Thomson: Testing for 2009

While Grand-Am’s Rolex teams were en route to Daytona for their October test days, Compass360 Racing spent some time doing testing of our own at Mosport International Raceway.

Conveniently located just an hour from the C360R shop, Mosport is the site of some of our team’s greatest successes, including the dramatic win in 2007 by Billy Johnson and me in the team’s #76 TSX. The team used the test time to baseline its new platform, the Honda Civic Si, against the outgoing TSX.

Our test drivers swapped between the #76 TSX and our development Civic over the course of the day, allowing us the opportunity to evaluate not only the cars but the guys behind the wheel as well.

Despite the inclement weather, which featured a rainy, wet track and oppressive fog at times, we did a lot of work over the course of the day, especially as the track dried (before it rained again). For me, the chance to drive both cars in the wet was a welcome opportunity, as I’ve not had the chance to drive in the rain for a few years. And I love the rain!

So too did the drivers who attended, including team regular Travis Walker, warming up for what will be his fifth Grand-Am season next year. Jamie Holtom, who as 2008 KONI ST Champion beat us out for top spot this year, relished his opportunity to take the helm of one of our cars (one of which hounded him at nearly every race!). Matthew Bell, who impressed in his first season in Grand-Am this year (driving the #95 Turner BMW), was quickly up to speed in his first time in a front-wheel-drive car on a wet track. And newcomer Kevin Tyndall, who’s had great success in Van Diemens, stunned us with fast lap times in every session.

So the driving talent was all there, even if the weather wasn’t.

At the end of the day our crew chief Ray Lee had gained some more valuable data from the drivers that will help us to refine the development of our Civic Si’s. We think the Hondas will prove very competitive, as the platform already managed to win a race this year at New Jersey. We plan on running three of our new 2009-spec Civics in the KONI Challenge next year, with our two TSX’s and RSX-S moving to the Canadian Touring Car Championship (a series that runs eight weekends in Ontario and Quebec, including an event at Mosport).

For me, it was great to spend the day with great talents like Jamie, Kevin, Matt and Travis. Even though it rained, we had a good time, compared notes and enjoyed the opportunity to jump from car to car without the pressure of a race weekend.

Watch for my review of 2008, as well as my SEMA report over the next few weeks. In the meanwhile, we continue to refine our driver line-up for next season. Of which more anon…