Mission: Monterey - Support Series takes on Laguna Seca
Chris Burk, VOR Staff Writer
The California coast is hot, the ladies are hotter, and the VOR Support Series was smoking as they entered Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this week for their sixth round of championship racing action. Daniel Ramirez has had the GT championship in the palm of his hand for the first half of the season, coming off of his triumphant win three weeks ago at Kyalami. In the GTC class, grizzled veteran Paul Nadeau has had things tied up in his favor by winning the first four races of the season and finishing second at Kyalami, giving him quite the points lead on championship chasers Kent Dickie and Scott Hovanec. Unfortunately, Laguna Seca was not a stop scheduled for both drivers this week, leaving both fields open for close competition at the famed home of the "Corkscrew", which drops five-and-a-half stories in a mere 450 feet.
For most drivers though, a check in the W column wasn't going to come easy. Dave Jordan, in his #55 Deuces MC 997, came into Monterey raceless in the Support Series for the first half of the season. This didn't prove to be a crutch for him, as when pre-qualifying ended on Friday afternoon at 1800 local time, his name was on top of the board with a 1:20.420, a full two seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Brazil Racing Team driver Helcio Aguirra. Chuck Curtis, third in the points coming into Laguna Seca, finished off the top three pre-qualifiers in his #71 Fuller Racing Viper with a 1:23.067.
With the streaking Nadeau out of the picture (at least for this week), second-in-points Kent Dickie thought it would be his week to shine after a strong win at Kyalami three weeks prior. Dickie's "rough riding" luck got the best of him however, as both his door and windows were shut on him when Terry Fisher rolled onto the track on Thursday afternoon for his pre-qualifying session. Fisher, also raceless in the Support Series up to this point in the season, beat out half of the GT class after he put down a blazing lap of 1:24.821, only four seconds slower than GT class leader Jordan. Dickie's #80 Talon Racing Porsche was proven no match for Fisher's league borrowed Porsche, putting down a 1:26.1 during the early part of Friday afternoon. Chris Buccola, returning from a leave of absence that began after the mid-April LMC race at Daytona, proved that time out of the seat had not hurt his skill at all, posting a 1:28.733 in his #86 RadioLeMans Motorsport 997 to round out the top three in GTC times.
Saturday was labeled as a "Monterey Parks and Recreation" sponsored track day, and VOR cars remained parked as spectators took the opportunity to take a lap around the course during the day, allowing the teams to get much needed rest and to touch up on the car's setups. As they returned to the course on Sunday evening, it was obvious that it wouldn't help the GT class much. As the green lights lit around the track at 1700 local time, the Deuces team were destined to be on the front row, with Jordan posting a 1:20.489 on his final lap around the course, only six thousands of a second slower than his best time in pre-qualifying. Chuck Curtis took advantage of Ramirez's week off as well and qualified second with a 1:22.840. Aguirra, who posted the second quickest time in pre-qualifying runs, got the inside second row spot with a 1:22.957.
Terry Fisher showed that even though he hadn't raced in Support all season, he certainly could try. His league-borrowed 997 GTC Porsche posted a 1:24.939 on his third and final lap out on the course, taking the GTC pole. Kent Dickie came a close second with a 1:25.751, and Chris Buccola had certainly shown he had shaken off the rust by qualifying, posting a 1:27.756 to round out the top three of the GTC class.
Monday evening would prove to be a fun race. The classes for the most part were matched well, and the track was just warm enough to be enjoyable for both drivers and spectators alike, with the air temperatures barely reaching the 70 degree mark, providing for close, competitive racing.
Both Fuller Motorsports Vipers fight for position
As the green flag dropped and the first lap passed without incident, the 17 car field proved that tonight would be all skill, all thrill. Bryon Henderson became the first casualty, however, on lap 6. His #44 GearHeadSoft Racing slid wide midway through turn 11 and was unable to be retrieved by track crew, so it became parked. Henderson refused the courtesy ride back to the paddock.
Henderson slides into turn 11
The second DNF came from Red Weasel Racing driver Susan Boyle, when she decided to park her mishandling Vantage after spinning in turn three at the beginning of leader lap 24.
Boyle's parked Aston looks on as Dickie speeds by
Maximark Bradshaw also parked his car after running wide in turn 11 at the end of leader lap 43. Track crews were unable to pull his #221 CanUsa Race Team Ferrari from the deep sand and the disgusted Bradshaw also declined the complimentary ride back to the paddock.
The Track Crew looks on as Bradshaw's Ferrari sits stuck
Dave Jordan, however, made the track his playground for almost the entire night, leading 52 of the 54 laps, including the final 51. In Jordan's first race in the Support Series, he claimed the top podium spot for the GT class. Chuck Curtis, who led laps two and three, battled Jordan hard, but just couldn't keep up with him. After dropping as far down as eighth in the standings, he battled his way back up to the second position by lap 30 and kept it for the remainder of the race. Curtis also picked up an important spot in the points standings, moving up to second place.
Jerry McComas, whose season so far has been riddled with bad luck, picked up his first podium of the season in his family-owned Corvette C6.R, rounding out the top three in the GT class.
Terry Fisher's night was just as storybook as Jordan's. In his first Support Series race of the season, he also picked up his first win of the season, out-running the super quick Talon Racing Porsche of Kent Dickie. Rounding out the top three for the GTC class was Chris Buccola, whose finish was strong considering the three month break he had taken.
The final incident of the race happened after all podium finishers had seen the checkered flag. Chris Burk in his self-owned #24 Porsche GTC became entrapped in the sand of turn 8A and was unable to move on his final lap, only 45 seconds after passing Maximark Bradshaw in the standings. Burk's hands flew in the air with a signature "What is this, I don't even" flair to them as he exited the vehicle. Burk caught a ride back to the pits with the track crew, who for the third time in the evening could not extricate a car from the track's deep gravel pits.
Burk's Porsche is unable to finish the last lap
The GTS Support Series takes the standard one week break as the LMC series hits the pavement at the famous DTM arena of Hockenheim next week. The GTS series returns on the 26th of this month at Autodrome Most.
