Race Report by Tim Collier
June 10, 2020 – With only two races left in the season, a trip to the Great White North for the TCR/MX-5 Club Series to the famed Canadian Tire Motorsports Park as the series ramps up to set the stage for the season finale ahead.
Qualifying would set the stage for a gritty battle in the TCR class, with Brian Szabelski taking the pole position with JT Tami starting alongside on the front row. The MX-5’s would be led by Samuel Scott with points leader Kurt Polter taking second spot on the MX-5 grid.
The race start would be uneventful in the TCR class, with the field battling throughout the race for the top spot with four different drivers taking turns leading the race. Szabelski and Tami would exchange the lead early until Lap 5 when Miguel Antonio Alcrudo would take a turn upfront. Behind him, positions would change but never far behind him, and Szabelski would retake the lead until Lap 19 when Kris Hudson would push into the top spot for the final two laps taking the win. Brett Stephens would finish in second place and Tami in third to complete to podium.
The MX-5 race was a 5-car train the first half of the race, with Scott leading the pack. Eventually, Scott would pull away enough to break the draft, and Polter would battle Drew Lidkea, Kenny Rodriguez, and Tim Collier for the second spot. Late in the race, Polter would create a gap back to the others leaving Lidkea and Collier to battle for third. As the checkered flag fell, Scott would take the win, Polter in second, and Collier edging out Lidkea for third place.
The Driver’s Championship in the TCR class has tightened up significantly and JT Tami holds to points lead with 211 points. In second place, Brian Szabelski is only 3 points back, and Miguel Antonio Alcrudo is third. The battle for fourth and fifth is between Liam Park and David Slee not far behind and still within reach of the front.
In the MX-5 standings are just as tight, with Kurt Polter holding a ten point lead over Samuel Scott. In the battle for third place, Drew Lidkea holds a 5 point lead over Tim Collier, with Peter Hebron and Kenny Rodriguez only four points behind.
The season finale for this series is scheduled for June 17th at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where the driver’s championships will be settled once and for all!
