I was able to start the off season/spring training right this past week by recording over 500 miles of testing in two days at Sebring International Raceway in central Florida. The whole JDC Motorsports team was on hand, testing potential teammates and return driver from last year Nick Haye. My previous experience at Sebring has only been in a Skip Barber car, but as it was intended to do gave me a good foundation to handle the Star Mazda car around the same circuit.

I felt very comfortable in the car this time out when compared to my initial test with the team. This is attributed to having a proper seat and the whole package set to my likings inside the car. On Monday my engineer, Rick Cameron, had an aggressive testing plan for the morning, and we had completed 200 miles before noon. Many set up changes included a range of springs, ride height, shock pressure, and camber/castor changes. He has many years experience with the radial tire, and the big goal this spring training season is to feel out how the Star Mazda car reacts to the radial.

By the end of day one I was able to get down to a 2:02:60 around Sebring. I was told to have the unofficial 2^nd fastest time of the day compared to the drivers on hand for the test. One thing we had to remember was that each team was using different radial tires, while one team was still on the Goodyear bias plied. The team that had the fastest recorded lap was using the wider Avon style radial tire which also has a better sidewall to handle the bumps which for Sebring is a good advantage considering its bumpy nature. As for me and the JDC drivers, we were using the smaller Hankook radials which have a stiffer sidewall. Theoretically, I believe we are sitting in a good position and have a good balance in the car to suit the Goodyear radial tire.

Day two was aimed at trying some aggressive set ups on the car to give me a feeling of what I might need in different situations. I was able to drop my overall lap time down to a 2:02:06 in the morning sessions which set the bar for the day. However, I again ended the day second quickest to the Avon shod car. All in all the test went good and showed us what we need to work on in time for the next test outing. Some things need to be gone over on the car back at JDC for me, but they prepared a good car to handle a 500 mile test this week. As always I have to thank John Church my team owner, Rick Cameron my engineer, and Scott Church my mechanic for their help.

After every test outing I am looking more and more forward to this upcoming season.