Rush Motorsport, Team Dynamics and Toyo Tire Continue Winning Streak:

After running 2 double regionals on 2 different tracks, the Spec Miata (SM) show were back in town at Buttonwillow, CalClub's home track for the March double, running in the counter-clockwise direction. With the strange weather pattern continuing in California, everyone was looking up in the sky and on the weather channel to see what might be in store for the weekend. With sprinkles here and there late Friday afternoon and dark clouds moving in, it looked as though it would be a wet weekend of racing. Rain or shine, 19 SM were very eager to take the track.
 

With an overnight downpour, rain actually subsided a bit by the time the group woke up on Saturday morning, but a layer of thick dark cloud still loomed overhead and in the nearby mountains. Now, the question for the day: To be on rain tire or not to be. That was not answered until it was time to race.

By qualifying, Don Thibaut in the Rush Motorsport car quickly asserted himself at the front of the pack followed closely by Jonathan Christian and with Andrew Staveley. Then came Aaron Bitterman and Bob Wright. Clement Lee in his new 1.8 (litre) SM only managed to qualify 6th with Tim Weaver and Mark Carruthers in their pair of newly painted Turn 7 Motorsports car were right behind. while the rest of the grid were filled primarily with 1.6 (litre) SM, Clement chose to campaign a 1.8 this year just to try something different. With the taller gearing in the 1.8 and requirement to carry an extra 100 lbs (over the 1.6), Clement appeared to have an uphill battle even before the race began.

With the sky opening up before the Pro7 race that ran before the SM event, many had switched to full tread rain tires in anticipation for running in the rain. But then the rain clouds moved out of position, and with the Pro7 still circulating and clearing puddles off the track, it was time to switch back to the shaved tires and go to grid.

As the cars went out on the formation lap, it was evident that there were still some very wet spots around the track, particularly around the esses and sweeper, but the track was definitely drying quickly elsewhere. The cars were bunched up tight as the green flag waved. Don Thibaut in the Rush Motorsport car led the field gingerly around the first corner, followed by Andrew Staveley and Jonathan Christian. Clement Lee, in the other Rush Motorsport car, made a brilliant start to move up 3 spots to come through in 4th. Trying very hard to keep the other cars as bay, Clement hit a puddle at the braking zone at the end of the back straight, almost losing it into the dirt. That wobble allowed Aaron Bitterman and William Christian to slip through before Clement could get back up to speed in front of Tim Weaver. While Aaron tried to open up a gap, Clement made a outside pass on William Christiam going into Sunset to keep Aaron from running away.

Meanwhile, both Jonathan Christian and Andrew Staveley took advantage of an uncharacteristic mistake by Don Thibaut on laps 2 allowing both to get through and with Jonathan Christian leading the way for the next several laps. Andrew Staveley then made his move around Jonathan on lap 5 and appeared to be able to hold his lead over Jonathan while Don was slowly making headway toward the pair. It took Clement about 6 laps to close up the gap up to Aaron Bitterman. Making a quick exit out of Sunrise, Clement darted to the inside and out braked Aaron into Sunset to take over 4th. Aaron stayed in tow right behind Clement but spun out coming around Riverside. With no one else in sight ahead or remotely close behind, Clement appeared to be in cruise control for a comfortable 4th.

Luck was on Don's side once again. With both Jonathan and Staveley making mistakes in the final laps, Don was able to sail through in the final corners to claim victory, while Andrew Staveley and Jonathan Christian recovered to come in second and third respectively.
 

The dark rain clouds were still looming overhead and rain coming down steadily early in the morning. The sky and track cleared up for the combined practice/qualifying session and saw Don Thibaut in the Rush Motorsport car once again on pole with Jonathan Christian right behind. Alan Leukhardt made a surprise dash to the front to qualify in third while Clement Lee made a galant effort to qualify in 4th just in front of Mark Carruthers, Bob Wright and Aaron Bitterman and others.

With the grid now set, it was time to turn to the weather channel once again. With scattered showers coming down every now and then, it looked as though some had already switched to their rain tires. But with the sky clearing up and the scattered showers stopping, most had switched back to their shaved tires as they grided for the race. The track was completely damp in the esses and sweeper section, while it was practically dry in other sections as the drivers noticed on the formation lap. With Spec Miata having a split start from the rest of the run group, the drivers would get to run without interferrence from other classes for a few laps.

The green flag flew early as all the cars made it safely around the first corner. Don Thibaut led the train gingerly around the esses and sweeper with Jonathan Christian, Clement Lee and Mark Carruthers in close pursuit. Jonathan stepped up the pace and made his pass on Don at the end of the back straight. Mark Carruthers then made good use of the tighter gearing in the 1.6 and made his pass on Clement's 1.8 coming out of Sunset. The 4 lead Spec Miatas now slipping and slidding around the Esses and Sweeper section. Jonathan was opening up a tiny gap on Don as the group headed down the back stretch. Clement tucked in tight behind Mark and got a good draft down the back straight, pulled out and got his spot back from Mark. Jonathan and Don managed to get pass 2 much slow IT cars before the Cotton Corners (left-right-left) section and were able to open up a gap on Clement and Mark as they were stuck behind. Meanwhile, Mark's teammate Tim Weaver, and Bob Wright had caught up to the back of this train. Clement and the other 3 finally made their way around the IT cars at the Buttonhook.

Clement Lee had his hands full as Mark Carruthers and his teammate Tim Weaver ganged up and ran in Tandem on the pit straight leaving Clement out in the cold while Bob Wright was just a tad further back. The trio went side-by-side at the end of the pit straight, around Sunset and toward the Esses. It was single file through the Esses with Mark leading the way and Clement splitting the other Turn7 Motorsport car. Clement was definitely keeping the pressure on as the rear end on Mark's car wiggled just enough at the damp section at the Sweeper to allow Clement to slip right back through into 3rd. Mark and Tim once again were in hot pursuit coming down the back straight, but Clement held the tight line and took advantange of some back markers to open up a small gap.

Well you could gain some and you could loose some. Clement was held back momentarily at the Esses by another IT car and that allowed Mark Bob and Tim to close right back as the four danced around the wet Sweeper section. Mark made a run on Clement coming out of Riverside while Bob and Tim were battling furiously immediately behind. Now it was Mark's turn to the lead the four around the Cotton Corners section. The cars were still slipping and sliding around the Sweeper but Clement was literally on Mark's bumper as they opened up a small gap on Bob and Tim. Clement returned the favor by making a run on Mark coming out of Riverside, just like Mark did the lap before and got back into 3rd. Now, with a clear track in front, Clement was able to edge out ever so slightly away from Mark.

Meanwhile, out front, Don had taken the lead back over from Jonathan and the pair circulated in tandem unchallenged by anyone else. In the end, the Rush Motorsport cars of Don Thibaut and Clement Lee came in 1st and 3rd respectively with Jonathan Christian splitting the pair in 2nd. Mark Caurruthers made another strong showing finishing in 4th while Alan Leukhardt finished in 5th. The 3 podium finishers, all running on Team Dynamics Wheels and Toyo Tires, allowed them to fully demonstrate their superior combination of speed and skills with those hardware.

In spite of the wet stormy weather, it was a good weekend for the 19 SM that showed up. The group showed once again why Spec Miata (SM) had become so popular: Lots of tight and clean racing everywhere on the track - up front, in the middle or at the back. If you want door to door racing, that's where you want to be.