Ken Kannard

Several Mazda racers score double victories at historic Sebring International Raceway The 2019 SCCA Hoosier Super Tour began as it did last year, with the second Southeast Conference Majors race of the season at Sebring International Raceway. Attracting well over 350 entrants, the event enjoyed large fields across 29 classes racing on the 17-turn, 3.74-mile […]

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Six Hoosier Super Tour events plus the Runoffs decided the SCCA points champions, with eight Mazda drivers earning titles With the SCCA National Championship Runoffs being the last opportunity to earn points toward the Hoosier Super Tour point championships, those champions have now been determined, and among them are eight Mazda drivers. Drivers earned points […]

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Eric Prill, Matt Reynolds lead a contingent of Mazda Production drivers looking for Runoffs glory at Indy In the last few years, F Production has become one of SCCA Club Racing’s more interesting classes. A mix of classic British roadsters and newer Japanese machinery, it has produced some of the best racing at the SCCA […]

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Penultimate round of Hoosier Super Tour at Road America also features first-time winners at the iconic event Despite being in its 62nd year, the WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints, the penultimate stop of the 11-round Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour series, saw a few firsts at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Formula Enterprises […]

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Three Mazda racers double up with wins on two days while Spec Miata features two winners.

Day one of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour at VIRginia International Raceway ran  under sunny skies, but halfway through Sunday, the skies opened up. The races served as Rounds Nine and 10 for the Southeastern Conference and was the season-opening race for the Northeastern Conference.

Drivers in each of the eight race groups, made up of 28 Runoffs-eligible classes, took to the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit for 25-minute sprit races on Saturday and 16-lap races on Sunday.

Spec Miata led Saturday off in a big way. With oil-dry on the course near the finish line, the opening moments saw six cars make contact just after taking the green flag. Three of those cars were able to continue the race, while three were not. The rest of the race, restarted on lap five, proved to be just as intense with a multi-car battle for the lead that included eventual race winner Dillon Machavern. Jonathan Goring won Spec Miata on Sunday.

Three drivers doubled up with a pair of victories, scoring in both the sprint races and the features on Sunday. Ken Kannard (Miata) won F Production both days, as did Ray Stephensen in GT-3 (RX-7) and Robert Noell in Formula Mazda.
 
SCCA Northeastern/Southeastern Conferences Majors
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, Va., April 18-19, 2015

Saturday Mazda Winners

Class,Driver,Hometown,Car Formula Mazda,Robert Noell,”Cary, N.C.”,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

Sunday Mazda Winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
Formula Mazda Robert Noell Cary, N.C. Formula Mazda
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
GT-3 Ray Stephenson Miami, Fla. Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Spec Miata Jonathan Goring Norfolk, Va. Mazda Miata

SCCA Southeastern Conference U.S. Majors Tour features dichotomous weather to test racers.

As the Southeast Conference of the U.S. Majors Tour hit the halfway point with this past weekend’s event at Road Atlanta, Saturday and Sunday were like two different events with very different weather, allowing drivers to display their skills in both warm and sunny conditions and in the wet.

Saturday’s 25-minute timed races were met with warm sun. In Spec Miata, Dillon Machavern (No. 24 Heritage Mazda Miata) held his position in the lead pack as he, Jonathan Goring and Danny Steyn broke away from the field in Spec Miata. Machavern rode in second for the majority of the race, then moved to the front with one to go. Ready to race, Machavern held on out front for the final lap, with Steyn a half-second behind at the stripe.

In Formula Mazda, Joseph Harris (No. 132 Formula Mazda) battled with Darryl Wills (No. 2 Hillenburg Motorsports Formula Mazda) until lap 15, when a car from a different class tried to sweep around the pair through a corner. Wills jumped on the brakes to avoid contact, but the move caused him to spin and Harris was left alone for the win.

For Sunday’s 20-lap races around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track, a steady downpour provided drivers the opportunity for drivers to prove themselves in a limited-traction environment. Some drivers who shone on Saturday saw their fortunes reversed, as did some who weren’t able to grab victory the day prior.

Goring’s No. 18 Jonathan Goring Motorsports Mazda Miata nearly saw all the early work he’d put in erased with just a few minutes to go in the Spec Miata race, when a car slid off the end of the back straight and came to rest in the gravel trap. That brought out a full-course caution with the 40-minute time window winding down, and erased a five second lead for Goring. With a host of rivals in his mirrors, Goring again got away on the one-lap dash to the end. At the checkered flag, Goring was 1.109-second ahead of Steyn’s Miata, and almost two seconds ahead of Saturday winner Machavern.

With heavy rains falling, Nick Leverone piloted his No. 31 Flatout Motorsports Mazda Miata to the front of a field that traditionally features quicker and more powerful cars to take the Super Touring Lite win.

Conner Kearby (No. 56 K-Hill Motorsports Swift 016/Mazda) repeated in Formula Atlantic after spending the early part of the race chasing his father, Gaston Kearby. The elder Kearby was still in front on lap 13 when suddenly his machine failed to accelerate out of a corner, done for the day. From there, Conner was alone on the lead to the finish line.

Joseph Harris’ No. 132 Formula Mazda finished an impressive second overall, the only other car on Kearby’s lead lap. The win capped a sweep of the weekend in class for Harris.

Two more drivers were able to prove their ability to win in any condition. Ken Kannard won F Production in his No. 39 Northwest Cable Mazda Miata, and Michael Kamalian of nearby Marrietta, Georgia took GT-Lite in his No. 99 RevolutionSpeed.com Mazda Miata.

SCCA Southeastern Conference Majors
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
March 21-22, 2015
Round Seven Mazda winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic Conner Kearby Corpus Christi, Texas Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda Joseph Burton Harris Cresson, Texas Formula Mazda
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Prototype 1 Jim Downing Atlanta, Ga. Peach/Mazda
Spec Miata Dillon Machavern Charlotte, Vt. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Mendon, Mass. Mazda Miata

Round Eight Mazda winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic Conner Kearby Corpus Christi, Texas Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda Joseph Burton Harris Cresson, Texas Formula Mazda
GT-3 William Wilson Englewood, Tenn. Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Prototype 1 Jacek Mucha Highland Beach, Fla. JM016CP/Mazda
Spec Miata Jonathan Goring Norfolk, Ct. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Mendon, Mass. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Under Thomas Lyttle Decatur, Ga. Mazda RX-7
Touring 3 Tyler Kicera Manheim, Pa. Mazda MX-5

Southeast Conference races at Homestead-Miami Speedway include five double winners in Mazdas.

The off season seems ever shorter. For residents of the Southeast, it certainly is, as the sunny Florida weather allows an earlier start to the Southeastern Conference SCCA U.S. Majors Tour than is possible in other parts of the country. On the second weekend of the new year, SCCA Club Racers kicked off their season at Homestead Miami Speedway even as their pro sports car racing counterparts were testing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the northern part of the state. While championships cannot be won during the opening round of competition, the first event can certainly shape the title fight and lend some insight into the character of the remaining season. If there is one takeaway, 2015 should be quite a season as the determination of each competitor to win is already at fever pitch.

Seven race groups took to the 12-turn, 2.3-mile road/oval circuit each day to start the path to the Runoffs. This event marks the first time the Miami-area speedway has hosted a Majors event. The premiere talent and skill of this crop of drivers showed as lap records fell in nearly every class. Conditions for the record-setting day could not have been better on Saturday as the morning haze burned off, resulting in the sun breaking through the clouds.

That turned to light on-and-off showers followed by plenty of Florida sunshine for Sunday’s Round 2. When everything was done, five Mazda racers had claimed double victories and were well on their way to a great season.

As the opening act to the entire 2015 Majors season, Spec Miata did not disappoint. Close, fender-to-fender racing was the name of the game, and Elivan Goulart, of Shelton, Conn., was able to pull off the narrow win in his No. 70 SAC Racing ServicesMazda Miata, with a last-lap pass on Todd Buras.

A total of 42 drivers took the green, led by hometown driver Alex Bolanos. Bolanos took part in a close-quarters, four-car battle for the lead that included Buras, Denny Steyn and Selin Rollan. Goulart had missed a shift earlier in the race, dropping him back to sixth place. As the laps wound down, the leaders started to fight hard amongst themselves, giving Goulart the opportunity to reel them in. He was able to get the draft to work for him on the banking of Turns 11 and 12, which allowed him to make the outside pass stick for the win.

Nick Leverone, of Greenwich, N.Y., took the win in Super Touring Lite on Saturday and set a new lap record of 1:35.869 behind the wheel of the No. 3 Drillmasters Mazda Miata. He beat Mike Van Steenburg to the line by a 1.411-second margin. He repeated the feat on Sunday for the double win.

Formula Atlantic National Champion Conner Kearby, of Corpus Christi, Texas, started his title defense with a convincing win over Dudley Fleck. Kearby, in his No. 56 GK Motorsports/K-Hill Motorsports Swift 016, finished 9.277 seconds ahead of Fleck. Kearby also reset the Formula Atlantic lap record with a lap of 1:16.756. By his account, Kearby had a great opening weekend of 2015 with a pair of little-contested wins in the event.

Joining Leverone and Kearby in the double victory club were Ken Kannard, coming from Wisconsin to get an early jump on his season in his F Production Miata; Bill McGavic in his GT-3 RX-7; and Tim Myers, who took wins on both days in his Touring 4 RX-8.

The Southeast Conference Majors Tour resumes next weekend with a visit to Sebring International Raceway for Rounds Three and Four. On the other side of the country, the Western Conference gets underway with Rounds One and Two at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

SCCA Southeastern Conference Majors
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.
Jan. 10-11, 2015

Round 1 Mazda Winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
Formula Atlantic Conner Kearby Corpus Christi, Texas Swift 016
Formula Mazda Doug Peterson Maiden, N.C. Formula Mazda
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
GT-3 Bill McGavic Arcadia, Fla. Mazda RX-7
Prototype 1 Jacek Mucha Highland Beach, Fla. Mazda JMS016
Spec Miata Elivan Goulart Shelton, Conn. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Greenwich, N.Y. Mazda Miata
Touring 4 Tim Myers Atlanta, Ga. Mazda RX-8

Round 2 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 Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
GT-3 Bill McGavic Arcadia, Fla. Mazda RX-7
Spec Miata Selin Rollan Miami, Fla. Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Greenwich, N.Y. Mazda Miata
Touring 4 Tim Myers Atlanta, Ga. Mazda RX-8

With more than 300 cars on the entry list for the Sports Car Club of America’s BFGoodrich® Tires Atlanta Super Tour at the scenic Road Atlanta, close races were a lock. It happened, and what transpired on Saturday at Road Atlanta for Round Five of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour, in many classes, was the […]”

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