It was not much of a winter break for NASA Southeast Spec Miata as racers returned to the “usually warmer” Roebling Road Raceway. To make things interesting, a winter storm was moving into surrounding areas, bringing cold wind, rain, sleet and snow. Obviously, travel conditions were not the best, but many still figured racing at a cold Roebling track was better than staying home. Friday was the first comp school of the year in which Eli Parker received his provisional license. Parker has been working his way up through HPDE, and it’s great to see him racing now.
Rain kissed the track Friday overnight, making for a wet practice session Saturday morning. By qualifying time, most of the moisture was gone, giving competitors a relatively dry track. Jeremy Barnes secured pole position with a lap time of 1:23:043. Yan Dia was second fastest with a time of 1:23:070 and Javier Laurnaga was third with a time of 1:23:077. Close qualifying times were a preview of the tight battles that lay ahead for the weekend. Also during qualifying, Cameron Brown went off in Turn 4, smashing into the berm. Brown was sore from the impact, but walked away from the incident. The car wasn’t so great, but in typical Spec Miata fashion, he found parts and worked into the night to make the car drivable for Saturday’s race
In race one, Barnes held the lead from the start. The field quickly caught out-of-class traffic by lap two, which always adds an extra element of cat-and-mouse to the chase. On lap three, Barnes scarily went two off in Turn 9 while attempting a pass, slowing himself down and allowing Dia to squeeze past him. On the next lap, Laurnaga moved up to the front, then Dia got back by again on lap five.
This back-and-forth dance continued among the top three, each taking turns at the front and making for an exciting race. Close racing was not just in the front, but throughout the field. While the top three finished within a margin of .373 seconds of each other, fourth and fifth (Keith Williamson and Julian Pollard) was decided by .296 seconds, and ninth and tenth (Charles Lankford and John Palazzolo) was decided by just .124 seconds. The final results were Barnes in P1, Laurnaga in P2, Dia in P3, Williamson in P4, and Pollard in P5.
On Sunday morning, Barnes was again on pole with Laurnaga to his outside this time and Dia in P3. Just behind them, Don Elvington moved up a spot past Williamson in P4, leaving Pollard to challenge Williamson next. Unfortunately, Pollard made contact with Williamson entering Turn 4, moving them both to the back of the pack as they recovered from the incident. An out-of-class car also went off track in Turn 4, landing in the berm and bringing out a full-course caution.
Once the race restarted, Barnes, Laurnaga and Dia continued their battle for the lead. But Turn 4 would claim yet another victim with Laurnaga and Barnes touching at entry, making Laurnaga spin, barely missing Dia. Barnes held on to the lead from then on, with Dia applying pressure, but not able to get by. The final results were Barnes in P1, Dia in P2, Elvington in P3, Parker in P4, and Scott Brown in P5.
In the race three, Laurnaga had the pole and the speed. He was the car to beat. He led every lap, never letting Barnes or Dia to get close enough to truly challenge him. After realizing they weren’t going to catch Laurnaga, Barnes and Dia challenged each other for second place. Barnes ultimately finished ahead of Dia by a car length as they took the checkered flag. It was a great end to the weekend for Laurnaga, scoring his first-ever Spec Miata win! Barnes finished in P2, Dia in P3, Pollard in P4, and Williamson in P5. While it wasn’t a huge field, the Spec Miata group didn’t disappoint with fast, fun, and clean racing throughout the weekend.
