944 Spec Drivers had a banner weekend at Road America, with 5 cars in the Sprint Race, and 3 cars in the
3 hour enduro, which all the cars finished! Once again, 944 Spec drivers showed speed and sportsmanship, with no car to car contact -
making it a clean season with 4 rookie drivers.
Satuday started with our rookie drivers finding their lines around Autobahn's South Course in the wet. By race time, it mercifully dried up by race time. Eric jumped out to an early lead, with Ray working hard on the cars in between, and Angel & Jeff making chase. BJ, lost the a bolt out of the linkage early on, but got it together for the enduro later the same day. Angel got close to Ray with some traffic, but couldn't quite get get by. Eric stayed out front for his first win this year - ending Ray's streak.
BJ "assumes the position" (BJ's our transmission expert :wink:)
For the 3 hour enduro, the 944 Spec crew welcomed Roy Lippen, who normally drives a GTS-2 M3. Eric joined Angel Blasquez in a friendly reunion with his old car. BJ & Rob drove their shared car for the final entry. Our 944's were able to post lap times faster than the winning E2 class cars, but need to work on or pit stops and consistancy a bit to improve our finishing positions, but watch out at Road America!
Sunday the overnight rain dried up a again, and Ray was back in winning form with Eric sidelined with mechanical issues. Angel pulled even closer, but Ray was able to turn it up enough to stay ahead. Jeff again got "into the money" with his second 3rd place finish for the weekend. Angel was also consistent with two second place finishes. BJ had some fueling issues that left him down on power, but able to finish the race.
Everyone agreed the enduro was a blast - and help our drivers home their skills a great deal - lap times fell a bunch from Saturday (pre-enduro) and Sunday (post Enduro).
In a new development, Robyn Hillman of VFC has extended her hospitality to 944 Spec Drivers & family providing free lunch, drinks, and snacks - thanks VFC!
With another clean weekend in the bag, and more new drivers joining us for Road America next week, NASA's 944 Spec is rapidly growing into a premier driver's series.
