The penultimate race of the 2014 ISF season saw the points race draw ever tighter as Everet Kamikawa's Ferrari won the F1 division and Mike Lack's Hyundi was victorious in LMP.
The Turtle Trot is a favorite stop for ISF drivers, but the figure 8 park setting road course has never been trickier than this year with the new higher powered F1 and LMP cars. Several spins and off punctuated the action in both divisions. Larry Rotter took pole position but it was Kamikawa's Ferrari that beat him off the start and lead the F1 race lights to flag. Mike Lack's Red Bull was fast but experienced handling problems after the mandatory tire change and he finished second. Corey Galbriath continued his impressive return to ISF competition. An earlier heat race win got the rookie into the final, but a crash marred run left the rookie in third place. Rotter couldn't turn home track knowledge to his advantage as, in a rare result, he crashed out early in the competition.
John Wiedemann second half season struggles crept up again as he only managed fifth place.
Mike Kristof returned for his third career ISF start to finish 6th.
Dan Margetta never got to terms on the racy track and finished 7th while Todd Wolf had to shake off the rust of a six week layoff to finish 8th.
LMP was also a crash fest as the drivers had to switch from their sleek F1 racers to the wider and boxier LMP cars.
John Wiedeman put his car on pole and challenged his teammate Lack for the victory but could not beat "The Machine," as Lack is sometimes called because of his cool unflappable racing demeanor.
Kamikawa's black Audi suffered engine problems that required two long pit stops, however he recovered to finish 3rd with Galbraith 4th. Margetta was fifth on the night as his Peugot engine died during the semi-final. Mike Kristof made his debut in LMP with a sixth place finish. Rotter made only his second start in the modern LMP cars and Wolf debuted his new LMP with both finishing 7th and 8th respectively.
Kamikawa's F1 win gave him a slight edge over Wiedemann in the points, however the ISF counts only the top six finishes toward the championship so the last race will be critical to both drivers.
It is much the same in the LMP division between the same two drivers only that division drops the lowest score.
Until next time...It's not bad being in the pits! Steve The Wrench Ratchett
INTERNATIONAL SPORTSCAR FEDERATION
Official Finish, Event # 2014-06
Turtle Trot
March 20, 2014
Turtle Creek Raceway Park
Turtle Trot
March 20, 2014
Turtle Creek Raceway Park
F1 Grand Prix Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car
Pos. Driver Car
- Everet Kamikawa-Ferrari
- Mike Lack-Red Bull Jaguar
- Cory Galbraith-USF1
- Larry Rotter-Mclaren
- John Wiedemann-Jaguar
- Mike Kristof-Jordan Honda
- Dan Margetta-Lotus
- Todd Wolf- Catheram F1
Fastest Qualifier --Rotter
B Main Winner --Kamikawa
Heat Winners -- Kamikawa, Galbraith
LMP Category -- 12 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car
- Mike Lack - Hyundi Audi R15
- John Wiedemann-KIA Peugeot
- Everet Kamikawa-Audi R15 Black
- Corey Galbraith-Rookie Peugot Mike Fitzlaff-Nissen LMP
- Larry Rotter-Audi R15
- Mike Kristof-Audi R15
- Dan Margetta-Peugot
- Todd Wolf-Design Engine Peugeot
B Main Winner --Kamikawa
Heat Winners -- Lack, Galbraith
