MARRS V - Summit Point Race Report
The fifth race of the season would be one of first's in many ways but not the most critical way.
Summit Point was hot and hotter. Luckily we were the first race group which meant the first qualifying and the race would be on the 'cool' side. Maybe only 90 degrees and muggy instead of the 100 experienced later in the day.
First pole position. We had made some changes to the Sisu Racing Nissan 240sx to improve its speed since the last race. A new limited slip differential made all the difference in the world, well one place anyway. Starting from the #1 slot for qualifying based on total points, we took off on the start and immediately got some heat into the tires and hoping for a lack of traffic for a few laps. A clean lap provided us with what we felt was a good lap. Without immediate access to the time sheets, we had to wait for the sheets to come out. P1. More notable, we had decreased our fastest ever lap time significantly to a 1:28.222 - a mere .06 seconds off the lap record. Bret DePedro, who has dominated the fast laps of the year, was second with a still fast 1:28.758. The afternoon qualifying session saw only a few changes and none in the top six - the best time from both sessions determines the starting order. The start order would be Dohne in the Sisu Racing Nissan 240sx, Bret DePedro in the RP Racing Mazda Miata, Gregg Ginsberg in the Honda CRX, and Billy Hollinger in another Mazda Miata.
First wave off at the start. We had taken the car out in the morning warm-ups and determined a good speed for a start. The pace car decided to go a little slower so we tried to bring the field up to speed after the pace car pulled off. I guess the field did not look good enough and we got a wave-off. We led the the field around at a faster pace for the second attempt at a start - i.e. the pace I wanted and not the pace car.
First good start from pole. The second attempt at a start was much more successful. The green flag dropped and we took off - getting just ahead of the DePedro Miata who pulled in behind to protect second position. As we both looked in our rear-view mirrors for threats we saw a developing picture that was not so good for the field behind. The two cars starting in the second row came together and we saw Ginsberg's CRX sideways cutting across track in front of the Hollinger Miata. We saw the CRX get airborne about 5-6 feet after hitting the tirewall to driver's left. Probably 100+ miles per hour. After racing to what was sure to be a double-yellow flag (full course caution), the Sisu Racing Nissan stayed at the front of the pack. We passed the wreckage of two cars, the Miata and CRX were both extensively damaged - the Miata had hit a tree and terminally damaged the car. Luckily, the drivers were out of the cars and fine.
First restart from a full-course caution. We had three laps under yellow before resuming the race. We had a great restart, pulling out about 5 car lengths on our only real threat, the DePedro Miata. The Miata, however, caught our draft and was right with us going into the first turn. Closely matched, we stayed within a few car lengths for the next two laps until he made a run at us in the draft down the front straight and passed us. It was a clean pass for the lead. We needed to make a definitive move and pass him back as soon as possible so that he could not draw away. That opportunity came on the very next lap as we passed him going into turn 1 with very late braking. Unfortunately, that small victory would be short lived.
First mistake of the season. Rear wheel lock up in the turn 5 braking zone brought the rear end around when we turned in. The car got sideways and the rear dropped off into the dirt. The momentary lapse of control allowed the DePedro Miata to cut underneath and gain the lead and about 5 seconds.
That is where it would end, another 2nd place finish for the Sisu Racing Nissan 240sx. We are still in the lead in the points but this two way battle is certainly tipping in favor of the DePedro Miata. To maintain our hard-fought championship, we will need to win the rest of the races this year. Our next race is August 13-14 at Summit Point Raceway.
Finishing Position Name Car Laps Fast-Lap 1 Bret DePedro Mazda Miata 16 1:28.387 2 Kirk Dohne Nissan 240sx 16 1:28.617 3 Sean Christie Honda Civic 16 1:30.391 4 Larry Schiro VW Scirocco 16 1:30.584 5 Owen Shefer Mazda RX7 16 1:31.056 6 Matthew Yip VW GTI 16 1:31.473 7 John Cummins Mazda RX3 16 1:30.677 8 Brent Simonson Mazda RX7 16 1:31.365 9 Mark Johnston Nissan 240sx 16 1:33.701 10 Art Jaso Toyota MR2 16 1:33.834 11 Sebastian Richard Honda Civic 16 1:33.296 12 Dennis Courtney Mazda Miata 15 1:33.568 13 Kyle Robison Dodge Neon 15 1:37.435 14 Bill Griffith Toyota MR2 15 1:38.458 15 Bill Hollinger Jr Mazda Miata 14 1:33.104 16 Dick Hummel Toyota MR2 14 1:41.925 17 Brad Barnhouse Honda Civic 4 2:44.898 18 Gregg Ginsberg Honda CRX 1 2:27.580 19 Bill Hollinger III Mazda Miata 1 2:27.562