Mazda racers score victories in final Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event of 2017 at Watkins Glen International

The final opportunity to earn a 2017 Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour win was this past weekend at Watkins Glen International in Upstate New York with an event hosted by SCCA’s Finger Lakes Region. Drivers came from all over the country in an attempt to claim a victory, and a number of Mazda racers pulled it off.

F Production featured a nose-to-tail battle between polesitter Charlie Campbell and Mason Workman, each driver having led many laps in 2017 Hoosier Super Tour races but still looking for a first win. Workman moved his No. 52 Hoosier Tire/Planet Miata/Mazdaspeed Mazda Miata to the lead on lap four, but Campbell’s Miata was never far behind. A brief late-race caution set up a two-lap run to the finish, and the duo ran side-by-side for much of it, each taking turns at the front. Campbell made an outside pass for the lead in Turn 1 and took the white flag up front. Workman responded, however, taking the lead for good in the Boot on the final lap.

Workman then repeated his victory on Sunday. Other drivers who scored double wins include Sedat Yelkin in his Mazda-powered Swift Formula Atlantic, Elliot Finlayson in Formula Enterprise, and Start Rettie in Formula Mazda.

Spec Miata, though, is usually so tight and competitive that repeat wins are rare on Super Tour weekends. Tyler Kicera is no stranger to the top step of the podium and took the win on Saturday, but on Sunday, a determined racer took the checker for the first time in many months. Danny Steyn, in his No. 39 Adept/Rossini/OPM/G-Loc/TraqGear/TraqMate Mazda Miata, took the Sunday victory.

“Finally! Tick, tock; the clock has stopped,” exclaimed Steyn after the race. “It’s been well over a year, I hate to say, since I’ve won a Spec Miata U.S. Majors Tour race. This brings that to a rest!”

The win, however, was anything but easy. Kicera jumped out to the lead early and could be found there almost the entire race. Steyn spent most of the event tucked in behind Kicera, only leading for two laps – the important one being the last.

“I thought I had more tires left at the end of the race than Tyler,” Steyn explained. “He seemed to be struggling a little bit compared to me, and I just seemed to be able to roll more speed through the turns. But Tyler is a fine gentleman. He raced me clean everywhere.”

Kicera noted afterwards that both he and Steyn had incredibly equal cars throughout the event. What Kicera did to win on Saturday, he believes Steyn duplicated to take the victory on Sunday.

“I had him in some corners, he had me in other corners,” Kicera said. “I tried really hard on the last lap today to do everything I could. I was really close to wrecking on every corner. But it wasn’t enough in the end, and congratulations to Danny.”

In Super Touring Lite, Eric Kutil and his Honda Civic Si were riding a five-race winning streak that began back at the Mid-Ohio Hoosier SCCA Super Tour, carried through the June Sprints, and continued Saturday at Watkins Glen. On Sunday, Kutil was positioned on the pole in a race that started just after the skies opened up and moistened the track. The wet conditions suited Kutil and he took off to a solid, early lead with Brian Shanfeld’s Honda Civic Si and the Mazda MX-5 of Craig McHaffie a short distance behind. But about halfway through the race, the track began to dry. That change allowed Shanfeld and McHaffie to reel in Kutil. In the closing laps, the three swapped the top spot several times as they worked through traffic. When the checker fell, it was McHaffie in his No. 67 Flatout Motorsports Mazda MX-5 who grabbed victory.

“The front-wheel drive Honda guys were able to get a little more than me in the rain – I played it safe the first couple laps,” McHaffie admitted. “When the dry line started to come up, we hit some lapped traffic that allowed me to get back up to those guys. They put up one heck of a fight; it was door-to-door the entire time, and I was lucky enough to finish out front.”

The conclusion of racing at Watkins Glen International brings to a close the inaugural Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour season. However, the Hoosier Super Tour Nationwide Points Championship for each of 28 classes isn’t over. This year’s SCCA National Championship Runoffs, being held on the road course at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also counts toward that points championship. So, the battle to see who is the best will resume Sept. 29-Oct. 1 during three days of top-flight racing in Indiana.

SCCA Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour at Watkins Glen International
June 24, 2017, provisional winners
Class: Name, Hometown and Car:
F Production: Mason Workman; Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic: Sedat Yelkin; Austintown, Ohio; Mazda Swift 016
Formula Enterprise: Elliot Finlayson; Yorkville, Ill.; SCCA Formula Enterprises Mazda
Formula Mazda: Stuart Rettie; Houston, Texas; Mazda Star Formula Mazda
Spec Miata: Tyler Kicera; Manheim, Pa.; Mazda Miata
Super Touring Under: John Weisberg; Webster, N.Y.; Mazda MX-5

June 25, 2017, provisional winners
F Production: Mason Workman; Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic: Sedat Yelkin; Austintown, Ohio; Mazda Swift 016
Formula Enterprise: Elliot Finlayson; Yorkville, Ill.; SCCA Formula Enterprises Mazda
Formula Mazda: Stuart Rettie; Houston, Texas; Mazda Star Formula Mazda
Spec Miata: Danny Steyn; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite: Craig McHaffie; Walpole, Mass.; Mazda MX5