A little chilly when the day began, but both the temperature and racing heated up in the afternoon during Round Three of the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour taking place at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California.
The overriding theme of the day was broken track records. In all, there were 12 classes where new high marks were set including Prototype 1 (Jim Devenport), Prototype 2 (Jeff Shafer), Formula Mazda (Austen Charles), Formula Continental (Timothy de Silva), Formula 1000 (Gary Hickman), Super Touring Lite (Andrie Hartanto), Touring 3 and Touring 4 (Tom Wickersham), Formula F (Edward Erlandson), Touring 1 (Ross Murray), GT-2 (Robert Kahn) and Spec Miata (Clement Lee).
There was also plenty of action throughout the day’s seven races. In Group 3, which consisted of seven different car classes, Joe Huffaker in his F Production MG Midget and Brian Linn in a GT-Lite MG Midget ran one and two early on. But before the race’s halfway point, Wayne Graham in an E Production Mazda RX3 got a fantastic run out of Turn 9 and blew by Huffaker and Linn. Soon after, Andrie Hortanto’s Super Touring Lite Acura Integra and Oscar Jackson’s Super Touring Lite Honda CRX Si were in hot pursuit. Graham, Hortanto and Jackson put on a great show the last half of the race. And even though Graham emerged the overall Group 3 victor, all three drivers slid from their cars with giant smiles.
“I got a good holeshot coming out of Turn 9 and just blew by people,” Graham said after the race. “But then they came after me in the corners.”
As predicted, the Spec Miata class put on a pretty great show, too. Dean Busk, Steven Powers and Clement Lee put a gap on the rest of the field early on. And then the three swapped positions for a dozen laps. It was Powers that came through a cloud of dust in Turn 9, resulting for another competitor’s off-course excursion, to cross the finish line first.
“This feels great. It’s incredible,” Powers said. “Eighth to third on the first lap made me real happy.”
Round Four of the Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour continues on Sunday at Willow Springs with 35-minute races beginning at 10:30am PST. More information can be found at SCCA.com/majors.
ROSAMOND, Calif. – Provisional race winners from Saturday’s Round Three of the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour at Willow Springs International Raceway, with Class: Name, Hometown and Car.
American Sedan: Christopher Qualls, W. Los Angeles, Calif., Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Calvin Tam, Long Beach, Calif., Honda Fit
E Production: Wayne Graham, Santa Barbara, Calif., Mazda RX3
F Production: Joe Huffaker, Petaluma, Calif., MG Midget
H Production: Jason Isley, Cota de Caza, Calif., Toyota Yaris
Formula 1000: Gary Hickman, Santee, Calif., Phoenix F1000
Formula Atlantic: Ed Lever, Bakersfield, Calif., Swift 014a
Formula Continental: Timothy de Silva, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Van Diemen FC
Formula Enterprises: Jeff Read, Vacaville, Calif., Van Diemen FSCCA
Formula F: Chuck Horn, Los Gatos, Calif., Swift DB6/Honda
Formula Mazda: Austen Charles, Newhall, Calif., Formula Mazda
Formula Vee: Mark Edwards, Los Angeles, Calif., Glamdring
GT-1: Michael Lewis, Poway, Calif., Jaguar XKR
GT-2: Dylan Doherty, Fallbrook, Calif., Porsche 997 GT3 CUP
GT-3: Wolfgang Maike, Santa Barbara, Calif., Toyota Paseo
GT-Lite: Brian Linn, Hermosa Beach, Calif., MG Midget
Prototype 1: Jim Devenport, Modesto, Calif., Norma M20FC
Prototype 2: Jeff Shafer, Las Vegas, Nev., Radical SR3
Spec Miata: Steven Powers, Mesa, Ariz., Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford Gen 3: Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, Calif., Spec Racer Ford
Spec Racer Ford: Jake Pipal, Oakdale, Calif., Spec Racer Ford
Super Touring Lite: Andrie Hartanto, Concord, Calif., Acura Integra
Super Touring Under: Oscar Jackson, Chino, Calif., Scion FR-S
Touring 1: Ross Murray, Marina Del Ray, Calif., Dodge Viper
Touring 2: Guy Dreier, Indian Wells, Calif., Ford Mustang GT
Touring 3: Tom Wickersham, Piedmont, Calif., Ford Mustang
Touring 4: Tom Wickersham, Piedmont, Calif., Mazda RX-8
Photo: Clement Lee (#33), Dean Busk (#7) and Steven Powers (#145) fought hard for the Spec Miata win Saturday during Round Three of the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour taking place at Willow Springs International Raceway. Powers emerged the victor.
Photo Credit: Dennis Baer
