Starting from VR7UAL Pole Position, the No. 19 Dallara of Trading Paints Racing Team led 25 laps in the VR7UAL Sports Car Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to win its third out of the last five races.
Just as was the case at Laguna Seca two weeks ago, Selena Ward started the race for the team out of Allentown, Pennsylvania after posting the fastest lap in VR7UAL Pole Qualifying to claim the top spot on the grid.
On lap 4 the lead changed hands as the No. 50 Dallara of Wesett Racing and Tommaso Basile put forth a challenge in turn five as Ward had a slip of concentration and went wide.
But after completing the driver change pit stop, team-mate Jordan Erickson re-claimed the lead on lap 87, under the second of two full-course yellows. The lead change occurred because the No. 86 Dallara of GSE eSports Racing spun out under yellow in turn two.
Restarting from third position, Erickson wasted no time and took second place from the No. 511 Dallara of Twisty Bits Racing and only two laps later challenged the No. 96 Dallara of Albrecht Motorsports and March Scherschel for the lead.
Coming through turn nine, the two cars battled hard for the win, knowing there were only about twenty minutes remaining in the race. With the two cars almost making contact, Erickson’s bold move paid off and the 33-year old never looked back.
 |
| The moment of the race - Jordan Erickson (No. 19 Dallara) takes the lead away from Marc Scherschel (No. 96 Dallara). Erickson wouldn't surrender the lead again for the rest of the race - © 2023 VSCAracing.com / Benjamin Fischer |
Crossing the finish line in first, it was win No. 3 for Trading Paints Racing Team in only the fifth race of the 2023 season.
Twisty Bits Racing earned second-place honors as the No. 511 Dallara of Jesse Miettinen and Michael Hopkins crossed the finish line ten seconds behind.
The No. 86 Dallara of GSE Racing eSports bounced back from the mishap under yellow flag conditions to take third place with drivers Thomas Beuchel and Patrick Baerthel.
For the team out of Kempen, Germany it was the best result since a second place at Long Beach last month.
Maik Steinicke and Marc Scherschel were not quite able to bring home the much anticipated first win for Albrecht Motorsports and the No. 96 Dallara LMP2 team, leading the race as late as twenty minutes before the finish.
 |
| The No. 511 Twisty Bits Racing Dallara and No. 50 Wesett Racing Dallara both showed competitive pace in the VR7UAL Sports Car Challenge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, but only one of the two finished in the top-five - © 2023 VSCAracing.com / Benjamin Fischer |
But a fourth-place finish will no doubt smooth any disappointments in the team, as the Frankfurt, Germany based team continues its best season in VSCA so far.
American drivers duo Damien Behnke and Kyle Allen completed the best five finishers in their No. 13 Dallara LMP2 for Vision 1 Motorsports. It was the No. 13 team’s first top-five result of the season.
Sapphire SimSport’s No. 38 Dallara finished sixth with Thomas Fischer and Michael Poole sharing driver duties behind the wheel. The No. 38 car was the last to finish the race on the LMP2 lead lap.
Rounding out the top ten were the No. 66 VRG Sport, No. 11 Vision 1 Motorsports, No. 50 Wesett Racing and No. 155 DS Racing eSports Team Dallara P217 LMP2.
Showing very competitive pace in the race, strategy proved to be the biggest hurdle for Wesett Racing in the end. The British team out of London was leading the race for 33 laps and looked like it was a contender for the win.
Under the first full course caution the team elected to stay out, so on lap 36 Tommaso Basile had to make a pit stop under green while the competition that used the previous yellow to take fuel and tires was able to stay out.
 |
| It was a forgettable day for the No. 193 MAD Sim Racing Dallara and Aubrey Cundall. The Lakewood, Colorado native's first VSCA start did not go as hoped as he lost control and suffered a race-ending crash in turn one following a restart - © 2023 VSCAracing.com / Benjamin Fischer |
In the end, two one lap stop & hold and one drive-through penalty made the strategy irrelevant for the team and they took ninth place, three laps down.
One of the big losers at CTMP, the No. 14 Dallara of Fischer Motorsport finished 16 laps down in P11. On lap 12 Travis Linscome-Hatfield, who had just won the iRacing Nürburgring 24 Hours on the previous weekend, found himself running out of tarmac in turn two, slipping into the grass and crashing into the tire barriers.
Unable to finish the race, the No. 191 Dallara of MAD Sim Racing, who won at Long Beach in April, was scored in 13th place but scored no championship points after retiring on lap 34.
On the restart following the first caution period of the race, driver Aubrey Cundall lost control in turn one and crashed into the concrete wall. The impact completely destroyed the race car and visibly disappointed the team was unable to continue.
Championship lead grows for No. 19 Dallara, Trading Paints Racing Team
By winning its second race in as many weeks, the No. 19 Dallara of Trading Paints Racing Team has extended its LMP2 championship lead to 120 points over Albrecht Motorsports.
Fischer Motorsport had a dismal result at CTMP, but continues to hold third position in the standings, just ahead of the No. 66 Dallara of VRG Sport.
Twisty Bits Racing, even though running one less race than the competition, sits in fifth position in the standings, but at a hefty 367-point gap to the leaders.
With six races remaining, it certainly is too early to declare any team as winners or out of contention, however some of the teams will look for a misstep of Trading Paints Racing Team before the championship lead gets too big.
Watkins Glen is up next, as Endurance Cup racing returns
The VSCA Endurance Cup makes its return as Watkins Glen is up next on the VSCA SportsCar Championship schedule. The 6-hour race in upstate New York takes place on June 17th and will mark the halfway point of the season.