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Driver blog: Austin Versteeg keeping busy after Sebring win

Hello, everyone. Hope all is well. If you have read my first blog, you know I race in the Mazda Prototype Lites Presented by Cooper Tires, the IMSA Official Development Series.

Austin Versteeg

Austin Versteeg

IMSA

Austin Versteeg race winner
Podium: race winner Austin Versteeg, second place Clark Toppe, third place Michael Whelden
Austin Versteeg

My last race was in mid-March, the season opener at Sebring International Raceway. I earned my first series victory there. Since then, I haven’t had any time in the Lites 1 car because our next race isn’t until Fourth of July Weekend at Watkins Glen.

But that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy. A couple of weeks after Sebring, I attended the Grand Prix of Long Beach. I have been attending that race since I was 3 years old, but this year’s race was a little different for me than in past years.

Why? Well, this was the first year that I have been to Long Beach when my team was running its IMSA WeatherTech Championship car. JDC Motorsports was running its Prototype Challenge (PC) car in the Bubba Burger Grand Prix of Long Beach. This provided me with an opportunity to learn what it is like in the data room and underneath the tent during a race weekend, helping me learn what I needed to learn to take my career to the next level. I also was able to walk around the paddock and make connections, something vital for a young driver and something you can’t do enough.

I hoped to go on a track walk, as well, but I couldn’t swing it because I arrived in Southern California late Thursday night from my home in Utah.

Friday came around quickly, and I met the team in the paddock. Immediately I saw everyone at work (a common theme with JDC), and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to sit in on the debriefs before and after sessions. Sitting in on these debriefs was crazy. There is so much to learn and so many different things going on in the car. So many different things to think about compared to my Lites car.

If you have been to the Long Beach race, then you know the course is so challenging. So many tight, bumpy turns that lead onto massive straightaways. After the first practice session, I went into the debrief room to listen to what the drivers had to say. It was crazy to hear all the terminology they were using but also very intriguing to try to figure out what they were talking about without interrupting.

There is a lot more that goes on in one session in the PC car compared to the Lites car. There’s no messing around, as the drivers go right out of the gates for the first practice. All of the pros try to take in what the car and track have to offer and then give feedback to the team.

I also was fortunate enough to see all the information that a spotter for a team takes in. Long Beach is very challenging to see much since it’s a street course. Once you find a good spot at Long Beach, you practically are set there for every session of the weekend.

A street course also provides a big challenge in managing traffic. This was a big learning experience for me. I knew that managing traffic was important, but I didn't realize how important until I spent an entire weekend with the team.

The stints in a WeatherTech Championship race are very different compared to my 30- and 45-minute Lites races. In my races, mostly whoever is flat-out fastest is normally up front. In the Weathertech Championship, you must have pace. But you also must have fast stint times. No matter what season it is, if you can have solid stint times over the competition, then you are looking good. This matters even more when you are trying to navigate faster and slower traffic during the race. Multi-class races often are won or lost based on your stint times.

There was so much, as a young driver, I learned in Long Beach. It truly confirmed I want to always improve,and that I want a career in this more than anything.

Besides going to Long Beach, I haven't done much besides the normal things a 16-year-old kid does.

It's getting very late in the school year, and teachers are starting to cram all of us with homework. It's definitely what you could call  “crunch time” or, as Lewis Hamilton would say, “hammer time” for school. This is one positive to having a break in between race weekends. I can focus focus on these last couple of weeks in school.

Even more important, though, I can focus on the ever-stressful school finals. I swear, I get even more stressed from finals than I do a race weekend. But I guess I will just have to get used to it, only being a sophomore in high school, especially having to take the ACT for my junior and senior year of high school.

That said, I can’t wait for the official series test coming up May 25-26 at Watkins Glen. It's been way too long since I've been in the always-exciting-to-drive Lites car.

I also can't wait to get on the newly paved track surface at The Glen to see how much the track has changed compared to last year. The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship already has tested there, and from what I’ve read on social media, the new surface is great. I just can't wait to get back in the seat!

I would like to thank Motorsport.com for the opportunity to write these blogs and everyone who supports and follows me through my career.

Until next time,

Austin

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