Western Conference Majors event in the heat of the Southern California desert sees several records fall at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.
With temperatures scorching into the mid-90s in the California desert, it felt more like the first weekend of August than the first weekend of May. But the track records that fell on Saturday felt a lot like the end-of the-season championship efforts.
The Western Conference Majors Tour ran 30-minute races on a recently repaved surface at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, with track records falling left and right during Round Seven of the championship season. Round Eight followed on Sunday with 20-lap races.
The winged open wheel cars put on a great show. In Formula Mazda, Larry Mason’s No. 12 Auto Diagnostic Services/Polar/The Fiberglass Body Formula Mazda took the lead early with Tazzio Ottis on his tail. The pair battled back and forth, with Ottis sneaking in front and catching traffic at opportune times to sneak away for the win in the No. 72 Patrick Ottis Company Formula Mazda. However, Mason got his revenge on Sunday, taking the win in the 20-lapper.
Though the race was only 19 laps long due to the time limit, the first 18 and 11/12ths of the Spec Miata race were just a set-up for the final corner. Dakota Dickerson chased Clement Lee’s No. 33 RM Autosport Mazda Miata for most of the middle stages of the race, just like Saturday’s battle won by Lee.
With the white flag in the air, Dickerson chased Lee down the back stretch and carried his momentum through the final complex. With one turn to go, Lee moved to the inside to protect his position. Dickerson pulled his No. 8 Rush Motorsports Miata to the outside of the turn, taking the longer run around but carrying more speed on exit. The two ran side by side to the checkered flag, with Dickerson getting a nose in front and holding it there across the stripe for the win.
GT-3 was a thriller as well. Saturday winner Wolfgang Maike and Scott Graham swapped positions, with Maike actually taking the lead when Graham accidentally flipped off the fuel pump switch down the straight in his No. 6 SCOS Orthopedics Mazda RX-7. Back under power, Graham chased down Maike and got back in front, able to hang on for the win.
The Western Conference moves to the Northwest for the two final weekends, with Rounds Nine and 10 taking place on Memorial Day weekend at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington.
SCCA Western Conference Majors Tour
Buttonwillow Raceway Park
Buttonwillow, Calif., May 1-3, 2015
Saturday Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-Spec | Eric Boucher | Auburn, Calif. | Mazda2 |
| E Production | Aaron Downey | Rosmoor, Calif. | Mazda RX-3 |
| Formula Atlantic | Chris Emanuel | Huntington Beach, Calif. | Swift 016a/Mazda |
| Formula Mazda | Tazzio Ottis | Portland, Ore. | Formula Mazda |
| Prototype 2 | David Ferguson | Paso Robles, Calif. | Van Diemen RFS-03/Mazda |
| Spec Miata | Clement Lee | San Diego, Calif. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 1 | Marc Hoover | Shingle Springs, Calif. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 4 | Tom Wickersham | Piedmont, Calif. | Mazda MX-5 |
Sunday Mazda Winners
| Class | Driver | Hometown | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-Spec | Eric Boucher | Auburn, Calif. | Mazda2 |
| E Production | Aaron Downey | Rosmoor, Calif. | Mazda RX-3 |
| Formula Atlantic | Ed Lever | Bakersfield, Calif. | Pro Formula Mazda |
| Formula Mazda | Larry Mason | Burbank, Calif. | Formula Mazda |
| GT-3 | Scott Graham | Irvine, Calif. | Mazda RX-7 |
| Prototype 1 | Jon Van Caneghem | Marina Del Rey, Calif. | Elan DP02 |
| Spec Miata | Dakota Dickerson | San Diego, Calif. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 1 | Marc Hoover | Shingle Springs, Calif. | Mazda Miata |
| Touring 4 | Tom Wickersham | Piedmont, Calif. | Mazda MX-5 |