That was pointed out at the time as well, but VIR is a longer track over all and has a much longer back straight just to wind it up and see how it goes.

It was also made clear to me that you don't just get dumped on the track...you have to do a few runs with someone who is familiar with the track and who has run your car around it once at a reasonable speed to get a feel for where you, the novice, should be.