Qualifying
After the single practice session on Friday morning, drivers rolled straight into qualifying just after lunch, with the results setting the grid for race one later that afternoon. Louis Schriber (EVR Motorsports) was the quickest qualifier overall and in the Platinum class, but it wasn’t without consequence as contact with the wall late in the session brought out the red flag and an eventual end to qualifying. Turning a lap of 1:14.574, Schriber was exactly .2000 ahead of Platinum Class championship point leader Jon Field (ONE Motorsports). Wayne Williams (Esses Racing) was the best of the rest in third with Kevin Poitras (Radical Canada East) and Chip Romer (ONE Motorsports) rounding out the top-five.
Platinum
Wayne Williams was aggressive on a late-race restart, managed to take the point from Jon Field with six minutes remaining, and never looked back. Leading late before the final yellow flag came out and ended the race, Williams, a dirt racer turned Radical Cup competitor, earned his first career series victory and the fastest lap of the race. Spinning because of the battle with Williams, Jon Field fell to sixth on the results sheets and opened the door for Chip Romer and Kevin Poitras to climb onto the second and third steps of the podium. Schriber, who started from the pole position after his team was able to get his car rebuilt, lacked the pace to compete and eventually finished fourth, ahead of Scott Wagner in fifth. Following the race, Poitras was hit for a passing under the yellow penalty and relegated to fifth, putting Schriber on the podium in third and Scott Wagner in fourth.
Rebounding from a disappointing finish on Friday during race one, Jon Field returned Saturday with a vengeance. Scoring the fastest lap of the weekend so far, Field took the win under yellow ahead of Friday’s winner Wayne Williams, who is having a career weekend in Radical Cup. Canadian driver Kevin Poitras found his way to the third and final step of the Platinum class podium in race two with Louis Schriber in fourth. Still coming to grips with a car rebuilt after a qualifying crash, Schriber will look to be on the podium in race three on Sunday. Scott Wagner was fifth on the time sheets ahead of Chip Romer and Jim Booth, who earned the Sunoco Hard Charger of the race award.
Winning race two on Saturday, Jon Field returned Sunday to cap off a double-winning weekend. Jumping to the lead early in the race dominated by yellow flags, Field controlled the pace when he needed to and earned his second trip to the top step of the podium. Behind him, Chip Romer capped off a triple-podium weekend by finishing second with Louis Schriber ending his event with his best result of the weekend in third. Friday’s race winner Wayne Williams closed his best weekend of the season with a P4 result with Kevin Poitras rounding out the top-five in fifth.
PRO 1500
Jordan Missig (Graham Rahal Performance) topped the charts in the Pro 1500 class as he was quick on the Streets of Toronto clocking the second-quickest time overall. Spencer Schmidt (Cameron Racing) was a distant second having only been on the track for one session with Evan Slater (EVR Motorsports) a scant .007 behind him. The second of the GRP drivers, Nick d’Orlando, slotted into the fourth position with Matt Romer (ONE Motorsports) in P5.
Missig continued the GRP domination in Pro 1500 as he scampered away early on and took the win after starting from the pole position. To flex his muscles and show his speed around the Streets of Toronto, Missig earned the fastest lap of the Pro 1500 drivers, besting his teammate Nick d’Orlando by a tenth of a second with d’Orlando on the podium in third. Splitting the two GRP drivers as EVR Motorsports competitor Evan Slater as he continues his strong run as of late adding another piece of hardware to his trophy case. With his dad Chip on the podium in the Platinum class, son Matt narrowly missed the feat in Pro 1500 as he finished fourth ahead of Canadian and Racing With Autism driver Austin Riley.
Making it two-for-two on the weekend, Jordan Missig led a one–two finish for Graham Rahal Performance in race two. Despite finishing behind the safety car, Missig led the overall race early but was passed by the Platinum class winner holding on to add another win to his resume as he threatens for the Pro 1500 championship. Behind the pair of GRP drivers was the EVR Motorsports machine of Evan Slater, earning his second podium result in as many races. Matt Romer and Corey Neveau, the Gold class winner, were the top-five.
With Jordan Missig winning races one and two in Toronto, it was his Graham Rahal Performance (GRP) teammate Nick d’Orlando who made it a perfect weekend for the Radical Indianapolis dealer. Missig finished the race in second to make it a GRP one-two yet again, as EVR Motorsports driver Evan Slater earned another podium result in third. Spencer Schmidt had another strong showing for Cameron Racing, earning another top-five finish, just ahead of the Gold class winner Corey Neveau in the fourth position.
PRO 1340
2023 Pro 1340 Vice-Champion and multi-time race winner Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing with Team Stradale) returned to the top of the charts in qualifying as he earned the pole position for the 1340 class. RySpec Racing’s Mayer Deonarine was just over three-tenths of a second behind in second but was three-tenths quicker than Suellio Almeida (Graham Rahal Performance) in third. Crown Racing with Apex’s Seth Bacon, whose son is competing in USF2000, was fourth in class, just ahead of Pro 1340 championship leader Chris McMurry (Crown Racing with Apex).
Canadian Deonarine secured his first career Pro 1340 win as he followed in the footsteps of Williams to take the chequered flag. Not the fastest driver in the Pro 1340 field over the 21-lap race, Deonarine kept a strong and hungry field behind him to claim some hardware. Pro 1340-point leader McMurry advanced from his starting position to extend his championship lead, finishing second, while Anzaldi fell from his pole position effort to finish third when the chequered flag flew. The fastest lap of the race went to Suellio Almeida as he showed his speed to finish fourth, with Ibby Hadeed (Graham Rahal Performance) in fifth. McMurry fell to fourth on the results sheets due to a passing under the yellow infraction opened the door for a Deonarine, Anzaldi, and Almeida podium.
RySpec Racing and Mayer Deonarine took home their second win of the weekend, this time in dramatic fashion. Running second for most of the race and taking the lead just before the yellow flag flew, Deonarine was the benefactor of the caution period as he drove behind the safety car for the win. Graham Rahal Performance driver Suellio Almeida was second on track, just ahead of the Crown Racing with Apex championship hopeful Chris McMurry. RYNO Racing with Team Stradale’s Mike Anzaldi just missed the podium in P4 while Seth Bacon crossed the stripe in fifth.
Going three-for-three on the weekend, Mayer Deonarine put the RySpec Racing #244 on the top step of the podium for the third time. Dominating the Pro 1340 class and scoring maximum points available, Deonarine had a career best weekend as he has come into his own as of late. Behind him, it was the Graham Rahal Performance #03 machine of Suellio Almeida. Almeida earned a trio of podium results while Seth Bacon overcame a first corner, first lap spin, to drive back up and finish on the podium in third. Mike Anzaldi looked to be in contention for a podium finish until a late race shootout that featured a one-lap dash to the finish. Anzaldi dropped the running order as the door opened for Ibby Hadeed and Kenny Naill to slip through and finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
RCC 1340
Young Canadian Kenny Riedmann (RRM) led the RCC 1340 class in qualifying with a blistering lap time that earned him the pole position, more than a second ahead of his rivals. Owen Clarke (JMJS Motorsports) and Jonathan Woolridge slotted into the second and third positions, respectively, ahead of the fourth and fifth-place qualifiers of Travis Hill (TWOth Autosport) and Brady Clapham (Radical Canada).
A rocket ship on track, Riedmann was able to convert his pole position into a race win and also score the fastest lap of the race to take top honours in RCC 1340. Woolridge, who started third, was able to advance one position and climb to the second step of the podium as he looks to do more tomorrow with the block being rounded out by Travis Hill. Behind the podium trio, Owen Clarke and Brady Clapham rounded out the top-five. Similar to a Platinum class driver, Woolridge was dropped down the running order after a post-race review for yellow flag infringement that saw him classified seventh. With Riedmann the victor, the official podium results included Travis Hill in second with Owen Clarke in third.
Matching his result from Friday, Kenny Riedmann topped the RCC 1340 podium to take his second win of the weekend. Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Riedmann has been on a tear at the Streets of Toronto and will aim to go three-for-three tomorrow. Brady Clapham joined Riedmann on the podium in second, just ahead of Travis Hill in third, Owen Clarke in fourth, and Chris Styles in the fifth position.
Much like Mayer Deonarine did in Pro 1340, Kenny Riedmann scored three wins in three races in the RCC 1340 class. Untouchable all weekend long, Riedmann was the class of the field, earning the fastest lap in his class in both races one and two, and topping the podium blocks on all three occasions. Travis Hill was the best of the rest, finishing second and Chris Styles finished third. Owen Clarke nipped Hill and Riedmann for the fastest lap of the race in race three as he crossed the stripe in fourth as Brady Clapham rounded out the top-five.
RCC Masters
It was the #07 entry of Tim Sanderson (Northwest Atlantic MS) and the #2 entry of Robert Burgess (Radical Canada) who were on top after qualifying as they would occupy the RCC Masters front row. Daniel Earle (Radical Canada) and Liang Qiu (TWOth Autosport) would roll off from row two ahead of John Hughes (Radical Canada) and Jon Sobol (JMJS Motorsports) in row three.
Much like Riedmann did in the RCC 1340 class, Sanderson dominated the RCC Master class taking the win and honours for the fastest race lap in his class. Burgess crossed the line in second as the top-two qualifiers finished first and second on track. Liang Qui and Daniel Earle swapped third and fourth between when the green flag waved and the chequered flag flew with Qiu getting the best of the duo to stand on the podium. Earle crossed the line in fourth with Sobol in P5.
Tim Sanderson led Robert Burgess to the chequered flag as Jon Sobol rounded out the podium in third for the second race of the weekend. Liang Qiu was the best of the rest in fourth while John Hughes was fifth.
A race that saw several drivers out on the opening lap opened the door for others and RCC Master driver Robert Burgess took full advantage of the opportunity. Taking the win in race three, Burgess was joined on the podium by Daniel Earle and Liang Qiu in second and third. Jon Sobol and Tim Sanderson were classified fourth and fifth, despite Sanderson only completing one race lap.
Next up for Radical Cup North America will be the final event of the season over the September 26-28 weekend at the famed Sonoma Raceway.
Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.