WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 5, 2014) – On Friday night, the fireworks happened over Seneca Lake. On Saturday, they were on course during the SCCA BFGoodrich Tires Watkins Glen Super Tour, Rounds 11 and 12 of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour at Watkins Glen International.
With the season-long championship winding down, points are at a premium for drivers trying to score points. All 27 Runoffs-eligible classes were on hand, with more than 250 drivers competing for the top prize in 30-minute timed races on Saturday.
Highlights included:
Group 1: In a deep class full of talented drivers, a pair of young guns ran away from the Spec Miata field and settled the race win for themselves in the final two laps of the race, with Andrew Carbonell coming out on top over Dillan Machavern.
Carbonell’s No. 78 BSI Racing Mazda Miata led the way from the start, with 18-year-old Machavern’s No. 24 Heritage/Panic/T-Speed Miata right behind. The two pushed away from the field, getting an additional boost from a black flag on two-time defending National Champion Jim Drago’s No. 2 East Street Racing Miata for jumping the start.
As time counted down, only Yiannis Tsiounis’ No. 69 Yushino Miata was within range, and he could get no closer than several car lengths back. With two to go, Machavern took the lead for the first time with a pass under braking into turn 1, and held the lead for the rest of the lap.
Carbonell, the veteran of the group at 24-years-old, repaid the favor in the same corner just after the white flag waved with one to go. In the lead, Machavern had a run leaving the boot, but Carbonell killed that momentum and came home with the win.
Group 2: The Production group featured a series of great drives by the winners to stretch their final margins, and some tight battles for the additional podium positions in a handful of classes.
Rick Kavitski was on the overall pole in his E Production No. 24 RDK Engineering Mazda Miata, but at the green flag saw the No. 02 Pay Pal/Carbotech/Team JBS BMW Z3 of Chris Dryden accelerate past. Kavitski went hard and late on the brakes into turn one, skating by and getting back in front on the opening lap. Once in the lead, Kavitski kept the BMW at bay and earned the win.
In F Production, Peter Tonelli got in front of what would turn into a three-way battle for second place, and grabbed the win in his No. 91 Driven Performance Mazda Miata. Tonelli, turning the fastest laps of the race in class, got additional help when Ken Kannard inserted himself in the battle for second. Kannard, who had never been to Watkins Glen, arrived at the track on Saturday morning and started from the rear of the field in the No. 51 Northwest Cable Construction Mazda Miata. With just the 10-minute morning warm-up, Kannard caught the No. 89 Hoosier Tire/Jesse Prather Motorsports Mazda Miata of Patrick Crider and the No. 57 DEE Autosport Mazda Miata of Kyle Baker early, and the three mixed it up for most of the race. Each driver shuffled between second and fourth until late in the race, when Kannard locked into the runner-up position and held it to the flag. Baker edged Crider, who was struggling with mechanical issues following a test day crash, for third.
In the same group, Kyle Disque drove his No. 92 Toyota/TRD/Hoosier Tire Toyota Tercel to an impressive GT-Lite victory, including a new track record in the process. Ron Bartell fell short of the track record, but piloted his No. 4 Hoosier Tire MG Midget to another big win in H Production.
Group 3: Not even an early full-course caution to retrieve a stalled car could slow Chris Fahan’s No. 39 Hoosier Tire/MAZDASPEED Swift 016/Mazda, who raced away again after the restart to claim the Formula Atlantic title on Saturday.
Jeremy Hill ran second overall to take the Formula 1000 win in the No. 00 Hoosier Tire Photon VD07, sneaking around a Formula Atlantic and Prototype car at the right moment to put them between he and his closest competition, Alex Mayer’s No. 77 Mayer Motorsports JDR. The gap was just enough for the two drivers, running similar lap times, and Hill stayed in front.
Hill moved to second overall when the No. 32 Ortho Center Rockies/K&N Filters Speads RS11 of Kirk Kinsfater fell out with an apparent electrical issue, losing both the overall position and his leading Prototype 1 class position to the No. 134 The Door Company Stohr WF1 of Greg Bell. Kinsfater, despite falling two laps short of the finish, still was classified in second at the checkered flag.
Group 4: The big bore group launched just after lunch, with Simon Gregg’s No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette outlasting the No. 89 Davis Auto Body Chevrolet Camaro of Scott Quaile to the finish for the overall and GT-1 win.
On lap seven, Joe Kristensen almost tossed away a GT-3 win when, entering the bus stop, he tried to sneak by and tangled with an American Sedan machine. Kristensen’s No. 4 Acura RSX fell all the way back to fourth in class as it regained momentum, then climbed into the midst of an additional three-car battle for the class lead just two laps later. At the end of lap nine, Kristensen was back ahead of Paul Young (No. 2 Young Racing/Hoosier Tire Ford Probe), James Ashe (No. 22 Dependable Energy Mazda RX-7), and James Lustig (No. 51 Luna Sueno Tequila/Autosport Automotive Acura Integra) and pulled back ahead for the win.
While Bill Baten was driving his No. 98 Van Winkle Baten/Marks ADR/Hoosier Hoosier Chevrolet Camaro that was previously a Touring 2 car to his first American Sedan win, Randy Kinsland was positive he was well on his way to a GT-2 win in the No. 14 Crossroads Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. Kinsland was up more than five seconds with two laps to go after fixing a power steering problem just before the green flag, but the No. 50 Red Line Oil/Hoosier Tires Sunbeam Tiger of Tom Patton was absolutely flying at the finish. Patton set a new track record with two laps to go and seemingly came out of nowhere to close right to the rear of Kinsland at the checkered flag, but not in front.
Joe Aquilante drove his No. 32 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier Chevrolet Corvette around David Sanders’ No. 73 Phoenix Performance Chevrolet Corvette on lap five, then earned the victory by leading the rest of the way.
Group 5: Three of the mid-sized formula car classes saw leads swap in the last half of their 16 lap race, including two classes with less than two laps to go.
On lap 13, Dennis McCarthy swung around Douglas Rocco to take over the Formula Continental and overall lead in the No. 4 Jagermeister Van Diemen FC, completing a race that began in seventh place. Rocco’s No. 46 Jagermeister Van Diemen DP-02 battled early with polesitter Kyle Mack’s No. 41 Mack Motorsports Group/MSH Ventures Van Diemen RF-95, then held on until McCarthy took the lead late.
After Stuart Rettie’s No. 21 Hillenburg Motorsports/The Speed Connection Formula Mazda led most of the race with the No. 70 Formula Mazda of Sam Ryan moved to the front with just one to go. The pair never separated, but Ryan kept his car in front to take the checkered flag.
Justin Huffman’s No. 11 Jamison Formula Enterprises machine took the lead very early in the race, and then held on through the first half until the No. 7 Pencils Plus/Motion Dynamics Formula Enterprises of Joe Sammut found his way past on lap 10. The duo stayed close to the finish, but Sammut held off Huffman for the win.
Group 6: A full course caution for a two-car incident left the group under yellow from lap three to lap seven, giving the group just seven full green-flag laps in the timed race. Elivan Goulart pulled his No. 72 Krugspeed/SCDA1.com Lotus Exige back away from the field after the caution period, cruising to the overall and Super Touring Under win.
Preston Calvert kept his No. 77 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier/Penske Ford Mustang in front of the No. 8 American Foundry Chevrolet Corvette of John Shannon after the restart, earning his win in Touring 2.
The Touring 3 battle came down to the wire, with a pair of Honda teammates in very different cars dueling for the top spot. Kevin Boehm’s No. 9 Honda Racing/HPD/BFGoodrich Tires Honda S2000 bobbed and weaved coming out of the boot, trying first to the outside of the No. 64 Honda Racing/HPD/BFGoodrich Tires Acura TL of Sage Marie, but Marie made his Acura just wide enough to keep Boehm in back by 0.360-second at the checkered flag. Marie managed to set a new track record on his way to the win.
Jim Drago’s No. 2 East Street Racing Mazda Miata took the win in Super Touring Lite, but Brian Shanfield’s No. 66 Honda Racing/HPD Honda Civic Si is leaving with the track record in the class. John Heinricy took both in B-Spec, driving his No. 37 Matick Chevrolet/Hoosier/Hawk Chevrolet Sonic to a win over Travis Washay and Joel Lipperini.
Group 7: Scott Rettich and Robert Reed separated themselves from the Spec Racer Ford field, breaking away from a lead pack of eight cars to decide the title for themselves.
Rettich’s No. 17 Alliance Autosport/Springboro Car Wash SRF was the leader as the pair crossed the stripe with one to go, but Reed drove his No. 03 IceRace.com SRF to the inside into turn one to take over the top spot for the second time, after leading the early laps.
Reed held the point entering the boot on the last lap, and then left the door open in the heel, drifting just a bit wide. Rettich saw the brief opportunity and pounced, taking over the lead and keeping his car in front for a 0.226-second victory.
Group 8: Michael Brent and David Lapham battled early and often, swapping positions not only for the Formula 500 class win, but for the overall win as well. Brent’s No. 47 Hoosier Tire/QRE Invader QC-1 led nine of the 15 laps overall, with Lapham chipping in another four overall laps led, even after Ross Devoe inserted his Formula F-leading No. 4 RED Racing Van Diemen RF-99 into the mix for the overall lead, as well.
Lapham stumbled on lap 12, however, falling a second or two off the pace of Brent and giving him the opportunity to focus on the overall win. He did, and kept ahead of Devoe at the finish as they both captured class leads.
Roger Siebenaler inherited the keys to the Formula Vee win when, after battling with Jonathan Weisheit early, Weisheit pulled his No. 61 JK Technologies Inc JK Technologies/Volkswagen to pit lane on lap seven. Now squarely in front, Siebenaler’s No. 72 Autowerks/Hoosier Mysterian M2 took a 13.268-second class win.
The BFGoodrich Tires Watkins Glen Super Tour continues Sunday from Watkins Glen with 15 lap races, beginning at 8 a.m. Live Timing, notes, audio and streaming video is available at SCCA.com/SCCALive.
Results from Saturday, grids for Sunday, and more information on the event is available at SCCA.com/WGIMajors.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Provisional race winners for Saturday’s BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Watkins Glen Super Tour at Watkins Glen International, Round Eleven of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car.
American Sedan: Bill Baten, Indianapolis, Ind., Chevrolet Camaro B-Spec: John Heinricy, Clarkston, Mich., Chevrolet Sonic E Production: Rick Kavitski, Freedland, Pa., Mazda Miata F Production: Peter Tonelli, Westboro, Ma., Mazda Miata H Production: Ron Bartell, Madbury, N.H., MG Midget Formula 500: Michael Brent, Bethel, Conn., Invader QC-1/Rotax Formula 1000: Jeremy Hill, Toronto, Ontario, Photon VD07 Formula Atlantic: Chris Fahan, Redding Center, Conn., Swift 016/Mazda Formula Continental: Dennis McCarthy, Hartsdale, N.Y., Van Diemen RF01 Formula Enterprises: Joe Sammut, Bayville, N.Y., Formula Enterprises/Ford Formula F: Ross DeVoe, Middletown, N.J., Van Diemen RF-93 Formula Mazda: Sam Ryan, White Haven, Pa., Formula Mazda Formula Vee: Roger Siebenaler, North Hero, Vt., Mysterian M2/Volkswagen GT-1: Simon Gregg, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette GT-2: Randy Kinsland, Whittier, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette GT-3: Joe Kristensen, London, Ontario, Acura RSX GT-Lite: Kyle Disque, Philadelphia, Pa., Toyota Tercel Prototype 1: Greg Bell, Ottawa, Ontario, Stohr WF1 Prototype 2: Jerry Bergman, East Amherst, N.Y., Beasley B-2 Spec Miata: Andrew Carbonell, Miami, Fla., Mazda Miata Spec Racer Ford: Scott Rettich, Columbus, Ohio, Spec Racer Ford Super Touring Lite: Jim Drago, Memphis, Tenn., Mazda Miata Super Touring Under: Elivan Goulart, Shelton, Ct., Lotus Exige Touring 1: Joe Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 2: Preston Calvert, Potomac, Md., Ford Mustang Touring 3: Sage Marie, Huntington Beach, Calif., Acura TL Touring 4: Steve Lewis, Wilbraham, Mass., Ford Mustang
BFGoodrich Tires Watkins Glen Super Tour U.S. Majors Tour
