Rich Wesorick
Enthusiast
After a seven-month hiatus from T1 competition, Dr. Deborah Loth returned to form and to victory lane in Sunday’s race at the SCCA Double National at Texas World Speedway (TWS) in College Station, Texas. Dr. Loth stole the show in the T1 class in her yellow No. 20 Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed Viper on Sunday, February 15th by winning the pole, setting the fastest race lap, and taking the victory. Loth’s teammate Dave Fiorelli, who qualified fourth on Sunday, piloted his blue No. 90 Bobby Archer Motorsports/ViperSpeed Viper to a hard earned third place finish behind second place finisher Kevin Mixon in a Corvette.
The first T1 race of the SCCA Double National at TWS on Saturday, February, 14th was not as kind to the ViperSpeed team, who chose to run their cars on race tires rather than rain tires on a somewhat wet track in hopes that it would dry during the race. This decision turned out to be costly as the Viper drivers had trouble putting down all of their V-10 power. Dr. Loth ended up finishing fourth on Saturday behind a trio of Corvettes driven by newcomer Charlie Shears, Michael Pettiford, and Jay Matus, respectively. Fiorelli finished sixth behind Kevin Mixon.
After disappointing results on Saturday, the ViperSpeed drivers were pleased to see sunshine and temperatures in the 50’s for Sunday’s T1 race. With her previous experience on the TWS track and with the superior traction provided by the new Hoosier S04 tires, Loth figured to be a contender on Sunday – and she was. Loth’s No. 20 Viper, which has undergone extensive repairs since a major accident caused by a mechanical failure in the 2003 June Sprints, performed flawlessly all day. After qualifying on the pole, Loth got a great start in the race and never looked back. After the long hiatus from T1 competition and disappointing results on Saturday, the victory for Loth was sweet indeed. Third place finisher Fiorelli ran much of the race in second place behind Loth after getting around both Mixon and Shears, but ended up relinquishing the position to Mixon. Since all of Saturday’s podium finishers from the Corvette camp developed mechanical problems during Sunday’s race, Loth’s first and fourth place finishes give her the early lead in points in the SCCA’s Southwest Division.
Upcoming races for the ViperSpeed team include some of the remaining dates in the Southwest Division schedule and some races in the Viper Racing League, where Loth is the defending GT-2 (equivalent to T1) class champion after winning five races in 2003. More information on Loth, Fiorelli, and the rest of the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.viperspeed.com and www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com.
The first T1 race of the SCCA Double National at TWS on Saturday, February, 14th was not as kind to the ViperSpeed team, who chose to run their cars on race tires rather than rain tires on a somewhat wet track in hopes that it would dry during the race. This decision turned out to be costly as the Viper drivers had trouble putting down all of their V-10 power. Dr. Loth ended up finishing fourth on Saturday behind a trio of Corvettes driven by newcomer Charlie Shears, Michael Pettiford, and Jay Matus, respectively. Fiorelli finished sixth behind Kevin Mixon.
After disappointing results on Saturday, the ViperSpeed drivers were pleased to see sunshine and temperatures in the 50’s for Sunday’s T1 race. With her previous experience on the TWS track and with the superior traction provided by the new Hoosier S04 tires, Loth figured to be a contender on Sunday – and she was. Loth’s No. 20 Viper, which has undergone extensive repairs since a major accident caused by a mechanical failure in the 2003 June Sprints, performed flawlessly all day. After qualifying on the pole, Loth got a great start in the race and never looked back. After the long hiatus from T1 competition and disappointing results on Saturday, the victory for Loth was sweet indeed. Third place finisher Fiorelli ran much of the race in second place behind Loth after getting around both Mixon and Shears, but ended up relinquishing the position to Mixon. Since all of Saturday’s podium finishers from the Corvette camp developed mechanical problems during Sunday’s race, Loth’s first and fourth place finishes give her the early lead in points in the SCCA’s Southwest Division.
Upcoming races for the ViperSpeed team include some of the remaining dates in the Southwest Division schedule and some races in the Viper Racing League, where Loth is the defending GT-2 (equivalent to T1) class champion after winning five races in 2003. More information on Loth, Fiorelli, and the rest of the ViperSpeed team can be found at www.viperspeed.com and www.bobbyarchermotorsports.com.
