TCR Report - Final At Sonoma Sunsets the Spring 2021 Campaign

  Andrew Steppat was crowned the TCR Cup series champion before stepping onto the track at Sonoma for the series' final two heats. That did not stop the multi-time champion from attacking the track. This left the remaining 6 car field to settle who was second, here, on the night.

 There were the usual off's and tangles that we usually see, particularly in an event that was moved forward and leaving little or no prep time for some. However, in the end, Travis Billingsley led the "best of the rest" charge and put a solid stamp on his claim to second overall in the series. Paul Maestri, despite an incident with his rival Seth Jensen, had another great showing and posted his second P3 podium finish in as many races. Ethan Maestri, still reeling from Rio, was an easy target for the top runners, and despite leading several laps in the second heat, showed his age and lack of preparation. 

 Seth quietly posted yet another Top 5 finish which tightened the points gap that plagued him earlier in the series. Ghabe Stouffer suffered lag issues yet again and dropped outside the Top 5 in points on the night. He yielded that spot to Tony Tyree, who despite having a poor driving night, continues his Top 5 championship streak. 

 For the rest of this seasons participants, several names stand out as having scored a fair amount of points, but their continued presence at the track is missed and so are their finishing goals. We'll look for you all next season. For now, the FRL heads into May and looks forward to the Indy 200 on May 30th.

DRIVER	Points
Andrew Steppat	350
Travis Billingsley	310
Ethan Maestri	230
Paul Maestri	225
Tony Tyree	202
Ghabe Stouffer	198
Seth Jensen	179
Blake Wild	90
Nicholas Hargrove	85
Preston Liberatore	65
Bryan Dean	30
David Dodson	26
Sonoma GP
Andrew Steppat	50
Travis Billingsley	45
Paul Maestri	40
Ethan Maestri	35
Seth Jensen	30
Tony Tyree	28
Ghabe Stouffer	26

TCR Report - Rio Fulfills Most Drivers Expectations

  The penultimate round of the FRL's TCR Cup series took place at a track notorious for having danger as its prevailing theme and has been known to leave even the best drivers broken and bloodied by the side of the road. To say that Rio is a tough track in any of it's permutations is an understatement. To take on the longest version of the track in reverse at such a late hour on a Sunday night is to practically beg for disaster to strike. 

 For some, the "danca com a morte" would be a short one. Ghabe Stouffer was, perhaps mercifully, kicked out of both heats early on. Though in the first heat he was able to outlast Seth Jensen. Seth, in the first heat, suffered from an acute charley horse and exited quickly to nurse his hammy and fix his coif. He would bounce back well in the second heat, outlasting most of the field and netting himself P3 for that heat. Nicholas Hargrove had a great start to the night, surviving the fray around him and eventually crossing the line P3. Heat 2 would treat the #5 driver like a red-headed step-child and he would finish P7. It could be argued that Paul Maestri and Tony Tyree were the most consistent drivers of the night. Each would take turns bouncing off walls and curbs and even making trips to the pits in some cases. But in the end, Tony's finishing average on the night would be the same as Seth Jensen's and Ethan Maestri's. Only fastest posted lap times would know the difference. Paul posted P4 in both heats, giving him his first podium finish in some time.

 Ethan Maestri's performance started well, as he would pass Andrew Steppat early in the first heat and the two drivers would fight mightily for seven of the eight laps in the heat. Andrew would make a pass late that forced Ethan to "go for broke" in Andrew's Corner on the last lap. He cleared the corner but carried far too much speed to correct for the run up the hill. Instead of pulling alongside Steppat's #1 Audi, he would instead pile into the 100 Meter sign (and the concrete barriers) heavily. Ending his race altogether. Round 2 didn't go much better for the #3 driver and he wound up in P5. 

 Travis Billingsley, by contrast, endured a poor start to heat one and climbed steadily into P2 for the heat. The second heat saw things go mostly his way and he engaged in a battle with Andrew Steppat for P1. Andrew would prevail however, taking wins for both heats. The final round of the TCR series will take place May 2nd at Sonoma Raceway. 

DRIVER	Points
Andrew Steppat	300
Travis Billingsley	265
Ethan Maestri	235
Paul Maestri	185
Tony Tyree	174
Ghabe Stouffer	172
Seth Jensen	149
Blake Wild	90
Nicholas Hargrove	85
Preston Liberatore	65
Bryan Dean	30
David Dodson	26
Rio Full - Reverse
Andrew Steppat	50
Travis Billingsley	45
Paul Maestri	40
Nicholas Hargrove	35
Ethan Maestri	30
Seth Jensen	28
Tony Tyree	26
Ghabe Stouffer	24

Quickest Doesn't Equal Victory At Bathurst

 Time to cue the main theme from "The Man from Snowy River" as the horses were let loose to run over and down the Mt. Panorama Circuit. The FRL arrives for Round 5 at Bathurst. The first heat was surprisingly calm as Andrew Steppat led from the start. However, Travis Billingsley kept the the multi-time champion honest by challenging him at all points of the track and for all 9 laps of the first heat. Ethan Maestri kept within a few seconds of the front runners as well, keeping the final result of the heat in suspense until the last lap. Seth Jensen got a good start to his race and kept in visual contact of the front before internet woes ousted him from the heat. Bryan Dean makes a triumphant return to FRL racing, placing himself ahead of Blake Wild at the end of the heat, but well back from Paul Maestri and Tony Tyree, who rounded out the Top 5 respectively. 

 Heat 2 would be a far more sordid affair as the reverse grid did its job of up-ending the status quo right from the start. Hell Corner became a log jam as all 8 cars fought their way through and onto Mountain Straight.  Seth Jensen made the most of his previous misfortune and capitalized on a choice start on the front row by extending his lead early. Behind him, Blake Wild and Bryan Dean quickly locked horns and Blake ended up on the bad end in The Cutting, turned hard into the wall with the remaining cars of the field stacking up behind him. Ethan Maestri moved wide to avoid his MBR teammate but ended up getting velcroed to the wall. 

 Bryan and Paul would battle their way over the mountain with Andrew and Travis trying patiently to wait until they were sorted. This didn't happen quickly and soon Ethan was able to catch the gaggle of Audi RS3's as the made their way down Conrad Straight. At the end of lap one, Bryan would send it deep into Murray's Corner causing Ethan to check up and pushing Travis off the pavement. Andrew, clear to chase after Paul's #7 Audi, caught him on Mountain Straight. Paul went to throw a block but misjudged Andrew's closing speed locking bumpers just enough to unsettle the MBR driver and sending him hard into the wall and back out onto the straight...right into the path of the #3 Audi driven by his teammate. The #3 swung wide but caught a glancing blow from the #7. Ethan looked to have avoided the worst, but then the car went light in the steering and the body started a delayed, sickly roll from side-to-side as Ethan struggled to save the car from tank-slapping. He failed and ended up hard into the wall and into last place. 

 Seth Jensen would have a couple of laps to himself, but then small errors saw him bouncing off the walls and Andrew was quickly able to overtake him. Travis soon followed and the two would resume their duel for the lead. Tony Tyree and Blake Wild would have their troubles traversing the mountain and would fall back to P7 & 8. The MBR team would wind up battered and bruised in P5 & 6. Bryan Dean made the most of his return to racing, posting P4 in the heat. Seth Jensen would finish a very respectable P3. Travis Billingsley, despite posting the fastest laps on the night, simply could not find a way around the #01 car and would have to settle for second step on the podium. 

 Andrew Steppat scores another victory and top honors for the night. He takes a commanding points lead into the final stretch of the season. The next race will be in the bone-jarring streets of Rio on Sunday, April 18th.

DRIVER	Points
Andrew Steppat	250
Travis Billingsley	220
Ethan Maestri	205
Paul Maestri	135
Ghabe Stouffer	128
Tony Tyree	128
Seth Jensen	121
Blake Wild	90
Preston Liberatore	65
Nicholas Hargrove	50
Bryan Dean	30
David Dodson	26
Mt. Panorama - Bathurst
Andrew Steppat	50
Travis Billingsley	45
Ethan Maestri	40
Paul Maestri	35
Bryan Dean	30
Seth Jensen	28
Tony Tyree	26
Blake Wild	24

 

Billingsley Challenges Steppat In the Alps

  The series rolls into the Swiss Alps for two rounds at the Club Circuit in reverse. The racing was heated in the opening segments of each heat. The scramble for positions lead to some interesting racing early on for Paul Maestri and Seth Jensen. The #6 of Jensen challenged the #7 MBR car through several turns and would end up the victor as Paul's car eventually ended up in the wall. 

 Four cars broke away early, though Ethan Maestri would quickly fall back in the #3 car. This left Ghabe Stouffer, Travis Billingsley and Andrew Steppat to fight tooth and nail for position. However, the internet did not cooperate with Ghabe at all and he ended up posting DNF's in both heats. This was unfortunate, as the young driver was really demonstrating his talent here. 

 The first heat ended in a climactic finish as Travis Billingsley bobbled in lap one, but recovered all the way to Andrew's rear bumper in the waning laps of the heat. He just couldn't find the line at the end to make a pass. That theme would be an even more dramatic example in the second heat. Into Turn 1, all 7 cars were bunched and careening through the corner, some sideways, some checking up, some praying for a clean line and pinning it. Once shaken out, Andrew Steppat find himself solidly in the lead, followed by Ethan Maestri and Ghabe Stouffer. Ghabe eventually lagged out allowing Travis a clear line to Ethan, Ethan yielded the position on lap 12 and Travis tried to close on the #01 car but time ran out. It was an impressive comeback run that demonstrated who had the best car in the Alps. In the end though, manifest destiny would prevail and Andrew Steppat was crowned the victor once more. 

 The series moves to Australia at Bathurst on Sunday, April 11th.

DRIVER	Points
Andrew Steppat	200
Travis Billingsley	175
Ethan Maestri	165
Ghabe Stouffer	128
Tony Tyree	102
Paul Maestri	100
Seth Jensen	93
Blake Wild	66
Preston Liberatore	65
Nicholas Hargrove	50
David Dodson	26
Alps Club - Reverse
Andrew Steppat	50
Travis Billingsley	45
Ethan Maestri	40
Seth Jensen	35
Paul Maestri	30
Ghabe Stouffer	28
Tony Tyree	26