The MV Skinlab Grand Prix of Long Beach, the shortest race of the season, saw Gowin Racing dominate by leading a race-high 41 laps as the team took its second checkered flag of the season in as many points-races.
Starting from eleventh place on the grid, Josh Gowin and Jack Hedgcoxe teamed up to put their #18 Dallara P217 in the winner’s circle to pad their championship lead in the second-highest category of the VSCA SportsCar Championship.
“Our race started out poorly, with issues in qualifying that led to us starting last out of the pitlane. But reflecting on it, our less than optimal start kept us out of the big incidents that wiped out most of the LMP2 field. Jack did an excellent job keeping the car clean at the start while most of our class had to pit for repairs.”
“I was just cruising towards the checkered flag really, when that final caution came out. Obviously, that put the second and third-place car right behind us, so I really had to watch out on that final restart. I was able to get a good jump on the #048 and they never really managed to mount an attack for the lead.”, said Josh Gowin in the winner’s circle.
With two wins in their pocket, Gowin still can’t quite believe the start the team is off to so far.
“I really can't believe we managed the win here in Long Beach. The feeling in the team was actually that this wouldn't be a strong race for us, so to stand on the top step of the podium is incredible.”
“It's been an excellent start to the season with two back to back wins. While Long Beach came down to good fortune more than anything else, we still know we're a solid team and will be pushing for more wins. This LMP2 field is very competitive, and we're looking forward to continuing the on track battles we had at Daytona. Our team tends to perform best in longer format races, so we are really looking forward to Sebring.”, Gowin continued.
Taking second place, SCOWRS Esses Racing and Kyle Granger and Rein de Boer celebrated their first podium in a VSCA points race, bouncing back from a horrific crash at Daytona in January.
Completing the podium was the #321 Tri-State Racing Dallara of Christian Sherrard and Garret Spents, who rallied from ninth on the grid all the way to third place.
There was a lot of attrition in the 1-hour and 40-minute race and the #66 Dallara of VRG Sport, despite taking fourth place, finished seven laps down from the leaders, with Andy Banfield and Jeff Yeager behind the wheel.
Austria’s Rising Panda Racing and their #46 Dallara with Piers Stockton and Ryan Ware took P5, leading four laps but finishing eight laps down in the end.
Tri-State Racing’s second entry, the #123 Dallara with Sam Vaughan and Thomas Mercelino finished in sixth place and were left feeling disappointed, not coming away with a better result after starting third and leading twenty laps.
Likewise, second-place holders in the championship #14 Fischer Motorsport with Rico Kollmeier and Michael Adamczyk could not hide their disappointment finishing seventh, ten laps down.
Rounding out the top ten were the #777 Dallara of Majors Garage Fusion Simsport, the #86 machine of GSE Racing eSports and the #621 Dallara of FRS SimSports, even though the latter was later disqualified post-race for failure to meet the AM drive time requirements.
Gowin Racing team to beat in the championship
With a perfect record of two wins in two races, Gowin Racing are the team to beat in LMP2 competition these days, taking a 170-point lead of VRG Sport’s #66 Dallara and Fischer Motorsport’s #14 Dallara going into Sebring in March.
The #123 Tri-State Racing entry is in third, 179 points back.
Sprint Cup season opens with #18 Dallara leading the way
Long Beach also marked the first VSCA Sprint Cup race of the year. By account of their win, the #18 Gowin Racing Dallara leads the championship by 42 points over SCOWRS Esses Racing’s #048 entry and the #321 Dallara of Tri-State Racing.
The VSCA SportsCar Championship will return to action at famed Sebring International Raceway on March 23rd for the third annual 12 Hours of Sebring.
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