California Dreamin’

Week Six brought the iRacing.com GRAND-AM Sports Car Series to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  The 2.238 mile (3.602 km) circuit features 11 turns through the hills overlooking Monterey, California, USA.  With another average week of participation, the Prototype class saw 302 drivers take part in a race, 148 place a qualifying lap, and 60 complete a time trial.  The McLaren class saw a bit better participation with 355 drivers participating in a race, 188 placing a qualifying lap, and 82 completing a time trial.

A trio of Rileys plunges down the Corkscrew.

Riley MkXX Daytona Prototype

George Sandman (California) took his first overall victory of the season with a score of 207 points.  In the 3410 SOF race, Sandman started from the pole position, setting the pace and pulling a 7.834 second lead over Jonathan Holz (Brazil) by the end of the 50 minute contest.  Sandman also competed in two other races throughout the week, scoring another victory along with a second place finish.

Richard Sobolewski (Celtic) completed the week in the second position, scoring 194 points.  Sobolewski started P2 in the 3196 SOF race, moving into the lead after pressuring Sandman into a mistake late in the race (Lap 32).  He was able to bring home the victory with a 6.063 second advantage.  He also competed in three other races throughout the week, scoring one more victory and two second place finishes.

Jonathan Holz (Brazil) rounded-out the podium with his score of 186 points.  Holz started from the third position in the previously discussed 3410 SOF race.  He moved into the second position on Lap four, where he would stay for the remainder of the race.  The raced ended with a 7.834 second gap between Sandman and Holtz, and another 8.056 seconds from Holtz to Pawel Bienkowski (Central Eastern Europe).

The remainder of the top ten was Christopher Osborne (Australia/NZ), Daniel Quattropani (Hispanoamérica), Bienkowski, David Jaques (New York), Kiddhy Engström (Scandinavia), Steve Vayanos (Australia/NZ), and Andrea Masiero (Italy).

McLaren MP4-12C GT3

Dylan Sharman (Australia/NZ) took the overall victory with a score of 229 points.  Sharman started from the pole position and ran a dominating pace to bring home the victory over Craig Hunter (Australia/NZ) by 24.054 seconds.  This was his only start of the week.

The McLaren drivers got their first taste of Laguna Seca in GRAND-AM Series action.

Audrius Valantiejus (Central Eastern Europe) grabbed the second position with a score of 217 points.  Starting from the fifth position, he quickly moved into third on the opening lap.  Valantiejus ran consistently until the leaders, Muhammed S Patel (England) and Oliver Brandt (Scandinavia) were involved in an incident, allowing him to move into the lead and cruise to a well-deserved victory.  Valantiejus competed in two other races throughout the week, scoring another victory and a thirteenth place finish.

Consistent front runner Norbi Kiss (Central Eastern Europe) took the final step on the podium this week, scoring 212 points.  Starting from the pole position in the 3401 SOF race, Kiss never looked back and cruised to victory by over 42 seconds along with only one incident point.  This was his only race throughout the week.

Concluding the top ten was Julien Oligo (France), Brandt, Craig Hunter (Australia/NZ), Julian Rodriguez Moreno (Iberia), Csaba Volyka Jr (Central Eastern Europe), Neville Stewart (Celtic), and Anthony Kopec (France).

Next week the iRacing.com GRAND AM Sports Car Series heads cross country to Florida’s the Homestead-Miami Speedway and its “Road Course B” layout, featuring 11 turns over 2.3 miles (3.701 km) of track.  Two hard braking zones will make good passing zones, creating great online racing.  Be sure to check back next week for updates from Homestead!

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