No relief Saturday from the high temperatures, heat, and humidity at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas as Blue Marble Radical Cup teams and competitors suited up for three on-track sessions, including the first wheel-to-wheel racing of the weekend. With a single warmup to try out any overnight changes and get up to speed, it was straight into qualifying for round 13 of the 18-race series.
Jon Field was once again the driver to beat in the Platinum ranks as he piloted his entry to the pole position by 0.391s over Alain Derzie. Louis Schriber, who showed great pace in pre-event testing, slotted himself into the third position while Jason Plotke and Jim Booth rounded out the top five. In the Pro 1500 ranks, Danny Dyszelski gained the upper hand in the intense championship fight earning the fastest lap of the timed session, but his rival Nick Persing was not far behind in the second position.
Toronto race winner Gregg Gorski pushed his machine into the third position, ahead of Canadian RySpec Racing driver Robert Soroka and Will Lin. Earning a trio of victories at COTA in 2022, Chris McMurry showed his strength scoring the Pro 1340 pole position by more than a second over teammate and championship contender Jace Bacon.
Ken Savage will start race one from the third position as he will be flanked by a pair of Bacons as Jace’s father Seth will begin his quest for a podium result from P4. Team Stradale’s Ben Blander qualified fifth.
Schriber took advantage of a DNF by Field to score the Platinum class victory with Field retiring on lap seven after slowing and losing positions during the opening lap. Derzie took the lead but a spin on lap two opened the door for others while Plotke also had a turn at the front of the field before falling by the wayside. With Schriber climbing his way to the top step of the COTA podium, it was Jim Booth who was also a big benefactor crossing the line second in class while dirt track racer turned Radical Cup driver Wayne Williams was back on the podium in third.
Dyszelski clawed his way back even in the Pro 1500 point standings as he beat Persing to the line for the victory in another one – two finish for the pair. As the dominant duo in the Pro 1500 class, the pair of drivers are set to battle it out tooth and nail throughout COTA and Laguna Seca in two weeks. Soroka was the best of the rest as he found his way to the third step of the box beating Gorski and RySpec Racing’s Austin Riley.
Continuing from his dominant 2022 weekend at the Circuit of The Americas and the test days leading up to race one, Chris McMurry added his fourth straight win at the iconic facility by taking the win in the Pro 1340 class in dominating fashion. Leaving the rest to fight for second,
Jace Bacon was able to secure a solid P2 on the podium while Seth Bacon made it a double podium result for the Bacon family and a podium sweep for Crown Concepts. Just off the podium was 2023 race winner Ken Savage as he beat Blander to the line as the pair rounded out the top five.
Sunday is reserved for races two and three on the weekend which will be broadcast live 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. Please stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America social media pages for the latest series news and updates.