Story Credits: Matthew Overton
Photo Credits: Daniel Kirby
Just one race this week for rF2 – Radicals at Road America for the first of the endurance format races.
A venue very familiar to CMS racers, anticipation was high for some keen competition in the two classes.
AM driver Paul Ibbotson set the pace with a 2:05.068 in his GT3, almost a second clear of his closest competitor, newcomer Adrian Wong. In the SR3s, with a 2:08.746, PRO Daniel Kirby just edged out Eduardo Beninca, renewing the rivalry that has become a fixture in the NARS races.
While Road America with it’s long straights is ideal for the GT3s to stretch their legs over the SR3s, it proved to be more of a challenge than expected for the AM drivers. Only three of them were able to finish ahead of the SR3-equipped PROs and by the checkered flag, only four cars total, including PRO class winner Eduardo Beninca, were on the lead lap. For both Beninca and Ibbotson, the AM winner, pit cycles proved to be key to their race wins and will certainly be areas that the other drivers examine before the next endurance race. For many racers however, it was heartbreak, with 6 of the 18 starters unable to finish the race and AM driver Wong unable to take the start due to technical issues, spoiling his debut.
This coming week, both the MNRL and VWSC are featuring one of the highlight races of the WSC 1991 championship – LeMans! With a BoP adjustment to account for the unique nature of this iconic track, there is a high level of excitement for this always popular race. NARS continues the Radical series with a return to the sprint format and the always challenging Barber Motorsports Park circuit.
Don’t forget, you can catch the race streams on the CMS Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Kdp07PvIeW47f0_sM0emw.
See you on the track!