MAXXIS Tires SpeedSF Challenge (Round 2, Part 1) at Thunderhill West CW - April 10, 2021

INTRODUCTION

Back at it again! After a month off from any Challenge events, we restarted the competition with a double-header weekend at Thunderhill West. The weekend began with a clockwise configuration run; a crazy way to shake off the rust! The S2 class Challenge record was completely obliterated while the S5 class Challenge record was just barely beat in a similar chassis. Great driving from our participants today!

CLASS S5

The Miata class. 1st place driver Scott Smith showed you can still eke out time in a Miata and his 1:28.917 lap time showed it in his S5 Spec Miata. This also beat the previous S5 track record set by Mia Yeung’s Miata lap time of 1:29.050 set back on March 15, 2020. The 2nd place spot was taken by Zoe Downing in her Miata thanks to a 1:29.837 lap time while running the Maxxis RC-1 tires. Patryk Skowronksi put down a 1:30.584 lap time in his own Miata! Good job to our S5 class! Zoe is getting increasingly faster, well done!

CLASS S4

3 entrants and 3 podium placers! Math! We had two S2000s take the first two places while a WRX rounded out the podium. Jason Parraga took home 1st place in his 2008 S2000 CR - a 1:24.133 lap time certainly helps, especially with 2nd place Nathan Hackman putting down a very close 1:24.760 lap time in his own 2008 S2000. In 3rd place we have the 2002 WRX belonging to Richard Rozporka who earned his spot with a 1:28.397 lap time. Richard’s WRX has really come in since last year; it’s good to see you back!

CLASS S3

Whether it is experience, skill, stones, or all three, the pace gaps between the drivers were 1 second or greater. Tony Rodriguez carried over his domination from last year’s season into another 1st place finish, showcasing a 1:21.034 lap time in his 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder, while the 2nd place spot was taken by Gary Wong and his TayTay S2000’s 1:22.084 lap time. Ken Yip took 3rd place with his 1:23.204 lap time while behind the wheel of his 2011 BMW M3. Great driving as always from the top 3! We look forward to seeing if the gap closes at the longer tracks, especially upcoming at Sonoma!

CLASS S2

Kevin Schweigert woke up and chose violence on this day, putting in a 1:20.653 lap time while piloting a 2021 Toyota Supra. This lap time obliterated the class lap record of 1:23.808 set by Steve Chi in his E92 M3. David Fitz-Randolph took 2nd place in his Miata thanks to a 1:21.179 lap time while 3rd place was taken up by Steve Melson in his 1991 Nissan 300ZX with a 1:22.960 lap time! It is amazing that the ole’ Z car is nimble and reliable enough to be this competitive! This class is going to be an interesting watch as we progress through the season.

CLASS S1

1st place driver Steve Melson officially set the first lap record for the S1 Class: a 1:20.216 in his 2014 Audi R8, a high bar for anyone else looking to enter the S1 fray. Maybe it’s Steve’s seat time or his recent advanced coaching, but he has really turned up the wick on the rest of the field! Gordon Peng returned to action in a pumped up version of his 2002 Chevrolet C5 Corvette Z06 with a motor transplant earning 2nd place with a 1:23.274 lap time. To his credit, it’s been a while since he last drove and his first time driving the CW configuration - not bad for a CW rookie! Let’s see if Gordon can take the battle to Steve throughout the season.

CONCLUSION

Excellent work by the drivers who took their places on the podium! THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the opening day for Round 2 on this warm Saturday, especially in this CW configuration. Brush off that rust! There will be many opportunities to chase podium finishes. This can be achieved with more seat time, coaching, and watching videos of how to attack the track!

Round 3 will be held at Sonoma Raceway on May 9 and we look forward to more close finishes among the drivers! There’s still ample opportunity to shake off those cobwebs! We truly appreciate our sponsors and participants and we are forever thankful as all of this would not be possible without them! 

Thank you to our sponsors Maxxis Tires, Wine Country Motorsports, Titan7 Wheels, and Charles Schwab for their continued and valued support. Please visit their respective websites to show your support and let them know SpeedSF sent you!