Marion Engelke of Germany made history at Sonoma Raceway when she became the first woman to score a win in the United States Touring Car Championship. Engelke won the Sportsman class while Sean Milburn was the winner of the Touring Car class.
Her weekend in the Gary’s Airbag Service BMW 328i looked bleak. In testing on Friday, she missed a shift, causing damage to the valvetrain of the engine. Her Cobalt California team worked during the practice laps to change the engine and get her ready for qualifying.
Engelke started off well in qualifying, but another competitor collided with her and caused a spin that led her to collide with an another car. Stewards deemed Engelke the victim, but her car, with its new engine, was still damaged. The incident left her in fourth place. Once again, the crew started to replace the damaged parts and the car was ready for Sunday’s race.
Engelke quickly passed the other cars and found herself in second place behind Becky Arsham’s Konig Wheels Honda Civic. The battle for first place lasted several laps as Arsham closed every opportunity for Engelke to pass. With just a few laps to go, Engelke went for it and made her move going into Turn 10 — but it wasn’t over yet. Coming in hot was Michael McColligan, who was now in second place in the MC Racing Honda Civic Si, and catching up to Engelke quickly. McColligan’s efforts fell a bit short as Engelke reached the checkered flag first. Arsham finished third.
Marion Engelke made history by becoming the first woman to win in the United States Touring Car Challenge.
In the Touring Car class, it was a battle between Gary Sheehan’s Konig Wheels Hyundai Genesis and Sean Milburn’s Bay Area Drafting BMW M3. Sheehan quickly went after the BMW in the opening stages, but Milburn opened a gap in the first few laps and managed to maintain that gap throughout the race. Gordon Pun finished third in the Konig Wheels Honda Civic.
The series will move to Thunderhill Raceway in a few weeks for a 2.5-hour-long race that could change everything.
