Jones Wins Spa Q-Race; More La Source Troubles

Results


Greg Johnson, Jr. [24] started on the pole, and he would take the early lead, while outside polesitter Mac Rhylen [86], a part-timer, settled into 2nd position.

Similarly to the VERC race, there was trouble in the third turn. Icy Frost [123] and Troy Derekson [12] who started 3rd and 5th, both washed across the racetrack and knocked Thomas Forster [93] and Josh Marshall [23] off the track. As most of the field drove by, Tim Reed [55] was turned into the pile of cars by Brian Travors [08].

On the track, Casey Lester [00] was turned sideways by Scott Wilson [19] as he tried to avoid cars spinning in front of him. Both Lester and Wilson have to make this race in order to defend their higher-tier positions or they will be relegated.

In the next set of turns, Louis Jones [47] took 3rd position, while James Proctor [91] and John Bracchi [360], Jones' Australian Motorsports teammate, battled for 4th. Mac Rhylen and Louis Jones currently hold the two part-time transfer positions, so Bracchi needs to get around one of them in order to make the race. Icy Frost, another part-timer settled into a top-10 position by the end of lap 1, while Josh Marshall was back in 24th due to the wreck he was in.

In La Source (the hairpin turn), Mac Rhylen caught the wall, he only fell to 5th, but he was passed by both Louis Jones and Icy Frost, meaning that he fell out of the part-time transfer group. James Proctor hit the back of Rhylen's car, and was turned sideways by Malcom Terez [33] and John Bracchi; however, he got going again before losing too many positions (he dropped to 8th).


As a result of the hairpin turn troubles, drivers like Ricky Gonzalez [95] and Cody Yeaton [73], who have struggled for much of the season so far were able to sneak into the top-10. Hairpin troubles also effectively ended the chances of Andrew Talbot and Sam Mitchell, Jr., who both needed to be towed after getting stuck in the tire wall of La Source at different points in the race.


By the halfway point of the race, Louis Jones had taken over the lead; however, Greg Johnson, Jr. managed to hold 2nd, albeit 2 and a half seconds behind Jones. Icy Frost held third, with Ricky Gonzalez in 4th. Brian Travors rounded out the top-5, but he was followed by Mac Rhylen, Casey Lester, Sammy Howard [80], Landon Rody [81], and Kyle Adams [71] in the top-10. Most of the position changes were due to lap-by-lap troubles in La Source. The field was also very spread out, making passes harder, at least the ones without assitance from the troublesome hairpin turn, that is.

Louis Jones ran the second half of the race without making a single mistake, and he would go on to take the win and the first of two part-time transfer spots.

Coming to the finish, Ricky Gonzalez (6th) gets into the wall in the hairpin turn as he is passed by Mac Rhylen. Sammy Howard runs into Gonzalez, as Landon Rody gets into the wall behind them! Kyle Adams hits the 80 and sends him around, but keeps going and passes by the 80 and 95 for 7th position. Howard gets turned around and going again. Ryan Hall runs into the back of Howard, allowing Michael More, Jr. to slip by and follow Howard in 10th. Malcolm Terez gets through the turn safely and takes 12th. One transfer position is still up for grabs as Cody Yeaton, Gary Steiner, and Jacob Jarrett head into the turn, but Yeaton catches the back of Rody's car! Steiner makes the pass and takes the final transfer position as he holds Jacob Jarrett off while racing to the finish line!!!

Heartbreak for both the 81 and 73 teams in the final corner of the race.


1. 47 Jones [PT 1]
2. 24 Johnson, Jr. [FT 1]
3. 123 Frost [PT 2]
4. 08 Travors [FT 2]
5. 00 Lester [FT 3]
6. 86 Rhylen [PT 3] --- DNQ
7. 71 Adams [FT 4]
8. 95 Gonzalez [FT 5]
9. 80 Howard [FT 6]
10. 156 More, Jr. [FT 7]
11. 46 Hall [FT 8]
12. 33 Terez [FT 9]
13. 44 Steiner [FT 10]
14. 27 Jarrett [FT 11] --- DNQ

MRD Motorsports to Leave VSCC Immediately, Defection to ASCC Pending

After another miserable DNQ at Spa and the confirmed relegation of the #77 team to the minor leagues, MRD Motorsports owner Tom Delgado confirmed what was probably in the works for weeks now. The team would not be accepting a place in the VART or VERC, and would be going home to prepare for a defection to ASCC.

"It is not in the organization's best interest for us to continue to wallow away in the bottom tiers of VSCC. The funding put into the team does not justify the income that would be coming back in from racing in the bottom tiers. In Lehman's terms, it is not financially feasible for us to keep running here right now. The end results do not justify the amount of funding put into our product, and all of us at MRD Motorsports are very disappointed that this latest venture into VSCC, formerly RRoL, did not work out for us. We come away with valuable experience though, to use in our future ventures, and we wish all competitors in VSCC, VART, and VERC the best of luck in their seasons"

Andrew Talbot could not be reached for comment, but via phone call to his agent, we were told that "Mr. Talbot has been contacted by several Asian GT teams and will most likely return to Asia to continue his motorsport career, and will not be retained by MRD Motorsports if their defection to ASCC is approved"

Rhylen Solid Run, Still DNQ's

Despite qualifying on the outside pole and running top ten pretty much all race, Mac Rhylen failed to qualify for the VSCC round 5. He finished sixth, behind both Louis Jones (1st) and Icy Frost (3rd). Rhylen said it was his own fault, saying, "I had a loose car alot of the race. That wasn't the case there, though. I just messed up. That's all." Rhylen, who was a major contender in the NSRL and USRL Regoinal Series', has now missed both VSCC races he has attempted this season, and he is still trying to make his VSCC debut. He has not made a start in ANY series this year, with two DNQ's here, and one DNQ at Dwyer in ARLA.