SPEEDSF CHALLENGE - NOVEMBER 10, 2019 - ROUND 12 @ SONOMA RACEWAY
INTRODUCTION
Back again at Sonoma Raceway where apparently it’s the place to break records and look good doing it. Today featured a special appearance by a pair of Ferraris driven by Ben and Christine Sloss, followed by a pair of Lizard Green GT3RSs. It was as if a bag of Skittles opened in the paddock, as numerous colorful vehicles showed up for a great weekend with SpeedSF at Sonoma Raceway.
CLASS S1
Oh boy, runaway class leader Gordon Peng was finally challenged at Sonoma! His 3rd place finish was due to a 1:48.573 lap time in his 2002 Chevrolet Corvette, while 2nd place “Bruce Lee” put himself firmly in the spot thanks to his 1:47.442 lap time in his 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE - very fast!
In 1st place, and over a full second ahead, is Maksym Lytvyn who piloted his 2019 Porsche GT3RS around the track for a fast lap time of 1:46.811 lap time. Green means go and he sure went!
CLASS S2
This was a CLOSE finish between the top 3 places in this class. Roughly half a second separated them, with 1st place taking over the track record for Sonoma! In 3rd place, we had Mike Ostby who flogged his Honda S2000 around for a great lap time of 1:48.853 lap time. 2nd place, however, was none other than Gary Yeung whose Dirty Mango S2000 earned a 1:48.579 lap time.
Our 1st place finisher and record breaker George Kibilov threw down a 1:48.366 lap time in his BMW E46 to seal the deal. Truly an awesome result in this class!
CLASS S3
13 entrants decided to take on the challenge in this S3 class - a huge amount of entrants for this class in recent memory. Honorable 4th place was Patrick Chio who ALMOST made it to 3rd place with his 1:49.954 lap time in his BMW E46 M3, but 3rd place finisher Gary Wong stole the spotlight in his 2004 Honda S2000 thanks to his 1:49.186 lap time. 2nd place was Kevin Schweigert in his supercharge 2015 Subaru BRZ who happily put down a 1:48.106 lap time - VERY fast for a BRZ.
In 1st place was another supercharged rocketship, Sean Yepez in a 2007 Lotus Exige S whose 1:47.597 lap time secured him at the top of the podium. His lap time also broke SpeedSF’s lap record at Sonoma Raceway which is a great achievement as well!
CLASS S4
Not as close of a fight here between the drivers, but still great competition nonetheless. In 3rd place, David Fitz-Randolph put down a 1:53.306 lap time in his homegrown modified 1995 Mazda Miata, while 2nd place’s Joe McGuigan took his 2015 Scion FR-S for a good run and was able to earn himself a 1:52.214 lap time.
1st place finisher and 2nd in standings, Sohan Kota, took his 2000 Honda S2000 home with a 1:51.366 lap time. Great driving from everyone in this class.
CLASS S5
King didn’t learn last time - PLEASE show up for the awards ceremony otherwise we have to keep taking awkward makeup pics!
Anyhoo, in 3rd place, Bryan Shiflett took his 1989 BMW 325i around Sonoma for a fast lap of 1:58.318 lap time, while 2nd place GaryMia Yeung put in a 1:57.526 lap time in “his” Mazda Miata and 1st place finisher Rice King took home the class win thanks to his 1:57.275 lap time in his smokescreen-shooting Mazda Miata. Good job guys!
CLASS X
Fast boi club right here. Featuring a race car, a non-production-based race car, and then another race car, it was down to pure power and finesse, squeezing everything out of each drivers’ respective chassis. 3rd place finisher who ALMOST got into 2nd place, David Colbert, piloted his 1980 Lola T540 D Sports Racer around Sonoma Raceway and put down a 1:43.123 lap time, while Mark Hamilton Peters whose 1:43.104 lap time answer in the GT4 Mustang earned him 2nd place on the podium.
In 1st place was the winner by a landslide and record-breaker for the SpeedSF Class X lap record at Sonoma Raceway - Ben Sloss. His Ferrari 488 GT3 lit up the track with his blistering 1:35.044 lap time. Dashing!
CONCLUSION
An excellent job to our drivers who won their places and THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the SpeedSF Challenge! For those who are still chasing podium finishes, more seat time, coaching, and watching videos of the track will certainly get you there!
As we look forward to Round 13 of the SpeedSF Challenge at Buttonwillow Raceway on November 29, we want to say that we truly appreciate our sponsors and participants as it would not be possible without them!
We thank our sponsors Wine Country Motorsports, G-Loc brakes, Titan7 Wheels, Necksgen, and Charles Schwab for their continued and valued support. Please visit their respective websites to show your support and let them know SpeedSF sent you!
Again, our next SpeedSF Challenge will be held at Buttonwillow Raceway in Buttonwillow, CA. Again, please check out the event website by clicking here. We will see you at our next event!
