After an extended off-season, everyone was thrilled to be back in the paddock for the first round of the season. Arriving at VIR for a season opener for the third time, many drivers already knew what to expect, but a second pitstop in the hour-long format was a first for the track. Season 11’s biggest shake-up off the track has been Micah Hendrick’s shock signing with the newly minted Croc Hunters, leaving him to be replaced at CYEA by Adrian Fedorowski, who held the seat prior to Hendricks. All eyes are on CYEA as they try to defend their alpha and delta class driver’s championships, as well as their back-to-back alpha team championships.
The big story out of qualifying was that of Logan McKinzie picking up where he left off at the end of last season, securing another pole position by over a tenth of a second. He has earned 40% of his fourteen career poles in the last six rounds alone, a streak that began immediately after the switch to the lone qualifying format in the middle of last season. The alpha class field as a whole has closed up even more this season, with the top nine covered by just half a second at the end of qualifying. Jason Breen took the delta class pole for YART, the defending delta team champions.
At race start, McKinzie held onto the lead despite a tense first few laps, and the top ten eventually split into two groups glued together by the slipstream. Stuck in the lead, McKinzie could not fuel-save effectively. Hanging out at the tail-end of the group, James Carr saved a full lap more than McKinzie, Hendricks, Shink, and Lauzon. The other cars in the lead group had to pit at the end of lap 10, while Carr went to 11.
Micah Hendricks short-fueled and jumped McKinzie out of the pits by nearly two seconds in an attempt to open a gap and effectively undercut McKinzie. Jason Breen lost the delta class lead to Christian Ost at the end of the first stint, and sat directly behind him all throughout the second. Just before the end of the second stint on lap 18, the two made heavy contact on entry to turn 4 and both ended up in the barriers. While they limped to the pits for repairs, Jacob Whalley inherited the lead after climbing up to the back of the two leaders over the stint.
As the second stint came to a close, Hendricks had to pit early and came out into traffic. McKinzie managed to save one lap behind him, but Carr saved an additional two. When Carr exited the pits on lap 25, he slotted in just ahead of McKinzie. At this point, there were ten minutes to go.
McKinzie put Carr under heavy pressure for the next two laps, until they reached rollercoaster on lap 26. McKinzie feinted left and Carr hit the brakes deep, sliding off into the grass and re-joining in third. Behind him was Hendricks, who had exited the pits three seconds off the leaders, the undercut not working out like the Croc Hunter had hoped. Francois Shink couldn’t close down the half second gap before the end of the race, and McKinzie brought home his third win in the last six races.
Jacob Whalley brought home the delta class win and joins McKinzie as a winner in three of his last six races. He secured two delta wins, at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, during his last outing in season 9 and is sure to be a favorite this season as well. Francois Shink and James Carr stood on the podium alongside McKinzie, making it three different teams on the alpha podium. The five lead changes in this race were the most in a single race since round eight of season eight, forty races ago. The delta podium was finished by Kyle Murray and Fouad Al-Rijleh. Murray put on a show with Al-Rijleh as the two battled for second place in the closing laps with a hard-charging Spencer Clarke lurking behind them in his first delta start.
With eleven races to go, plenty of time remains for every driver to take their shot at a championship. Season 11 continues at Hockenheim, for a 45 minute race with 1 expected pit-stop.
Alpha Touring Challenge 