Nick Persing moved back into the lead of the outright championship lead by a single point after clinching the PRO 1500 pole over title rival Danny Dyszelski during day one of the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America season finale at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Jon Field was quickest overall, and in the Platinum class, while Chis McMurry set the pace in PRO 1340.
A 35-strong Radical Cup field hit the track Friday morning for a pair of practice sessions before the ever-important qualifying rolled off the grid late in the afternoon. Jon Field (ONE Motorsports) turned a lap of 1m23.452s to claim the outright pole and be fastest in the Platinum class. Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing) finished just over 0.4s behind but easily covered Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) who was third quickest of the SR10 machines. Jason Plotke (Crown Concepts) again impressed to go fourth fastest, while Jim Booth (WISKO Racing) rounded out the top vfive. With a significant points lead, after a dominant performance this year, Field will be crowned the Platinum class champion provided he takes the start of race one.
The Nick Persing (Radical Northwest) and Danny Dyszelski (WISKO Racing) show continued in PRO 1500 as the two championship protagonists traded fastest laps in the highly competitive class. Finding clearer track, Persing got the edge on his rival in qualifying to take the Motul Pole Award and a crucial point. However, it’s race results which pay the real dividends, and based on the current win tally of eight to six, Dyszelski appears to have the upper hand.
RySpec Racing’s Robert Soroka impressed, setting the benchmark early on in the session, but was relegated to P3, just ahead of Aurora Straus (ONE Motorsports). Gregg Gorski (ONE Motorsports), third in the championship entering the weekend, was fifth fastest, while Racing with Autism’s Austin Riley rounded out the top six.
Crown Concepts’ Chris McMurry, fresh off two victories and three podiums at the most recent event at Circuit of The Americas, continued his run, earning the PRO 1340 pole position. Ken Savage (G-Tech Motorsports), leading the championship battle coming into the weekend, slotted himself into second ahead of the Son and Father duo of Jace and Seth Bacon (Crown Concepts), both of whom have a shot to dethrone Savage and take the title. Ben Blander (Team Stradale) was the best of the rest in the PRO 1340 class and will look to push forward when the green flag flies in race one.
Saturday will feature the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend as race one will roll off the grid in the morning before race two in the afternoon. Sunday is reserved for race three as the series will conclude with the final checkered flag just before the NTT IndyCar Series finale. All three races will be broadcast on the Radical Motorsports YouTube page HERE.
Blue Marble Radical Cup events are open to all local and regional Radical racers with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com.
Stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America social media pages for the latest series news and updates.