SCCA Southeast Conference Majors at Sebring International Raceway feature 13 wins for Mazda racers.
Double victories were the order of the day for Mazda drivers at Sebring International Raceway for Rounds Three and Four of the SCCA Southeastern Conference U.S. Majors Tour, part of the SafeRacer Club Racing program. Four Mazda racers took a win in each half of the Winter Vacation Majors, and in two other cases, one Mazda driver won on Saturday and a different Mazda driver won on Sunday.
Saturday’s races were 30-minute sprint races around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn permanent road course, while Sunday’s races were 15-lap affairs. There were a lot of yellows on Saturday, and Spec Miata racer Dillon Machavern, in the fourth group of the day, took the first race to run under full green conditions. Driving his No. 24 Heritage Motorsports/Panic Motorsports Mazda Miata, he completed 12 laps en route to his win. Second-place finisher Danny Steyn said Machavern drove a nearly flawless race, from beginning to end. Machavern’s only misstep came during the last lap, when he put four wheels off track in Turn 5. Steyn tried to take advantage of the error, but Machavern was able to recover quickly and seal his first-place finish.
On Sunday, Machavern spent the entire 15-lap race in a heated battle for the lead with Andrew Carbonell, Danny Steyn and Todd Buras. At the beginning of lap 14 Machavern was in second, just behind Carbonell. Machavern was able to make a move for the lead stick, taking over the lead and receiving the white flag. Machavern then held off an equally fast Carbonell, who fell just short of winning the drag race from Turn 17 to the finish line.
Connor Kearby, of Corpus Christi, Texas, captured his third Southeastern Conference Formula Atlantic win on Saturday, just 1.308 seconds ahead of Garth Rickards. In his No. 56 GK Motorsports/K-Hill Motorsports Swift 016, Kearby was in second for most of the race until he inherited the lead from Keith Grant one lap shy of the finish.
Grant had his redemption on Sunday, however. Grant, of Germantown, Tenn., scored his first Majors win of the season in a captivating last-lap fight with Kearby. At the controls of his No. 40 Mazda/Hoosier/Polestar Swift 016 Formula Atlantic, Grant trailed Kearby to the white flag. At the approach to Turn 13, Grant made his move and went through four turns side by side with Kearby. Only after Turn 16 did Grant finalize his pass, giving him a clear path to the checkered flag.
Carson Weeder, of Winter Haven, Fla., racked up his second and third consecutive wins at the controls of his No. 28 Weeder Motorsports Formula Mazda. After winning the feature race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Weeder is now the class leader in the Southeastern Conference standings. Doug Peterson challenged Weeder for much of the Sunday race, even holding the lead for a couple laps. But Weeder would not be denied the opportunity to keep his three-race win streak alive.
Don Ahrens and Ken Kannard, both in Miatas, split the F Production wins at Sebring. Nick Leverone (Super Touring Lite Miata) and Tim Myers (Touring 4 RX-8) had double victories at Sebring.
The next Southeast Conference event – and the next SCCA Majors event in the country – will be a shared event with the Mid-States Conference at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana on March 7-8.
SCCA Southeast Conference Majors
Sebring International Raceway, Fla.
Jan. 17-18, 2015
Round 3 Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Atlantic | Conner Kearby | Corpus Christi, Texas | Swift 016 |
| Formula Mazda | Carson Weeder | Winter Haven, Fla. | Formula Mazda |
| F Production | Don Ahrens | Gainesville, Fla. | Mazda Miata |
| Spec Miata | Dillon Machavern | Charlotte, Vt. | Mazda Miata |
| Super Touring Lite | Nick Leverone | North Smithfield, R.I. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 4 | Tim Myers | Atlanta, Ga. | Mazda RX-8 |
Round 4 Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Atlantic | Keith Grant | Germantown, Tenn. | Swift 016 |
| Formula Mazda | Carson Weeder | Winter Haven, Fla. | Formula Mazda |
| F Production | Ken Kannard | East Troy, Wis. | Mazda Miata |
| GT-3 | Ray Stephenson | Miami, Fla. | Mazda RX-7 |
| Spec Miata | Dillon Machavern | Charlotte, Vt. | Mazda Miata |
| Super Touring Lite | Nick Leverone | Mendon, Mass. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 4 | Tim Myers | Atlanta, Ga. | Mazda RX-8 |