SEBRING, Fla. (January 7, 2012) – Five of the seven race groups completed qualifying on Saturday afternoon for the opening round of the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour on Sunday at Sebring International Raceway.
Under sunny skies and 73 degree temperatures at the famed Central Florida circuit, nearly 300 drivers made qualifying runs for the first of nine highlighted events on the SafeRacer National Series calendar comprising the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour circuit.
Patrick Sandlin earned the pole for the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour opener with a best time of 2:36.258 on his second lap of the 20-minute session to top Spec Miata in the No. 58 Community Mortgage Mazda Miata.
The overall polesitter in Group 2 is Keith Grant, who topped the class with a 2:00.294 in the No. 70 Hoosier Tire Swift 014A. Jacek Mucha (C Sports Racing), Scott Tucker (D Sports Racing) and Chuck Moran (Formula Continental) all earned class poles in the grouping.
Within the high horsepower sports cars in Group 3, John Schaller grabbed the overall pole with a lap of 2:03.762 in the No. 08 Central Power Distributers Chevrolet Camaro. David Pintaric (STO), Richard Smith (GT-2), Bill McGavic (GT-3) and Tom Ellis (American Sedan) joined Schaller as class pole winners in the group.
Greg Ira covered the Group 4 field by almost five seconds to earn the E Production class pole in the No. 2 CU Yacht Charters Datsun 240Z with a best lap of 2:22.830. Peter Shawdowen (GT-Lite), Harold Flescher (F Production) and Tim Pitts (H Production) topped their respective classes during the 20-minute qualifying to get a jump on the field for Sunday’s race.
Michael Flynn’s No. 126 Irish Mike’s BMW 325 topped the fifth and final group to post qualifying times for Sunday’s BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour season opener with a lap of 2:23.694 in the STU class to top a diverse grouping. In addition to Flynn, class poles were earned by Mark Boden (Touring 2), Mike Kramer (Touring 3), Raymond Philibert (STL), Michael Scornavacchi (Showroom Stock B) and Mark McCaughey (Showroom Stock C).
Groups 6 and 7 will qualify on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. EST, followed by races for all seven groups.
Opening Day of National Races Crowns Winners
In addition to the afternoon qualifying sessions, the SCCA Club Racing SafeRacer National Series opened with races on Saturday morning.
Sebring track Club Racing records fell throughout the 13-lap (or 40-minute time limited) races, but no one went as low as Jean-Luc Liverato’s 1:58.796 (113.337 mph) in the No. 8 Hoosier Tire Swift JMS014 on his way to a C Sports Racing win in Group 2. The in-race lap was the first time any SCCA Club racer had fallen under the 2-minute barrier at the historic circuit. Liverato battled Jacek Mucha’s No. 07 Phoenix/Innotech Swift JMS016 for the race win, with the final margin of victory just 0.389-second.
In the same group, Keith Grant also set a new class record in Formula Atlantic, posting a best lap of 2:00.701 in the No. 70 Hoosier Tire Swift 014A on his way to a class win.
The day started with a new track record in Spec Miata by polesitter Patrick Sandlin in the No. 58 Community Mortgage Mazda Miata with a 2:35.674 (86.488 mph), but the 1.544-second race win went to Todd Buras in the No. 178 Krispy Kreme Mazda Miata. The race ended under yellow after a four-car accident in turn 17, but each driver was out and walking around and assessing the damage.
Group 3 ended under a caution as well, with John Schaller’s No. 08 Central Power Distributers Chevrolet Camaro taking the win over Simon Gregg in GT-1 and overall.
Michael Flynn’s No. 126 Irish Mike’s BMW 325 took the overall and STU win in Group 4, but the battle in that group was for the Showroom Stock C win. Mark McCaughey’s No. 18 Hoosier Tire/Carbotech/McCaughey Racing/TRD Toyota Celica edged out a 1.375-second victory over James Place in a race that was nose-to-tail when the final lap began. Place’s No. 39 Place Rentals/BFG Tires/Hawk Brakes actually turned a faster race lap than McCaughey, with the National Champion gaining the edge in the race.
The Group 7 overall battle came down to cars in two different classes, with Darryl Wills taking the overall win in his No. 1 Hillenburg Motorsports Formula Mazda, and Jason Wolfe finishing 0.425-second behind to take the Formula Enterprises win in the No. 23 Jay Motorsports Formula Enterprises machine.
Cars return to the Sebring International Raceway Circuit at 8 a.m. EST Sunday morning for the opening round of the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour.
Live Timing is available for every session at www.scca.com. Notes are available on Twitter @SCCALive.
SEBRING, Fla. – Race winners from Saturday’s 13-lap SCCA National Races at Sebring International Raceway, with class, name, hometown, and car.
American Sedan, Brian Lacroix, Hyannis, Mass., Chevrolet Camaro. C Sports Racing, Jean-Luc Liverato, Milton, Ga., Swift JMS014. D Sports Racing, Scott Tucker, Overland Park, Kan., West WR1000. E Production, Greg Ira, Plantation, Fla., Datsun 240Z. F Production, Glenn Cameron, Hawthorne, Fla., MG Midget. Formula Atlantic, Keith Grant, Germantown, Tenn., Swift 014A. Formula Continental, Brian Belardi, Grafton, Wisc., Van Diemen. Formula Enterprises, Jason Wolfe, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Formula Enterprises. Formula F, Lewis Cooper III, Grosse Pointe, Mich., Van Diemen RFR. Formula Mazda, Darryl Wills, Deer Park, Texas, Formula Mazda. Formula Vee, Charles Hearn, Houston, Texas, Vortech 2004. Formula 1000, George Levien, Avetura, Fla., Stohr F1000. Formula 500, Jason Knuteson, Danville, Ind., Scorpion S1. GT-1, John Schaller, Fort Meyers, Fla., Chevrolet Camaro. GT-2, Mark Jurczyk, Chicago, Ill., Porsche GT3. GT-3, Bill McGavic, Arcadia, Fla., Mazda RX-7. GT-Lite, Peter Shawdowen, Loxahatchee, Fla., Honda CRX-Si. H Production, Jay Griffin, Titusville, Fla., Honda CRX. Showroom Stock B, Toby Grahovec, Chicago, Ill., BMW Z4. Showroom Stock C, Mark McCaughey, Sarasota, Fla., Toyota Celica. Spec Racer Ford, Brian Schofield, Lakeland, Fla., Spec Racer Ford. Sports 2000, Burns Moore, Easton, Pa., Pratt Miller. STO, John Yarosz, Swoyersville, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette. STU, Michael Flynn, Eustis, Fla., BMW 325. STL, Raymond Philibert, Lighthouse Point, Fla., Mazda Miata. Spec Miata, Todd Buras, Melbourne, Fla., Mazda Miata. Touring 2, John Kachadurian, Chicago, Ill., BMW M3. Touring 3, Bill Steinhoff, Plantation, Fla., Nissan 350Z.
BFGoodrich Southeast Super Tour Winter Vacation Double National Races at Sebring Int'l Raceway
