After practice and qualifying on Friday, Saturday morning provided the first green flag of the weekend and the first wheel-to-wheel racing for the Blue Marble Radical Cup North American competitors as drivers took to the streets of Toronto. With the grids set from the Friday afternoon qualifying session, Platinum class driver Jon Field led the field to the start on the 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.
Just prior to the green flag flying, the skies would open with a light shower that forced drivers to switch to wet weather Hankook Tires. Announcing that the race had been declared wet, rain lights and headlights were on as more than 30 drivers took to the puddle-filled racecourse.
Field (ONE Motorsports) led the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America competitors to the flag and was able to control the pace from there on. Having to undergo several restarts after caution periods, the former American Le Mans Series driver was able to drive to his first Platinum class win of the weekend.
“Indy Al” Miller (ONE Motorsports), who had a pass down the escape road on lap two, rebounded to add another podium finish to his results resume as he finished just ahead of Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) who had an incredible drive to third. A former dirt car racer, Williams was enjoying the slick conditions so much so that he earned the fastest lap of race one and the accompanying pole position for race two. Canadian driver Kevin Poitras (Radical Canada) was the best of the rest as he was classified in P4, just ahead of Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing) in fifth.
Current Pro 1500-point leader Nick Persing (Radical Northwest, pictured, top) extended that lead when the checkered flag flew at the end of race one as he took the victory in wet conditions ahead of his championship rival and WISKO Racing driver Danny Dyszelski in second. Persing also went on to secure the fastest lap of the race and pole position for race two later this afternoon.
Canadian Robert Soroka (RySpec Racing) was able to climb to the third step of the podium in his home country adding another podium finish for the potent RySpec Racing program. Veteran racer Gregg Gorski (ONE Motorsports) was hoping to challenge for a podium result, but a late race caution ruined any chances of that as he was forced to settle for fourth ahead of another Canadian, Racing With Autism driver and reigning Pro 1340 champion Austin Riley.
In the Pro 1340 ranks, Ken Savage (G-Tech Motorsports) proved his wet weather prowess as he turned the fastest race lap on route to the win Saturday morning beating Robert Cipriani-Detres (Team Stradale) to the checkered flag. Additionally, Savage earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award. NOLA Motorsports Park race winner Jace Bacon (Crown Racing) found himself back on the podium with a third-place result as Huw Leahy (Radical Canada East) and Seth Bacon (Crown Racing) rounded out the top-five.
Race two on the weekend was run under dry conditions as drivers returned to using the slick Hankook Tires with the green flag flying just before 6:00pm local time. Field was once again the class of the field as he easily drove to his second Platinum class win of the weekend as put on a masterclass. With a best lap that was much faster than his competitors, Field earned the race three pole position. Louis Schriber celebrated on the podium next to Field as Wayne Williams earned his first career Blue Marble Radical Cup podium result. Kevin Poitras finished fifth, his second top-five result on the day. A hard-charging Al Miller was able to sneak by on the last lap for fourth and scored the second-fastest lap of the race after an issue in the open stages that relegated him down the running order.
In the Pro 1500 race, a new name appeared at the top of the result sheet as Gregg Gorski kept his nose clean and out of trouble as some of his competitors found it. Robert Soroka was able to take the lead at the start disposing of championship contenders Nick Persing and Danny Dyszelski who were pushed back to second and third respectively. However, on lap six, the top three on the track were together in Turn 3 as they all sustained damage that was not repairable forcing all three to retire, much to the delight of Aurora Straus and Austin Riley who claimed the second and third steps on the podium. It provided some momentum for Riley, who will race in Silverstone next weekend for the Radical UK program.
Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing) wasn’t able to keep Riley behind him in the last five minutes of the race but kept it in the right direction and off the walls to score a solid result in fourth ahead of Arul Venkatesh (Radical Northwest) in fifth.
With Savage out of the race on lap five and classified in fifth, Cipriani-Detres reigned supreme in the Pro 1340 class to take his first win of the weekend. The “Bacon Boyz” were able to climb to the podium in P2 and P3 with father Seth beating son Jace to the checkered flag. Huw Leahy was able to soldier on and finish fourth.
Sunday schedule
Race 3 – 11:10am -11:45am
- 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.
- Follow the Blue Marble Radical Cup social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the event weekend.