As the 2018 SCCA Super Tour winds down, Mazda racers take home the wins
June will be busy for the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour with three race weekends on the calendar to close out the 2018 regular season. And to get the month going, competitors took to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for two days of racing organized by SCCA’s Ohio Valley Region.
The Super Tour used Mid-Ohio’s Club Course that is 2.4 miles long with 15 turns. On Saturday, however, it was Turn 7, located at the end of the long backstretch, which played a pivotal role in several of the 25-minute races, including in Spec Miata.
After a few opening laps, Michael Carter situated himself at the front of the 34-car field, but he was being hounded by Michael Gagliardo. As laps dwindled, Gagliardo pushed hard to find a way past Carter. On the last lap – in Turn 7 – Carter and Gagliardo made contact, resulting in both drivers leaving the racing surface. Jason Knuteson calmly drove by in his Roger Knuteson Racing Mazda Miata to take the lead and victory.
“I could see it was going to happen,” Knuteson said about the contact between Carter and Gagliardo. “I didn’t have quite enough to stay right next to them. But if I had been right on their bumpers, I would’ve been collected. So, I just laid back and waited for it to happen.” Carter came back to win the Spec Miata race on Sunday.
Sunday morning was sunny and nice for the first three race groups on track, but things changed midday. The fourth race group, consisting of Formula and Prototype cars with open cockpits, went out on the circuit with slick race tires. That wasn’t an issue until about 15 laps into the race when the skies opened up and drenched the racing surface. Race cars began spinning off the track and a couple of cars had contact. Stewards decided to bring the race to a close at that point, which made for a surprise winner in the new Formula Enterprises 2 (FE2) class. Liam Snyder held the lead throughout the FE2 race, followed by Rhett Barkau; but shortly after the rain started, Snyder and Barkau both spun off track. That gifted the lead and win to Max Grau in his Elite Autosport SCCA FE2 Mazda – his first Super Tour win in the class.
“That last lap was just chaos – people were going off left and right,” Grau said. “The only way I won is I stayed on the track, which is good enough for me!”
The rain subsided nearly as quickly as it began, and the small bore Touring classes and Super Touring classes enjoyed a dry, if slightly green, track. Multi-time Runoffs champion John Heinricy drove his Ford Mustang to the front of Touring 4 early, but Gresham Wagner in the Sick Sideways Racing/Mazda Motorsports/GreshamWagner.com Mazda MX-5 kept his focus and passed Heinricy for the lead midway through the race. A fantastic battle then took place for the next dozen laps as Heinricy pressured the younger Wagner. In the end, Wagner held his position and came home a winner for his second T4 victory of the weekend.
“It was a tough race for sure,” Wagner said. “In the middle part of the race, we got a break from traffic and I got an opportunity to get around John. From there, he was all over me the rest of the race. He definitely gave me a challenge.”
Another racer who had to work hard to sweep the weekend was B-Spec driver Tom Coury. On Saturday and Sunday, fellow B-Spec competitor Tony Roma jumped to the lead in his Chevrolet Sonic, but Coury came back in both races to take the lead in his Burning River Racing/Duck Brand Tapes Mazda2. The result was very exciting B-Spec racing all weekend for spectators at Mid-Ohio.
“Multi-class racing and traffic makes things really interesting,” Coury noted after Sunday’s race. “B-Spec is one of the most fun classes to race. I have a blast in this car, hitting two wheels and going all over the place. It’s just a blast.”
Aside from Gresham and Coury, the only other racers to double up at Mid-Ohio were Bruce Bannister in Touring 3 (Miata) and Brad Yake in Formula Mazda.
Racers now have one weekend off before the next Super Tour, the June 15-17 Chicago Region WeatherTech June Sprints at Road America. Follow all the action live at www.scca.com/live and look for a report on how the Mazda racers did here on MazdaMotorsports.com.
SCCA Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; Lexington, Ohio; June 2-3, 2018
June 2 Provisional Mazda Winners
B-Spec: Tom Coury; Westlake, OH; NeOhio Region; Mazda2
F Production: Charlie Campbell; Corry, PA; Mohawk Hudson Region; Mazda Miata
Formula Enterprises: Quinten Nelson; Newark, OH; Ohio Valley Regio; SCCA FE Mazda
Formula Enterprises 2: Rhett Barkau; Freeport, IL; Blackhawk Valley Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
Formula Mazda: Brad Yake; Fort Worth, TX; Texas Region; Formula Mazda
Spec Miata: Jason Knuteson; Indianapolis, IN; Central Florida Region; Mazda Miata
Touring 3: Bruce Bannister; Novi, MI; Detroit Region; Mazda Miata
Touring 4: Gresham Wagner; Williamsburg, VA; Old Dominion Region; Mazda MX-5
June 3 Provisional Mazda Winners
B-Spec: Tom Coury; Westlake, OH; NeOhio Region; Mazda2
Formula Atlantic: Paul Ravaris; Aledo, TX; Texas Region; Pro Formula Mazda
Formula Enterprises: Becker Reardon; North Liberty, IN; South Bend Region SCCA FE Mazda
Formula Enterprises 2: Max Grau; Port Byron, IL; Great River Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
Formula Mazda: Brad Yake; Fort Worth, TX; Texas Region; Formula Mazda
Spec Miata: Michael Carter; Savannah, GA; Buccaneer Region; Mazda Miata
Touring 3: Bruce Bannister; Novi, MI; Detroit Region; Mazda Miata
Touring 4: Gresham Wagner; Williamsburg, VA; Old Dominion Region; Mazda MX-5