Ten cars were in the CMC field from the Great Lakes and Midwest regions at Autobahn. The south course configuration was used in the Lightning group’s race, which included Spec Miatas, Spec E30s and Spec 944. With temperatures bordering on crisp, qualifying times were fast. The track record is 1:37.707 and Derek Wright captured the pole with a 1:37.011 followed by Kent Owens at 1:37.582 and Bob Denton’s 1:37.695.
The CMC group was the fastest group on track, but since CMC does a standing start, this put us in the back of the field. This set the stage for an exercise in traffic management. With a clean start Wright, Owens, Bob Denton and Tim Bennett had a slight lead on the rest of the field. Owens was holding station with Wright while on lap three Denton made an attempt on Owens and ran side by side through turns 1, 2 and 3, but could not make the pass stick. Opportunities were scarce, and after the halfway point, traffic was thick and gaps formed between the top five cars that the competitors were not able to overcome. The finishing order was Wright, Owens, Denton, Bennett and White.
Sunday morning came and with it came scattered showers that get things wet enough to make tire choice difficult. Earlier in the week, the group decided to invert the start based on Saturday’s race results. This made qualifying a race for the lone pole point or another test session for others. Derek Wright went for the point and won it with a 1.37.452.
The standing-start race was clean yet slow, with everyone struggling on a slick track. Denton showed there was traction by passing four cars, jumping from eighth to fourth using the outer ring of turns 4 and 5. Having a great start, Robert Salus jumped out to an early lead and maintained a healthy pace. Salus was going to be hard to catch. Unfortunately, with four laps to go, Salus began having ignition issues, then dropped four wheels in the grass, which allowed Denton, Wright, and Owens to pass for the lead. This was especially heartbreaking because it would have been that elusive first win for Salus, who was on a pace where he was not going to be caught. Salus would have to settle for a fourth-place finish. Denton managed to hold on for the victory, but not without worry as Wright and Owens were closing fast. Owens ran the fast lap of the race–a full second faster than his closest competitor and two seconds faster than the winner.
