didn’t take long for the team to be assembled. A typical team for a 24-hour race needs three to six drivers; we had five. Parker was a non-negotiable partner because we share one sim rig. With loading times taking around two minutes, it’s impossible to switch between our respective iRacing accounts without losing time during a pit stop. STA paired us with Gavin, who lived in Australia, as well as Kevin and Yusef, who both live in South Africa. This was an intriguing element of the team—due to time zone differences, our teammates were six to fifteen hours ahead of EST. Our team had an international flair, to say the least.

The Green Hell:

​As a newbie to sports car racing, my preference for a specific car model wasn’t an issue. I had no bias toward any of the 15 GT3 models available on iRacing. Kevin and Yusef favored the Ferrari 296 GT3, so I purchased it and started to learn the car and track.

​The Nürburgring Gesamtstrecke is an impressive 16.12-mile course. The lap starts with the car sprinting through the Grand Prix circuit, followed by an unrivaled, sprawling trek of twists, turns, and straightaways—including two impressive 180-degree corners. In a brilliant move, the designer of this track dug the banking into the ground; these corners are known as the "Carousels." I had just six weeks to learn the 170-turn track. Unlike most other tracks, I would not be able to memorize the layout in 20 to 40 minutes. It was a massive undertaking.

​One of the most famous nicknames for this track is "The Green Hell." Here, an acceptable lap time is in the range of eight to nine minutes. My mission was to learn the track well enough to survive the 24-hour race. Slowly, sections started to become recognizable, much like building a puzzle. Soon I was patching one section to another. Even four weeks in, I still felt lost on certain parts, scanning the horizon for the next move. Not knowing what was next, I would follow the road until the next recognizable section appeared. Eventually, the puzzle fit together.

Safety:

​I felt pretty good about making safe laps. As the race approached, someone asked, “Hey, what setup are you using?”“Someone gave me this one,” I replied. In my quest to learn the track, I hadn’t actually thought about the technical setup. A teammate gave me a new one to try, and I couldn’t believe the difference. The car I had learned didn't feel like the car I was now driving. I couldn’t complete a lap without wrecking.

​I started making adjustments in my driving—lifting off the gas earlier or trail braking less. I could make conservative laps, but by lap six, fuel consumption made the car significantly lighter and changed the handling. I knew what was causing it, but I didn’t know how to fix it. Again, I adjusted my driving. Fortunately, we were given a third setup named “Safe.” It lived up to its name.

The Main Event:

​This event gave me a lot of food for thought regarding setups. The entire team must run the same setup, and the stakes are high because you cannot change it once you load into the race session. To make matters more complicated, a comfortable setup varies from driver to driver; I might like my car to feel much different than my teammates. Weather and track temperatures also affect handling. When all five teammates finally agreed on a setup, it felt like a small victory before the race even started.

​Our race began with a wreck when Gavin’s internet connection became unstable. He realized he might not be able to complete his "fair share" of driving duty, so we elected to give up on this particular race and get a fresh start with the four drivers in the next time slot. By the time I got in for my first stint, the sun had started to set. The track cooled, and the tires became less responsive. By the end of my first double-stint, the track was under the cover of darkness. I was happy with my performance, adjusting my driving to the conditions. I was even fortunate enough to be back in the car as the sun rose, feeling the track change once again. We finished 22nd out of 60—a major accomplishment for the four of us.

A fraction of an inch and a yard of bricks:

​My next adventure was Indy. Picture the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the famed Yard of Bricks. Now, picture starting on the front stretch running toward Turn 4, then making a sharp right onto the infield. The road course consists of 14 corners on a 2.44-mile track. I would be working with one teammate for this six-hour event. Parker was sitting this one out, so I paired up with Anthony, another ESM driver from Maine.

​At this point, I couldn't find a setup for our McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, so I decided to build one myself. I started with the iRacing baseline setups and downloaded the car's advanced setup guide. I can’t say I made a lot of changes—mostly adjusting for understeer in the long, sweeping corners. During practice, Anthony was a few seconds quicker than me. He gave me some tips on where to change my driving line. I shared my setup with him after giving the disclaimer: "This is my first attempt at a sports car setup."To my surprise, he liked it! He made one adjustment—a simple 1/32” camber angle change—and the car was even faster. This built my confidence in my ability to create a setup. 

Unfortunately, we never got to put it to the test. A week before the race, I pulled a muscle in my back and was sidelined. I joined Marius and Nick’s  race session and we talked  about sim racing, Politics and just about anything that came up. One of the benefits of endurance sim racing is the fellowship that happens in the hours between the green flag and checkered flag. I was looking forward to building the setup for Daytona.