SEBRING, Fla. (January 8, 2012) – Winners were crowned on Sunday at Sebring International Raceway at the first of nine BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour events in 2012, with 267 drivers participating in the weekend’s double National Club Racing weekend.
The scheduled featured three race groups in the morning, followed by four more races after lunch. Each race was scheduled for 13-laps around the 17-turn, 3.7-mile circuit.
The morning action was highlighted by Group Three’s ground pounding sports cars. Simon Gregg’s No. 59 Gregg Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette was battling with polesitter John Schaller’s No. 08 Central Power Distributors Chevrolet Corvette for the overall and GT-1 class win, until Schaller made contact with the American Sedan machine driven by Michael Lavigne on lap seven, retiring from the race with damage.
Gregg cruised to the win in a race that was shortened to 10 laps after a fire in Russ Snow’s STO-class No. 20 Chevrolet Corvette. Snow pulled off course and got out of the burning car, but was transported by helicopter as a precaution against smoke inhalation and subsequently released from the hospital.
The abbreviated race helped the No. 86 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche GT-3 of Mark Boden top Mark Jurczyk’s No. 121 BTRacing Porsche GT3 Cup. Jurczyk had lost two gears in his transmission during the race, allowing Boden to move past on the final lap and take the victory.
John Yarosz’s No. 89 Hoosier/Phoenix Performance Chevrolet Corvette was poised to challenge David Pintaric’s Kryderacing/Hoosier/Carbotech/WRP Investments Dodge Viper for the STO win, but the yellow and checkered came out early, solidifying the win for Pintaric.
Keith Grant drove to a 17.923-second overall win in Group Two that looks drama-free in the box score, but Grant came from the back of the field in his No. 70 Hoosier Tires Swift 014a Formula Atlantic machine to take the commanding victory. Grant was late to the grid, but by his own estimation passed “about 15 cars” on the front straight at the green flag as car’s in front checked up for a slowing vehicle, and climbed through the field over 13 laps for the win.
The group two battle came in D Sports Racing, where Scott Tucker’s No. 55 West WX10 held off a charging No. 85 KD Racing/Goodyear Tire Stohr WF-1 piloted by Charles Dempsey by 0.325-second. Dempsey set a new Sebring class record with a fast time of 2:02.980. In Formula Continental, Chuck Moran’s No. 45 Van Diemen RF99 moved past the No. 80 Hoosier Van Diemen RF01 of Brian Belardi in the final turn of the race to take the win.
The morning started with 51 Spec Miata machines taking the green flag. Todd Buras’ No. 178 Krispy Kreme Mazda Miata led flag-to-flag to take a 2.216-second victory and set a new track record with a lap of 2:35.518 (86.575 mph).
After lunch, with the sun still shining and temperatures reaching a high of 79 degrees, Group Four’s production classes took to the track. Greg Ira’s CU Yacht Charters Datsun 240Z pulled away from the E Production field and the rest of the group, cruising to a dominating 3.960-second win. Mark Weber survived the attrition in F Production to earn the win in the No. 125 Goodyear/Red Line Oil/Exclusive Sports Car Photography Mazda Miata.
The No. 126 Irish Mike’s BMW 325 of Michael Flynn topped Group 5 with a 16.549-second margin of victory overall and in STU.
The tightest race of the group came in Touring 2, where John Kachadurian’s No. 180 Grey Fox Racing BMW M3 topped Mark Boden’s Fall-Line Trim-Tek Porsche GT3. Boden fell off at the end of the race, but both took turns battling for the overall lead early in the race.
Brian Schofield’s No. 61 PM Racing Spec Racer Ford took the top spot in the Group 6 race, holding off Andrew Charbonneau’s No. 27 Lord of The Rings Spec Racer Ford by just 0.408-second. The two swapped positions several times over the last half of the 13-lap race, with Schofield taking the victory.
The battle for the overall lead in the seventh, and final, group was between two classes, with the No. 1 Hillenburg Motorsports Formula Mazda of Darryl Wills setting a new track record of 2:09.068 (104.317 mph) and taking the overall win by 1.808 seconds over the No. 23 Jay Motorsports Formula Enterprises car of Jason Wolfe. Lewis Cooper III earned a Formula F win and lowered the track record to a 2:16.062 in his No. 0 Polestar/Martini/Voss Water Van Diemen Ford.
The last class to cross the finish line was also the closest, as is typical for a Formula Vee race on a track with long, drafting straights like Sebring. In the end, the No. 37 Hoosier Vortech 2004 of Charles Hearn squeezed out a follow the leader win over the No. 28
www.NorthShoreVetHospital.com Caracal D of Russell Fredericks by a paper-thin 0.197-second.
Round Two of the nine-race BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour comes at Texas World Speedway, March 9-11, for the BFGoodrich Tires Southwest Super Tour.
More information on the Sports Car Club of America, the SafeRacer National Series, or the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour is available at
www.scca.com.
Follow SCCA on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.
SEBRING, Fla. – Race winners from Sunday’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, Mark Weber, St. Louis, Mo., Mazda Miata.
Formula Atlantic, Keith Grant, Germantown, Tenn., Swift 014A.
Formula Continental, Chuck Moran, Oakton, Va., Van Diemen RFR.
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, Simon Gregg, Ponte Vedra, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette.
GT-2, Mark Boden, Winnetka, 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, David Pintaric, Canfield, Ohio, Dodge Viper.
STU, Michael Flynn, Eustis, Fla., BMW 325.
STL, Jim Drago, Memphis, Tenn., 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.
