PCA
Club Race at Watkins Glen
The weather at this year's PCA Club race at Watkins Glen was much like
last year's. Practice sessions were plagued with on-and-off rain,
and there was always a question of whether rain or dry tires would be
needed. Luckily, by race day, the weather had mostly cleared up
and did not interfere with the competition.
Cory drove the Front Porch GT3R that was used in a few pro races last season, and
despite traffic issues during qualifying, started the sprint race in 5th
position overall. At the start of the sprint race, Cory lost a
position to a turbocharged car, and spent most of the race passing the
car in the corners and losing the spot on the adjacent
straightaway. Eventually, he made a pass stick and began to catch
the two GT3R's in front of him until a full-course yellow and restart
began the process all over again. Cory finished in the same
position he started; 5th overall and 3rd in class.
Rick Longano had a strong run in his first event at the Glen. He
picked up two positions during the course of the race and finished in
the top 10 in the highly competitive GTC3 category.
Sunday hosted the 90 minute Enduro races and saw some changes to the
driver line-ups. Tom Soriano and co-driver for the Grand Am race
the next weekend, Bransen Patch, piloted the GT3R, and Cory joined Gary
Pennington in his brand new (delivered to the track) 2003 GT3
Supercup. Rick Longano co-drove with Keith Alexander.
About halfway through the race, a full-course yellow came out and the
majority of the field made their mandatory 5 minute pit stop. Rick
relinquished the driver's seat to Keith, and they had a great run,
finishing 9th overall and 4th in class, less than one minute behind the
class winner. Both Gary and Tom pitted under a green flag, so
their overall finish was not what could have been. Tom and Bransen
ran consistent laps and ultimately took 5th place in the GT2R
class. Cory took the wheel late in the race, and despite the wear
on the tires, turned the fastest lap of any Supercup car the entire
weekend at a 2:00.0. They finished 11th in class. |
