Saturday marked the first time the series raced in the reverse direction this season, and with some drivers preferring the change several new faces made appearances at the front. With Honda Performance Development coming on board to back the Stock Moto category, that class had a renewed focus as the top three in the championship will receive contingency awards.
Round 2 also saw the return of live event coverage via eventbuilder.com, with full commentary, new ambient sounds allowing viewers to hear the action on the track, and a new “just click and play” interface to make watching all the action easier than ever. The event is available for on-demand viewing by following the link on PGP’s website.
Unlike the long wait between Rounds 1 and 2, drivers have only two weeks to wait before the next round of the Stars of PGP Karting Series takes place on Saturday, June 4. This upcoming weekend, many of PGP’s racers will be heading down for the opening round of the I-5 Corridor Series at Pat’s Acres in Canby, Ore., and everyone at PGP will be rooting for those drivers making the trek south.
For more pictures from Saturday’s event, please visit “Pacific Grand Prix” on Facebook.
PGP Rental Kart Class
During the qualifying session, the provisional pole flipped from driver to driver as the tricky slick conditions kept the field on their toes. In the end Maurice Shawver cut a blinder late in the going to earn the top spot with Round 1 pole sitter Shawn Tracy recording the second fastest time and point leader Cameron Grimes-Hess struggling a bit and finishing sixth.
Grimes-Hess recovered nicely to win the Heat race after stealing the lead from Shawver in the closing laps. Shawver pulled out to a huge lead at the drop of the green flag and looked to have the race all but won while the rest of the field battled behind him. Grimes-Hess worked his way through the field to challenge Javier Cantu for the second position while Jerry Peterson and Tracy fought for fourth behind them. With just a couple laps remaining Shawver rotated too far in turn 5 and his pursuers took advantage of the miscue. Hess and Cantu split around the stationary driver, with Hess holding the point position to take the checkered flag. He was followed by Shawver, who recovered to take second over Cantu.
The final would be arguably the most exciting race of the day, with drivers fighting tooth and nail for positions from beginning to end. Shawver pulled out a comfortable two-second lead en route to the victory while Grimes-Hess had to battle through the field to take second and Tracy made the move of the day on his way to third.
Right from the get-go Grimes-Hess and Shawver dueled for the lead but Grimes-Hess ran out of track and went off in the first turn. That put him in the middle of the pack but he clawed his way back toward the front as the laps wound down.
Tracy made one of the most exciting moves of the day, going three-wide to make a pass entering turn 1, making it stick and then continuing on two-wide through the Roller Coaster complex. Later while coming on to the main straight heading to the checkered flag, Tracy and Peterson were locked in a drag race for the for the final step on the podium, with Tracy taking the honor by .024 seconds.
Rotax Masters
Qualifying in Rotax Master resulted in a new face at the front of the field, with Kevin Mejia scoring his first pole position while Round 1 winner Doug Taylor clocked the second fastest lap after struggling with some mechanical gremlins.
Mejia led the way in the heat race but while trying to hold off a challenge from Taylor he lost the top spot to Jerry Peterson, who came from third to pass both drivers going through the Lightbulb corner. Taylor eventually made it around Mejia but he was docked one spot for contact during the race, making it Peterson, Mejia, and Taylor the top three at the checkers.
Taylor was a man on a mission in the feature race, working his way forward and eventually past Peterson en route to the victory. Both drivers appeared to be fighting engine issues, but Taylor and Peterson were able to repeat their 1-2 result from the opening round. Mejia fell behind both Taylor and Peterson but was able to hold off a challenge from Todd O’Neal to take the third step of the podium.
Rotax Senior
The drama in Rotax Senior started during qualifying, with Thor Hatton scoring his first pole position by just over a quarter second. Jeffrey Dyer and his crew went for a last-second gamble by switching to slicks while the rest of the field was on rain tires. The gamble didn’t look good at first when Dyer spun off in the first corner, but he steadily improved during the session and was able to post the third-fastest time. Unfortunately his dry tires and wheels were lighter than his rains and Dyer crossed the scale one pound light, negating his efforts.
The entire field switched to slicks for the heat race, but finding enough grip was a challenge for pole-sitter Hatton as the teenager struggled to keep the back end of the kart beneath him. First Grimes-Hess and then Travis Henson got around him, dropping Hatton to third and under pressure from Dyer. The two went back-and-forth a few times before the end but Hatton was able to hold on for third behind Grimes-Hess and Henson in first and second respectively.
The feature picked up where the heat ended, with Grimes-Hess and Henson pulling away from the rest of the pack and cruising to the finish. Behind them it was more of the same as Hatton and Dyer battled for third. Once again it looked like Hatton struggled for grip, and once again the two drivers swapped positions back and forth. After recovering from an off down the main straight Dyer fought back to make the pass for third through turn 6 only to have his chain break, ending an up-and-down day for the driver. At the checkers it was Grimes-Hess, Henson, and Hatton.
HPD Stock Moto Light
With the track drying all shifter drivers elected to go out for qualifying on slicks, making for a treacherous first few laps. By the end of the sessions everyone was chasing a new face at the front, Derek Hanson, who held the top spot over teammate Sean Naslund to make it a Birel front row.
At the start of the heat race Naslund leapt into the lead with a holeshot while Hanson slipped to third behind Steve Perdue, who had a stellar start from the fourth spot. Perdue’s strong start was short-lived, however, as he was forced to enter the pits with mechanical issues. Late in the going Naslund, Brandon Scheiber and Hanson were all running near identical lap times, and they finished that way.
In the final fortunes changed at the front, with Naslund bogging down at the start allowing Scheiber to take the lead entering turn 1. Naslund battled back and cut the fastest lap of the race while closing the gap to Scheiber, he would have to settle for second place as the teenager held on for the victory.
Behind the leaders, Hanson started third while Perdue was collected in a turn 2 mishap involving NWRK Hammer Nutritional teammates Jerott Cangie and Briank Frank that ended the day for both. Perdue would eventually catch and pass Hanson to take the third step of the podium after Hanson pulled off the track when his motor let go.
Other classes
In other Stars of PGP Kart Series action, Chuck Eaton won the HPD Stock Moto Heavy class, Andrew Evens won Stock Moto Junior and Caleb Daniells was the victor in Rotax Micro. Also, Justin Taylor won Rotax Mini and Jake Prestonn and Tessa Daniells finished 1-2 in Rotax Junior.
On the Web
Visit www.pacificgp.com, become a fan of “Pacific Grand Prix” on Facebook or follow @pacificgp on Twitter.
About PGP Motorsports Park
PGP Motorsports Park is the Northwest’s premier multi-purpose racing facility and is located in close proximity to the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Named “Best Guys Weekend Destination” for 2010 in the KING 5 Evening Magazine Best of Western Washington contest, the track is easy to get to and inexpensive to utilize, making PGP a rare combination of top-level racing excitement and affordability. For more information on PGP events and services, visit www.pacificgp.com or call (253) 639-7223.
PGP Motorsports media contact
Paul Zalud, (206) 390-9858, paul@pacificgp.com
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