NOLA Motorspors Park – Syndication Server

Crowdstrike, Bimmer World take GT World Challenge victories at NOLA

A dramatic ending to race two at NOLA Motorsports Park for the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS had heads on a swivel. While race one was a story of preservation due to weather, race two was a story of attrition. The PRO-AM Class …

The PRO-AM Class led the field and kept the PRO Class behind it for much of the race as leaders stayed nearly bumper to bumper through the 90-minute run. Meanwhile, in the PRO Class, it looked like a repeat win for Steven McAleer and Eric Filgueiras until the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R came in contact with Ashton Harrison and the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3. From there it seemed the fields all were steady but with five minutes remaining four cars experienced drama that took them out of podium contention.

PRO class
The PRO Class had a steady start. Pole sitter McAleer and the No. 28 held onto the position for a majority of the opening stint. As the pit window neared, McAleer relinquished the position to the hands of Mario Farnbacher in the No. 93. The two stayed close in position with Trenton Estep in the No. 53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R a few paces behind fighting off Alessandro Balzan in the No. 21 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and Bill Auberlen in the No. 94 Bimmer World BMW M4 GT3.

After the pit window closed. The Filgueiras RS1 Porsche took over the lead but appeared to make contact with Harrison in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura. Harrison spun and was relegated to the rear of the field to continue her race.

Filgueiras remained in the lead with Chandler Hull and the No. 94 BMW on his bumper after the incident. The restart came after Manny Franco in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 spun on his own ending his fight for a podium. Franco was stuck in the gravel but continued on after safety assisted him out. On the final restart, Hull pushed past Filgueiras for his first win of the season. Filgueiras finished second, fending off a stable and steady Seth Lucas in the No. 53 MDK Motorsports Porsche.

PRO-AM class
The PRO-AM field had the attention of the stands from the start. Valentin Hasse Clot in the No. 007 TRG Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 started from the pole and led for the duration of the race but that didn’t stop John Edwards in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 from pushing him around. Edwards went side by side through a few corners but was never able to make a pass as Colin Braun and the No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 put the pressure on Edwards. Braun was ready to pounce at any falter by Edwards.

Hasse Clot was brought in early in the pit window due to being light on fuel. Edwards pitted shortly after but Braun stayed out until a meager 10s remaining in the pit window. The strategy put Braun out front and gave the No. 04 Mercedes enough of a lead that George Kurtz inherited. Kurtz held the lead through to the checkered flag. Behind him, Samantha Tan was taking every curb on two wheels as she tried everything in her power to gain ground on Kurtz. However, a late run through a turn brought her No. 38 BMW to halt on track, the car reignited but the unknown issue took her out of podium contention.

Derek Deboer proved that there is something to experience. He inherited the second position after Tan fell back. DeBoer in the No. 007 Aston Martin Vantage AMR fought hard to keep in podium contention after falling back in the field from the early pit stop. Third place went to Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen in the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. Luck made contact with Ziad Ghandour in the No. 9 TR3 Racing, who seemed to have begun to spin on his own before Luck finished the turnaround for the No. 9. Unphased, Luck moved forward proclaiming the podium position.

“Exciting race after a rough day yesterday,” Kurtz said. “We had a great drive. For a while, it was like, how many restarts can we do? I hope it made it exciting for the fans. We wanted to be back on top and here we are.”

The SRO Motorsports America return to the track again in three weeks at the home of SRO America — Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX for rounds five and six of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.

RESULTS

Gidley sweeps GT America weekend at NOLA; Chouest, Sabo share GT4 honors

Sunny skies above NOLA Motorsports Park welcomed GT America powered by AWS. The energy was palpable all weekend as the series of 20 cars took over the 2.75-mile, 16-turn track for the 30-minute races. Memo Gidley stormed through to take the win in …

Memo Gidley stormed through to take the win in race one on Saturday, while local hot shoe Ross Chouest took his hometown spoils in GT4.

Gidley again led the SRO3 Class through the entirety of race two on Sunday while Elias Sabo took over the lead early on and never looked back in GT4. That didn’t stop others from bringing pressure throughout.

SRO3 CLASS
Four wins, six podiums in six races. Gidley in the No. 101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 took NOLA by storm this weekend. While the driver had never been to NOLA Motorsports Park, it didn’t seem like he needed much introduction. Following Gidley across the finish line Sunday was George Kurtz in the No. 04 Crowdstrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Kurtz showed an understanding of his machine and the track as he maneuvered past third-place finisher Jason Daskalos. Kurtz may have qualified behind him, but throughout the duration of the race the two battled it out for podium position.

GT4 CLASS
Elias Sabo was jumping up and down upon exiting the No. 8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 after race two. His first win of the season came as clean as one ever comes with absolute control over the GT4 field once he passed the pole sitter, Robb Holland. Holland and Sabo were battling when SRO3 Class traffic approached. Sabo navigated the pass as Adam Adelson in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R pushed his way through in the hot pursuit of his own race. Sabo made it stick when Holland gave room to the No. 120 of Adelson. Momentarily, Sabo also led Adelson toward the front stretch.

Holland in the No. 099 Rotek Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport relinquished the second-place position to Todd Coleman in the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4. The No. 099 of Holland would round out the top three of the class by the time the checkered flag flew.

The SRO Motorsports America return to the track in three weeks at the home of SRO America — Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX.

Auto Technic, Heart of Racing, BimmerWorld victorious in GT4 America at NOLA

The Pirelli GT4 America field took to NOLA Motorsports Park on Sunday morning for their sole race of the weekend. Race one was postponed and pushed to Sunday as heavy rains made it impossible to hold the scheduled event on Saturday, and race two …

Silver

The battle for the lead in the Silver class started faster than you could say “go” with every driver going flat out down the long main straight into the first corner. It was the No. 51 Auto Technic Racing of Zac Anderson that beat out the competition going into Turn 1, followed by Tyler Gonzalez in the No. 74 COPELAND MOTORSPORTS Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4, with pole sitter Jesse Webb exiting the right-hander in third on board the No. 21 Conquest Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

A couple of back-to-back full course cautions halted the action for a portion of the first half of the race, with the green flag coming back out with 33 minutes remaining. As the pit window opened shortly after, the majority of the grid opted to come in to complete their mandatory pit stop and driver change. A multi-lap battle emerged between BimmerWorld’s Chandler Hull and Conquest Racing’s Michai Stephens for second place, with the latter getting the upper hand.

The yellow flags were brought out once more at the 17-minute mark as a couple of cars in the PRO-AM and AM classes were stopped on the side of the track. The field was bunched up together once more with everything left to play for as leader John Dubets had his 3s gap taken away as a result.

The action resumed with 7 minutes remaining, with all cars in the top three battling for the top spot. It was one of the most thrilling and nail-biting finishes the Pirelli GT4 America series has seen, with the top three side by side as the checkered flag waved. The No. 51 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 of Anderson and John Dubets was first to the line, a mere 0.004s ahead of the Conquest Racing machine. Stephens and co-driver Webb finished second, with the No. 74 COPELAND MOTORSPORTS Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4 of Tyler Maxson and Tyler Gonzalez third.

“This has been years in the making,” stated Anderson after the race. “I have the pleasure of driving with my best friend. AutoTechnic prepared an incredibly fast machine. We have been the best BMW in this series for a while now. It’s incredible to race with JCD and to get my first overall and Silver win.”

An emotional Dubets added that “I was told we had two laps to go and I knew that Michai (Stephens) had a strong car. My rear tire was starting to drop off so I was doing everything I could to hang on. Michai gave me so much room out there, and so much respect. It was a drag race to the finish line and he was challenging us the whole way. It’s been a long road for us coming here, but I’m racing with my best friend and it’s amazing.”

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Pro-Am

The PRO-AM Class was full of action, as ever. Curt Swearingin took the lead early on, charging through in his No. 7 ACI Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, with pole sitter Gray Newell in the No. 24 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 dropped down into second place, with the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Ross Chouest in the mix. The first lap was full of action as the No. 69 Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of Todd Coleman was involved in an accident, taking him out of the race.

As the pit window opened up, and most of the field elected to make their way down the pit lane, Netherlands native Kay van Berlo took over from Swearingin, keeping the lead. Roman DeAngelis took command of the No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage, and never let his ACI Motorsports competitor out of his sights. However, a caution flag came out with 42 minutes remaining in the race, and once the green flag indicated the restart, the No. 7 ACI Motorsports machine accelerated too quickly, resulting in a drive-through penalty.

With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Roman De Angelis was overtaken by Jason Hart in the No. 47 Nolasport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. It was an Aston Martin showdown as De Angelis came under threat from Aaron Povoledo. The two Canadian drivers raced side by side, offering a nail-biting show for the spectators. John Geesbreght invited himself to the party in his No. 68 Smooge Racing Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra GT4, lurking closely as battle raged on ahead of him.

An unexpected plot twist arose when the Nolasport machine came down pitlane to serve a drive-through penalty with five minutes remaining in the race. The Heart of Racing took the checkered flag first in class, with the Chouest Povoledo Racing outfit closely behind, much to the joy of local driver Ross Chouest. The No. 82 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4 of James Walker Jr. and Tyler McQuarrie came in third in the PRO-AM Class.

“I’ve been working a lot on my outright pace,” noted Newell at the podium. “This is my first race with Roman, my co-conspirator and coach. He’s been giving me a really good theory to apply. I managed to have a lot of time in the car in the past few months, so we can keep moving forward and pushing harder. It’s clearly working.”

The AM Class put on quite a show for the spectators who gathered around the Louisiana track.

Charlie Postins started in the lead of the race aboard his No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW M4 GT4. However, Postins became under threat in the opening stint, with the likes of Chris Allen positioning his No. 438 STR38 Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 right behind them, with Paul Sparta holding on to third in the No. 98 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4.

STR38 Motorsports opted for a different pit stop strategy as they came down to perform their driver change a couple of laps after the rest of their competitors, which resulted in Robert Mau taking over and maintaining the lead. However, he was soon under pressure from James Clay in the No. 36 car, who eventually was able to pull off the overtake. As the final laps of the race approached, crowds were treated to a multi-car battle through each corner, with Clay, Mau, and Nelson Calle going three-wide through turns in search of any extra advantage.

Clay crossed the finish line to win the race, followed by Juan Martinez and Calle in the No. 83 NOLASPORT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in second, with the No. 72 KRUGSPEED of Anthony Geraci and Jaden Lander completing the podium in third.

“It’s a great re-start to our year,” said Clay. “Sonoma was a difficult track for our BMW, so it’s great to be able to come to this track that is good for us and grab a top result. We need more of these this year and I’m confident we will get them.”

“This is a team sport, we have a much stronger field this year and it’s showing,” added teammate Postins. “But this one is on James. He drove a storming race and it’s awesome to be driving alongside him. As he said, I’m hoping this lays a foundation for more business-as-usual results for us for the rest of the year.”

The SRO Motorsports America hit the track again in three weeks at the home of SRO America — Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX for rounds five and six of the Pirelli GT4 America.

Dyson edges Brabham for TA victory in NOLA

CD Racing once again took the checkered flag in round two of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at NOLA Motorsports Park, with the team earning its second 1-2 finish of 2023. This time, it was team owner and two-time champion Chris Dyson who claimed the victory in his No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang, besting teammate Matt Brabham, who finished a close second.

Justin Marks earned his second-consecutive Motul Pole Award of the season in his No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro and led the field to green for a wild first lap. The top three cars fanned out after the wave of the green flag, and second-place starter Brabham overtook Marks in the first turn. Marks, whose car was locking up in the opening corners, made unintentional contact with Brabham’s No. 20 GYM WEED Mustang in an attempt to retake the lead, bumping him back into the third position, with Dyson taking over second.

A few turns later, Marks locked up once again, missing a corner and driving off course. While he was able to get rolling and return to the track, he resumed racing in last place, with Dyson inheriting the point position. Once Dyson had the lead, there was no catching him, and he led second-place Brabham for the remainder of the 37-lap race.

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Behind the CD Racing teammates, Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co. Corvette), David Pintaric (No. 57 Kryderacing Ford Mustang) and Tomy Drissi (No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang) battled for the third position. Pintaric took over third on lap six, and then Ken Thwaits joined the fray, fighting for fourth with Ruman and Drissi in his No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro. Impressively, Marks fought his way through the entire field, overtaking the closely-packed group of cars one at a time and taking over third place on lap 19.

Just one lap later, in an attempt to pass Ruman, Drissi made contact with both her and XGT competitor Matt Crandall, causing front-end damage to his car which eventually forced him to retire from the race. Drissi was also tagged with a penalty for avoidable contact and docked 40s, resulting in a seventh-in-class finish. Marks put down blazing fast laps in an attempt to catch Dyson and Brabham, but without a caution to close the field, he remained a distant third. Pintaric ultimately scored the fourth position, followed by Thwaits.

“This feels great. I can’t quite process it,” said Dyson. “It was a hard day; it was hot going flag-to-flag like that. You’ve got to pace yourself, and I knew Justin (Marks) was coming back. You can’t let up in these Trans Am races; it’s a flat-out sprint the whole way. You’ve got to look after yourself and your car, but that GYM WEED energy really helped me out. We rallied back after a tough one for us at Sebring, but here we are again — another 1-2 — and we’re back in the championship. I think it’s going to be a tremendous season for all of us in Trans Am this year. Let’s go!”

Dyson’s win was the 20th of his Trans Am career, which ties him with Ron Fellows for sixth on the all-time TA win list.

CD Racing has won both races of 2023 and is on a four-race winning streak, which began at VIRginia International Raceway last year. Both Dyson and Brabham have two victories each in that streak.

In his seven starts in the Trans Am Series, Matt Brabham has finished no worse than second, with an average finish of 1.4.

TA Masters Award:
Ken Thwaits, No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro

COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race:
Justin Marks, No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro

In XGT, Matt Crandall started first in class and led for more than half the race, but he unfortunately received some damage from another competitor and was forced to retire after 21 laps. 2022 XGT Western Championship title winner Chris Evans took over the lead and earned the victory in his first National Championship race.

“Matt [Crandall] is way better,” Evans laughed in Victory Lane. “My coolant cut out about two-thirds through, my shift knob broke off, and I lost my aim. Luckily for me, Matt had an incident that precluded him from finishing, and I’m here just the same. This race was about survival. I want to thank Central Welding Supply, my primary sponsor, and Jeff Jefferson and his crew. They’re awesome. I really want to thank Matt for the coaching and help. I think my lap times were a little better after talking with him. Altogether, we’re here.”

Ricky Sanders led the SGT class from green flag to checkers in an impressive run at NOLA, followed by 2022 SGT champion Milton Grant. Lee Saunders, who was hoping to earn the class win for his birthday, unfortunately suffered from an overheating issue the entire race and was forced to retire early, relegating him to third.

“It was a learning experience this whole weekend,” said Sanders on the podium. “This was a brand-new track to us, I’ve never been here before, and I’ve only driven this car once before for about 10-15 minutes. I’ve got to thank my crew guys; I’ve got three great crew guys who help me at the shop and at the track. I’ve really got to thank Danny Lowry with BridgeHaul and Bennett. I had a car I put together for this year and lost a motor in testing. He said, ‘Here, drive my Porsche.’ Then I wound up with pneumonia the weekend of Sebring, so I missed that race. He still said, ‘That car is sitting there, ready to go.’ So, we brought it out here and we’re going to take it to Road Atlanta to see what we’ve got there.”

Michael Attaway, who returned to the No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8 after illness kept him of the car at Sebring, ran a clean race and earned both the class win and GT Masters Award. This is the second GT win in a row for the No. 91 car, which was piloted to victory by Tyler Hoffman in the season opener.

“These TA guys all kept their distance and got around me real good, and that was the important thing” said Attaway. “We didn’t wreck, we didn’t crash. I want to thank Ricky Sanders Racing, Pitboxes.com, my wife, who lets me come out here and have a little fun, and Trans Am — they’ve done great.”

The broadcast of today’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series returns to the track March 23-26 at Road Atlanta for the Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour.

RESULTS

Marks goes two-for-two with NOLA Trans Am pole

Justin Marks earned his second-consecutive Motul Pole Award for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at NOLA Motorsports Park, laying down a lap time of 1m34.394s in his No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet Camaro. Marks earned the pole in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway two weeks ago, leading for much of the race before an electrical failure took him out of contention.

“This is a very challenging racetrack; it’s a very technical, physical place,” said Marks. “There’s a lot of really tight sections that are a challenge to get set up for, but then there’s some really high-speed esses that you have to find a good aero balance for, so it’s really a bit of a compromise here. The team made really good changes through all the tests and practice. We were able to sticker up in final practice to see where the balance would go with a qualifying setup, so we were prepared to put a good setup on the car for qualifying. I just went out there and gave it all that I could. I tried to get it done in three laps so that I could save some tire life for the race. We’re starting to get this car figured out, and it feels like we’re a little bit better every time out.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested on Sunday, March 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live here. The TV broadcast of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

QUALIFYING RESULTS

PRACTICE RESULTS

Crews earns fourth career TA2 victory in NOLA

Brent Crews earned his fourth-career victory in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race at NOLA Motorsports Park. Following a wild first lap, Crews held the lead in his No. 70 Franklin Road Apparel Ford Mustang despite challenges from multiple formidable contenders throughout the 37-lap event, claiming the top step on the podium for the first time in 2023.

Yesterday in qualifying, Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang took the Motul pole award in only his fourth start in the series. Unfortunately, the impressive young gun lost the first position when his car shut off following the start command, relegating him to the 29th spot for the green flag. With Crews pulling forward to join Austin Green’s No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Chevy Camaro on the first row, the two got off to a wild start, with the lead changing multiple times as 2022 champion Thomas Merrill took them three wide in his No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Mustang. As the opening lap concluded, it was Crews who emerged with the lead. The 14-year-old was challenged by Green, Merrill and Rafa Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Mustang, but he never faltered, taking the checkered flag.

Behind him, Green was forced to retire early with a power steering issue and Merrill faded to sixth after receiving front-end damage, leaving Matos in second for most of the event. Nathan Herne, who started 15th in his No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Mustang, battled through the field and worked his way up to third. On the final lap, Matos made one last challenge for the lead, and when that pass failed to stick, Herne elbowed his way into the second spot. Fourth-place Connor Zilisch in the No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Camaro also attempted to pass Matos before the line but came up just short in a photo finish. Annunziata made an impressive run from last place to finish fifth.

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“This is great; I’m pretty speechless,” said Crews. “I had a lot of people challenge me, multiple different competitors, it definitely wasn’t easy. I just had to keep my cool. Thank you to everybody that touches this thing. Everyone works so hard making this car as good as it can be. I want to thank this whole Franklin Road Apparel team. Ken Thwaits, I just want to say thank you for being on this car this year, it means a lot. Thanks to Nick at Nitro, this whole team. Man, they just did such a great job. I have to say ‘good job’ to all my competitors; that was a really fun race, I definitely had to work for it.”

Four of the top-five finishers and eight of the top-10 finishers were Young Gun drivers under the age of 24. Champions Matos and Merrill were the only drivers over age 24 in the top 10.

Dylan Archer in the No. 4 FPEC Chevrolet Camara earned his career-best finish of seventh in his 14th start.

14-year-old Ben Maier in the No. 75 Gel Blaster/Silver Hare Racing Camaro earned a top 10 (10th) in just his second-career start.

Argentine champion Mariano Werner, who was making his Trans Am debut this weekend, was forced to retire early, finishing 12th.

TA2 Masters Award:
Scott Borchetta, No. 48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Ford Mustang

TA2 Pro/Am Winner
Bruce Raymond, No. 54 Optima Batteries/FM3 Marketing Ford Mustang

COOLSHIRT Cool Move of the Race:
Thomas Annunziata, No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang

Omologato Watches Fastest Lap of the Race:
Austin Green, No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro

Serck Precision Clean Up:
No. 97 LTK Insulation Ford Mustang

Bassett Hard Charger:
Thomas Annunziata, No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang

The broadcast of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series returns to the track March 23-26 at Road Atlanta for the Mission Foods Atlanta SpeedTour.

RESULTS

Field, Dyszelski, Bacon, Savage get Radical Cup opener wins in NOLA

Radical racers were greeted by sunny skies and a dry track Saturday morning as they took the first green flag of the season. For the first wheel-to-wheel action of 2023, Jon Field (ONE Motorsports) led the Platinum class to the green flag at NOLA Motorsports Park while Danny Dyszelski (WISKO Racing) was the pole position winner in PRO 1500 ranks. Jace Bacon (Crown with Apex) looked to convert his PRO 1340 pole position into a race win and keep his father Seth behind him.

It was a clean start and a long run down to the first corner as Field handily maintained his position at the front as all pole position winners from Saturday held station. It was Dyszelski who made some quick moves around the slower Platinum class drivers to slot into the fourth position overall, first in class. Field had stretched his gap to nearly 2s by the end of lap five with Alan Miller (ONE Motorsports) and Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing) engaged in a battle for the second position.

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A pair of caution periods slowed the race but when the green flag was in the air again, wheel-to-wheel battles were intense throughout the field. Young guns Dyszelski and Nick Persing (Cameron Racing) had an epic battle for the win in PRO 1500 with Dyszelski leading early before Persing took the point on a restart. Dyszelski would not be outdone getting back to the lead before the caution flag flew late in the race for a pair of cars — Robert Soroka (RySpec) and Jack Yang (Group-A Racing) — which made contact and spun off course after battling Aurora Straus for a top-five result in the PRO 1500 ranks.

Young Bacon led the Pro 1340 class early but an issue late in the race relegated him back to the fourth position despite scoring the fastest lap of the race.

The Bacon family still had reasons to celebrate. Despite Jack not finishing at the front, it opened the door for his father Seth who earned the PRO 1340 race win.

Seth Bacon after his PRO 1340 win. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

As the late race caution slowed the field once again, the race finished behind the pace car with Field taking the first Platinum class race win of the season ahead of Schriber and Alan Miller while Wayne Williams (Esses Racing), in his Radical Cup debut, crossed the line fourth ahead of Alain Derzie (ONE Motorsports) in fifth. Dyszelski reigned supreme in the PRO 1500 class climbing to the top step of the podium with Persing and Gregg Gorski (ONE Motorsports) joining him in second and third. Radical Brand Ambassador and ONE Motorsports driver Straus finished fourth ahead of 2022 PRO 1340 Vice-Champion Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing). Seth Bacon scored the first race win of the season with Ken Savage and Kevin Poitras celebrating with him on the podium in PRO 1340.

Danny Dyszelski after his PRO 1500 powerhouse performance. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

After caution periods slowed the field in race one, race two was run from start to finish under green, but not before some drama leaving the pits. Platinum driver Miller broke an axle and was unable to make the start which opened the door for drivers behind him. The ONE Motorsports team went to work and replaced the axle allowing Miller to rejoin the race and only lose one lap on his way to a fourth-place result. At the start, Schriber got a jump on Field while in the PRO 1340 class while Jace Bacon was hit from behind and forced to pit early. Dyszelski continued where he left off in the PRO 1500 race one as he shot out to the lead and never looked back.

In the Platinum class, it was Field and Schriber who battled tooth and nail all race long and without the assistance of a caution period, both drivers had to push 100 percent of the time. In a back-and-forth seesaw battle, it was Field that came out on top for his second win on the day. Schriber finished just over 0.6s of a second behind him while Derzie had a great push to third to celebrate on the podium for the first time in 2023.

Jon Field dominated the weekend in Platinum. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

Just as Field did in the Platinum class, it was Dyszelski who doubled up on race wins in the Pro 1500 ranks as a dominating performance saw him score the race two win by a commanding 22.883s. It was Gorski that was the best of the rest as P2-P4 finished within 0.6s behind the leader. Persing, in third, scored his second podium result of the day. Canadian Robert Soroka recovered from a difficult race one to finish fourth, 0.033s behind Persing and ahead of fellow Canadian and reigning PRO 1340 Champion Austin Riley (Racing With Autism).

Ken Savage came back for a PRO 1340 win in race two. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

With Jace Bacon to the pits on the opening lap, Seth Bacon gave way to Ken Savage at the point as it was a spaced-out PRO 1340 battle. En route to the race win, Savage scored the race’s fastest lap by 0.005s over the second-place finisher and race one winner Seth Bacon, who celebrated on the podium for the second time on the day with the third-place finisher Poitras.

With the day’s on track activity complete, Radical teams and racers went to work to prep their equipment for the third and final race of the weekend on Sunday morning from 9:35-10:25 a.m.

Follow along via Live Time here. Qualifying and wheel-to-wheel races will be Live Streamed here.

Be sure to stay tuned to the Blue Marble Radical Cup social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the 2023 season.

Blue Marble Radical Cup events are open to all local and regional Radical racers with eligible cars. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com.

Annunziata rockets to first TA2 pole in NOLA

Practice and qualifying are complete for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series at NOLA Motorsports Park. Thomas Annunziata in the No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang earned his first-career Motul pole award in only his fourth Trans Am start with a lap time of 1m39.450s. The young gun had already impressed the paddock when he earned a podium finish in his second-ever start in the series at Circuit of The Americas last fall.

Rafa Matos, who won the season-opener at Sebring International Raceway two weeks ago and topped the weekend’s practice session, was the fourth-fastest qualifier. 2022 champion Thomas Merrill qualified fifth. Argentine newcomer Mariano Werner in the No. 12 Memo Corse Ford Mustang qualified seventh.

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“This weekend has been great so far; we’ve got a new car this week and it’s been better than our last time out,” said Annunziata. “This pole really reflects on how hard the Nitro guys work and all they do to get the cars as fast as they are. I wouldn’t be here without them. It’s been a great experience; I’m four races in and I’ve had a podium and now a pole position, so I’m excited to see what we’ve got for tomorrow.”

The race will be contested Saturday at 12:25 p.m. ET and can be streamed live here.

The TV broadcast of the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, March 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

PRACTICE RESULTS

QUALIFYING RESULTS

Field, Dyszelski, Bacon start 2023 Radical Cup season on pole in NOLA

After three test sessions on Thursday and another two Friday morning, the 2023 Blue Marble Radical Cup commenced its first qualifying session of the season. With nearly 25 drivers on the grid, Radical teams and competitors tackled a wet 2.670-mile NOLA Motorsports Park to claim the coveted Motul Pole Awards before the first wheel-to-wheel action of 2023. Leading the way in the Platinum class was Jon Field (ONE Motorsports), while Danny Dyszelski (WISKO Racing) and Jace Bacon (Crown with Apex) earned the pole positions in PRO 1500 and PRO 1340.

Jon Field, Platinum pole sitter. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

Two days of sunshine and dry conditions gave way to rain 30 minutes before qualifying. With tricky conditions all around the flat and fast facility, prototype veteran Field earned top honors in the Platinum class. Alan Miller was the best of the rest earning the second-fastest lap of the session to claim a front-row lockout for ONE Motorsports. An impressive debut performance for Esses Racing’s Wayne Williams saw him slot into the third position, nearly half a second clear of Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing) – who had an early session off-track excursion – and Alain Derzie, the third ONE Motorsports driver to find himself in the top-five.

Aurora Straus, starting race one third in PRO 1500. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

It looked like ONE Motorsports would take the pole position in the PRO 1500 class as well with Aurora Straus – the newly-minted Radical Motorsport Brand Ambassador – at the top of the time sheets when the final lap of the session began. Less than two minutes later, however, she had fallen to third on the time sheets as WISKO Racing’s Dyszelski clocked a monster final lap to steal the pole. Cameron Racing’s Nick Persing slotted into second after leading the session early on. Straus ended the session in third ahead of Group-A Racing’s Reid Stewart and ONE Motorsports driver Gregg Gorski respectively. Reigning Outright and PRO 1340 Champion Austin Riley (Racing with Autism) had a tougher time in his PRO 1500 debut, qualifying sixth.

Danny Dyszelski, PRO 1500 pole sitter. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

Having never driven in wet weather conditions before, the father and son duo of Jace and Seth Bacon (Crown with Apex) seemed unfazed by the trying conditions. Jace dominated the PRO 1340 class with Seth logging the second fastest lap, 3.716s behind but a scant 0.180s ahead of Radical Canada’s Kevin Poitras. Ken Savage (G-Tech Motorsports) rounded out the 1340 ranks in the fourth position.

Jace Bacon, PRO 1340 pole sitter. Jeff Walrich/RTD Media

Race one will run Saturday from 9-9:50 a.m. Race two will follow from 2:45-3:35 p.m.

Follow along with timing and scoring via Live Time here. Races will be live streamed here, with news, information, photos, and results available on the Blue Marble Radical Cup social media pages.