We arrived at the halfway point of the season with a modest number of drivers at Suzuka Circuit. With very little track time for any of the participants, the racing held promise of being "interesting" and it certainly did not disappoint. Additionally, in the two weeks since Mugello, there had been several noteworthy changes discussed and hinted at in the league. Chiefly, these changes centered around a growing sense of discomfort in the MBR garage. Ethan Maestri's move to Porsche left Paul Maestri considering whether or not to remain with Mercedes. Pictures emerged shortly before the race that hinted that the turmoil in the Maestri Bros. paddock would result in another manufacturer change and another grid penalty for one of its drivers. This turned out not to be the case as the #33 hauler rolled up to the garage door and deposited a shiny AMG for Paul to drive. The other development to destabilize the team came as Ethan would decide to abandon wheel driving in favor of using the controller, something he had not done in competition in over two years. This left the #3 Porsche well down the leaderboard in the days leading up to Suzuka.
Suzuka is a very nuanced track that requires a certain amount of flow in driving style and setup. Get it right and you are well rewarded. Get it wrong and you are miles off the pace, or worse, stalled on the side of the track.
Heat 1 started well enough. Most everyone got through Turn 1 without incident. However, Tony Tyree would hook a tire on the inside of one of the essess and bounced his #47 Corvette wide. This presented an opportunity that Bryan Dean could not ignore and so he drove the #808 Viper deep into the corner to make the pass. Both cars attempted to occupy the same place on track and physics did its thing to counter their faux pas. Tony came off the worse and bounced further into the weeds. Bryan was able to collect himself and continue on in P3. Things continued to unravel quickly for Tony, he hurried back onto the track and intersected Ethan Maestri in the #3 Porsche, sending both cars careening to the other side of the track and into the kitty litter. Tony's race was essentially shot at that point, he would post a fast lap time that would later pay dividends, pushing him in front of a struggling Nick Hargrove for overall position on the night.
Tony and Ethan collide in the esses
Nick started off well, chasing Paul and quickly finding himself in P5. In later stages of the race he would have a quick off and lose touch with both of the MBR cars. A late race contest would develop between the #3 and #33 that saw them cross the line within a second of each other, with younger brother Paul gaining the advantage.
Up front, Travis Billingsley and Andrew Steppat would develop a tight race into an epic struggle for the sharp end of the field. Andrew would keep the #001 Viper out front for the first 5 laps. But a tenacious #18 Noble kept steady pressure on the leader. Eventually Travis would make the pass and take the win.
Heat 2 can largely be defined by the first lap. A big tangle started for positions 4-7 and it didn't get any better for those in the back as they progressed. Tony and Nick would trip each other up. Paul and Bryan would beat doors at several points on track, with Bryan eventually gaining the advantage over Paul. Tony limped along to a P6 finish. But poor Nick Hargrove had to retire the #05 Corvette due to excessive damage in the altercation.
Four unhappy drivers in Heat 2
Ethan Maestri took the #3 Porsche to an early lead, but was quickly over-run by Travis and Andrew. Travis looked to have the race well in hand but lost control and over-cooked the Noble into the Casio chicane, giving the lead, and a heat win, to Andrew. Travis posted a faster lap time on the night and salvages an overall win for the event. This would allow him to close to within 3 points of series leader, Andrew Steppat. Andrew with 76 points, Travis with 73. Bryan Dean, despite a few bumps, placed third overall and maintains contact with the series leaders with 69 points.
We head into the second half of the season now. The next event being a challenge in the rain at Silverstone on November 11.
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