March’s race weekend brought our members, friends, and family back for some great racing on the Andretti (C) 4.0-mile course. It also marked the first weekend of spring in the desert – perfect weather for being on the track!
Friday Bracket Race
For Friday’s Bracket Race we had a total of nine participants kicking off the weekend; these participants included one Miata, one SR3, and two GB08SM’s, and two sports cars (a Ferrari and a spec Toyota).
During the Bracket Race, Nick Kelly achieved the fastest lap time out of the group at 2:41.500, and he also finished as the winner of the race followed by Indy Al and David McConnell. Unfortunately, Lightening McQueen (John Saroyan), Mark Saroyan, Gregg Gorski, and George Scott broke out of their bracket times, but they all finished the race as well.
Saturday Miata Race
We had quite a memorable Miata race on Saturday! Thirteen drivers participated that morning and exhibited outstanding driving.
Right out of the gate, Ron Fletcher pulled ahead in the first three corners and gained an even greater lead through the first straight, leaving the next eight drivers all bunched tight. Coming out of 5B in the 4th and 5th positions, Ryan Pond and Greg Nitzkowski were nose-to-tail with Pond on Nitzkowski’s bumper! Meanwhile, further back in the pack Gregg Gorski managed to make a pass into 8th position working his way towards the middle of the group.
Going into Exit 28, Ryan Pond and Jim Balestrieri were battling it out when Balestrieri maneuvered around Pond to obtain 4th. Fred Chin, Gorski, and Nitzkowski were racing amongst each other when Chin successfully made a pass on Gorski on the straightaway, putting him in 9th position.
Perhaps the most thrilling part of the Miata race was the constant back-and-forth between Mixon and Fletcher for 1st. Though Fletcher created a sizable lead out of the gate, Mixon managed a pass. Shortly after, Fletcher pulled ahead again, this time obtaining a five car lead. Determined, Mixon caught up to Fletcher yet again and took the lead coming out of The Bowl with eight minutes left in the race. Fletcher was then able to retake the lead from Mixon after The Drop and the two battled it out in the last four laps of the race continuing to trade the lead several times more. In the last lap, Fletcher maintained the lead over Mixon with Craig Kember and Balestrieri following behind in 3rd and 4th. Gorski spun in 5B costing him a few positions. Fletcher and Mixon were side by side in the last few seconds! It came down to horsepower for the win... and Fletcher was victorious by a tire length!
Sunday Miata Race
Eleven Miatas competed on Sunday with Mixon obtaining pole in qualifying. Similar to the day prior, Mixon and Fletcher battled each other around the first few corners of the race until Fletcher eventually gained a three car lead. Balestrieri followed for a close 3rd followed by Kember, Pond, Gorski, and Saroyan at the beginning of the race.
Going through Ego Check, Fletcher unfortunately dropped a tire into the dirt costing him seven positions. Shortly after, he managed to maneuver his way up two places into 5th behind Teddy Landau and continued to battle further.
On the back straight, Balestrieri kept the pressure on Mixon for the lead; meanwhile Fletcher moved up another position into 4th. Going into The Carousel, Gorski went off and found himself in the back of the pack.
Nearing the end of the race, despite all his efforts, Fletcher was unable to regain his initial lead position, therefore Mixon won the race closely followed by Balestrieri and Kember in 2nd and 3rd.
Saturday Light Sport Race
On Saturday we had 13 participants in the Light Sport Race: three individuals in the LSRR class, three in the LSR1, three in LSR2, and four in LSR3.
Ron Eckhardt immediately took the lead in his Wolf on Saturday and Prince Oliver, Nick Kelly, and Doug Ramirez – all three also in Wolfs – followed closely behind. According to the transponders at the beginning of the race, the Wolfs were running 10 seconds faster than any of the Radicals – a great showcase of their aerodynamics and horsepower! Mitch Bishop and Fletcher followed in 5th and 6th in their SR3s.
Further back in the group, Kelvin Bloom and Indy Al in their SR3s along with rookie driver Gregg Gorski in his SR3 had their own race going on– Gorski and Denis O’Leary spun off at exit 28.
After all the excitement, Eckhardt remained in the lead followed by Oliver, Kelly, Fletcher, Indy Al, and Bishop; Ramirez in his Wolf would have remained in the first six, however due to mechanical issues, he had to retire early.
To conclude, Ron Eckhardt came in 1st overall and in the LSR2 category followed by Prince Oliver and Nick Kelly. In LSR1, Keith Gostlin came in 1st, 7th overall, followed by Denis O’Leary. Gregg Gorski placed 1st in the LSRR division, 10th overall, followed by David McConnell and Gerry Shear. In LSR3, Ron Fletcher finished 1st followed by Indy Al, Mitch Bishop, and Kelvin Bloom.
On the 19th, Ron Fletcher also celebrated his birthday, making it a happy coincidence that on that day he won both races in his number 19 SR3. Happy birthday and congratulations, Ron!
Saturday Bracket Race
Saturday’s bracket race ran a total of eight laps with nine cars starting initially and seven cars finished the race. Of the nine cars, there were two Miatas, one SR8, one SR3 and five sports cars competing (one Ferrari, two Lotus 211’s, a spec Toyota and a BMW). During this race, O’Leary achieved the fastest lap in his SR8 at 2:46.733. This time around, we were impressed to see that none of the drivers broke out of their bracket!
Sunday Light Sport Race
Sunday saw ten drivers in the CSM Light Sport Race with Keith Gostlin and Denis O’Leary self-starting behind the the rest of the pack. The race began in a controlled manner with all the cars well spaced out, though it didn’t take long for Eckhardt to gain a commanding lead over the rest of the group. At that time an obvious battle emerged between Kelly and Oliver for 2nd.
Towards the back of the pack, after returning from a brief exit, Gostlin in his SR8 managed a pass around rookie Gerry Shear in his unlimited; however, shortly after the pass Gostlin retired from the race due to mechanical issues.
Toward the end of the race, Fletcher, in 4th, was determined to pass Kelly and was drafting him going into the S’s; however, Fletcher then overdrove going into 5A and subsequently lost his chance to take 3rd overall, but maintained 1st place in his run group.
Ron Eckhardt was the decisive victor in Sunday’s Light Sport Race both in his class and overall finishing 29.3 seconds before Prince Oliver who came in 2nd; Nick Kelly rounded off the LSR2 class in 3rd after Eckhardt and Oliver. Following Ron Fletcher in LSR3 was Indy Al, Mitch Bishop, and Kelvin Bloom in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. In LSR1, Denis O’Leary managed to take 1st with Keith Gostlin in 2nd, and finally in the LSRR division it was a repeat of Saturday with Gregg Gorski in 1st followed by David McConnell and Gerry Shear.
Next Race Weekend
April race weekend will take place on the 16th and 17th and we are hoping once again for gorgeous race weather. Currently the track configuration is set for the Mansell (E) 3.2-mile course with a bracket race on Friday and and Enduro race on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you all at the track!
