If you recall my article from last year’s Global Time Attack Atlanta round, you’ll remember the entire feeling of the event revolved around planning and executing one flying lap to clinch a record or seal a place on the podium. Well, in a most contradictory fashion, 2019’s GTA Atlanta event consisted of logging tons of laps throughout the entire weekend in unpredictable track conditions.
As I also mentioned in my Formula DRIFT coverage, the weather forecast heading into the weekend was grim. The heavens were primed and ready to open at a moment’s notice, with thunderstorms definitively forecasted from Thursday through Sunday.
For anyone unfamiliar with Atlanta and its surrounding area—namely the Braselton, GA region where Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta resides—in the summer months, it’s hot. When I say hot, I mean it’s really hot! It’s native to a sporadic springtime temperature elevation, which skips normal spring weather. The Atlanta area mimics a borderline tropical climate riddled with intense sunshine and even more intense rain showers. Because of this, each time attack driver seemingly went into the weekend on borrowed time.
On Friday morning, the drivers were ticking off dry laps that could potentially be their last of the weekend, as the looming storm clouds surely had other plans. During each session throughout the event, drivers spent as much time as they could on track. There was no pre-calculating to take advantage of better conditions on a later lap, or risking a missed session, because the uncertainty of the future conditions for the remainder of the event would not allow it.
The reworked classes without drivetrain designations included Enthusiast, Street, Limited, Unlimited, and Pro/Comp, and through each of the run groups in each timed session, these classes were basically bursting with competitors on track.
By the end of the event on Saturday, the promised rain never came. Competitors were gifted gorgeous racing conditions for two whole days on the beautiful sweeping hills of Road Atlanta, and while an overall lap record wasn’t pinned, there was plenty of on-track action and new class records that made the event—and entire weekend—one to remember!
You can view the full rundown of results from the Atlanta event here, and take a look at the upcoming event list for the Global Time Attack series here. For now, check out our gallery below. We hope you enjoy!
Gallery