MARRS II and III - 2006 - Virginia International Raceway
Virginia International Raceway is one of two "out of region" race weekends each year. It is also one of the nicest racetracks on the east coast. When it is not a race weekend it is a motor racing country club. The track is amazing, the surroundings are amazing, and the amenities are amazing. The weekend is one of the biggest of the year with two races over three days - qualifying on the first day and then one race each of the next two days. Having won the first race, Team Sisu wanted to continue the trend...
Qualifying would be difficult with a mix of faster ITS cars and slower IT7 cars mixed in randomly with our group of ITA cars. Combine that with the fact that the Team Sisu Nissan 240sx was not close to our main competitors and the goal would be to just go out and go as fast as possible without trying to gauge how fast the others were going. Mission Accomplished - we were able to go faster than ever before at this track, turning a lap of 2:20.685 to lead all ITA cars and all but 4 of the ITS cars. A great lap. Unfortunately, our closest competitors from the first race of the year were going to be gridded right behind us, although they were almost one second slower. The second qualifying session was similarly organized and we were able to take some time off at 2:20.435, meanwhile our closest competitor fell back behind some ITS cars and would be gridded for the race 7 spots behind us - a comfortable cushion.
The first race took place under wonderful blue skies. The field was making a fast start and we were staying to the inside to stay out of trouble. Driving straight before the braking zone and we get hit in the drivers door and just ahead of the rear tire. A hard hit. Discussions after the race indicated that there was a slight tap between an ITS BMW and the front of Gregg Ginsberg's Honda CRX. The knock sent the rear of the BMW out of control and he went sideways - until he hit the side of the Team Sisu Nissan. Very luckily we were not yet in the braking zone and the power of the car pushed it straight again and we continued on. We checked out the car; steering left then right listening and looking for telltale signs, hoping that no damage was done to the suspension or the tire. Luckily the car stuck well in the next few turns and the damage seemed cosmetic. On we went, trying to pull out a lead on Ginsberg which we did to the tune of about 4 seconds on the first lap. Making fast laps to draw out a lead on him we were able to get a few cars from other classes between us and our nearest competitor. We had a good time racing another competitor that was not in our class. We were close and we succeeded in pulling away from Ginsberg's little blue CRX. Ginsberg was trying hard to catch us, too hard maybe because he eventually had an off-course excursion. At the checkered, the lead was 22 seconds over Ginsberg. With the next closest being Bryan Pritt at 59 seconds back. Pritt would be disqualified for being under weight (by 8 pounds) and James Hunt moved into the final podium position. Two for two for the year. Can we continue the streak in Sunday's race? The weather man was predicting rain...
The skies looked threatening on Sunday morning and some rain drops fell but the promised heavy rains never fell. A little drama before the race as Ginsberg's Honda overheated in warmups prompting a head gasket change at the last minute. A bunch of fellow competitors pitched in to get the change made and he would make the grid for the race. With a number of cars between us and the direct competition this looked to be an easier race - and it was. There were no dramatics at the start. The Team Sisu Nissan pulled out a commanding lead on the first two laps and cruised to an easy win. Ginsberg's Honda overheated and he spun on the water, effectively ending his race almost before it began. Second place went to Pritt's Integra. Three races, three poles, three wins. This is a best ever start to a year and we will try to extend the streak at the next race on June 25.
Finishing Position Driver Laps Margin from Leader Fast Lap Time MARRS 2 Results 1 KIRK DOHNE (Team Sisu) 10 02:19.8 2 GREGG GINSBERG 10 22.045 02:19.9 DQ BRYAN PRITT 10 59.652 02:23.9 4 JAMES HUNT 10 01:17.8 02:26.0 5 MATTHEW YIP 10 01:31.5 02:28.1 6 EARL RICHARDS 10 01:32.7 02:26.8 7 WILLIAMS HUTCHINS 10 01:41.4 02:26.6 8 DENNIS COURTNEY 10 01:42.9 02:29.0 9 MICHAEL LIGGETT 9 1 Lap 02:28.2 10 MIKE SCHWARZ 9 26.26 02:34.7 MARRS 3 Results 1 KIRK DOHNE (Team Sisu) 10 02:21.1 2 BRYAN PRITT 10 44.714 02:23.9 3 MICHAEL LIGGETT 10 01:13.6 02:27.4 4 WILLIAMS HUTCHINS 10 01:30.6 02:25.9 5 MATTHEW YIP 10 01:31.8 02:28.1 6 EARL RICHARDS 10 01:44.0 02:26.5 7 MITCHELL READING 9 1 Lap 02:30.1 8 MIKE SCHWARZ 9 11.234 02:33.9 9 JAMES HUNT 9 31.356 02:27.9 DNF GREGG GINSBERG 2 8 Laps 02:29.9