Yahoo Autos Williams and Deonarine earn first career Radical Cup victories on day one in Toronto
It was a busy day on track at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto as Radical Cup North America teams and competitors hit the track Friday for three on-track sessions. Taking on the 1.786-mile, 11-turn street circuit for practice, qualifying, and the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend, 39 drivers raced hard for pole positions and the podium’s top step.
Platinum
After the single practice session on Friday morning, drivers rolled straight into qualifying just after lunch, with the results setting the grid for race one later that afternoon. Louis Schriber (EVR Motorsports) was the quickest qualifier overall and in the Platinum class, but it wasn’t without consequence as contact with the wall late in the session brought out the red flag and an eventual end to qualifying. Turning a lap of 1m14.574s, Schriber was exactly 0.2s ahead of Platinum class championship point leader Jon Field (ONE Motorsports). Wayne Williams (Esses Racing) was the best of the rest in third with Kevin Poitras (Radical Canada East) and Chip Romer (ONE Motorsports) rounding out the top-five.
Wayne Williams was aggressive on a late-race restart, managed to take the point from Jon Field with six minutes remaining, and never looked back. Leading late before the final yellow flag came out and ended the race, Williams, a dirt racer turned Radical Cup competitor, earned his first career series victory and the fastest lap of the race.
Spinning because of the battle with Williams, Jon Field fell to sixth on the results sheets and opened the door for Chip Romer and Kevin Poitras to climb onto the second and third steps of the podium. Schriber, who started from the pole position after his team was able to get his car rebuilt, lacked the pace to compete and eventually finished fourth, ahead of Scott Wagner in fifth. Following the race, Poitras was hit for a passing under the yellow penalty and relegated to fifth, putting Schriber on the podium in third and Scott Wagner in fourth.
Pro 1500
Jordan Missig (Graham Rahal Performance) topped the charts in the Pro 1500 class as he was quick on the streets of Toronto clocking the second-quickest time overall. Spencer Schmidt (Cameron Racing) was a distant second having only been on the track for one session with Evan Slater (EVR Motorsports) a scant 0.007s behind him. The second of the GRP drivers, Nick d’Orlando, slotted into the fourth position with Matt Romer (ONE Motorsports) in P5.
Missig continued the GRP domination in Pro 1500 as he scampered away early on and took the win after starting from the pole position. To flex his muscles and show his speed around the streets, Missig earned the fastest lap of the Pro 1500 drivers, besting his teammate Nick d’Orlando by a tenth of a second with d’Orlando on the podium in third. Splitting the two GRP drivers as EVR Motorsports competitor Evan Slater as he continues his strong run as of late adding another piece of hardware to his trophy case. With his dad Chip on the podium in the Platinum class, son Matt narrowly missed the feat in Pro 1500 as he finished fourth ahead of Canadian and Racing With Autism driver Austin Riley.
Pro 1340
2023 Pro 1340 runner-up and multi-time race winner Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing with Team Stradale) returned to the top of the charts in qualifying as he earned the pole position for the 1340 class. RySpec Racing’s Mayer Deonarine was just over 0.3s behind in second but was 0.3s quicker than Suellio Almeida (Graham Rahal Performance) in third. Crown Racing with Apex’s Seth Bacon, whose son is competing in USF2000, was fourth in class, just ahead of Pro 1340 championship leader Chris McMurry (Crown Racing with Apex).
Canadian Deonarine secured his first career Pro 1340 win as he followed in the footsteps of Williams to take the checkered flag. Not the fastest driver in the Pro 1340 field over the 21-lap race, Deonarine kept a strong and hungry field behind him to claim some hardware. Pro 1340-point leader McMurry advanced from his starting position to extend his championship lead, finishing second, while Anzaldi fell from his pole position effort to finish third when the checkered flag flew. The fastest lap of the race went to Suellio Almeida as he showed his speed to finish fourth, with Ibby Hadeed (Graham Rahal Performance) in fifth. McMurry fell to fourth on the results sheets due to a passing under the yellow infraction opened the door for a Deonarine, Anzaldi, and Almeida podium.
RCC 1340
Young Canadian Kenny Riedmann (RRM) led the RCC 1340 class in qualifying with a blistering lap time that earned him the pole position, more than a second ahead of his rivals. Owen Clarke (JMJS Motorsports) and Jonathan Woolridge slotted into the second and third positions respectively, ahead of the fourth- and fifth-place qualifiers of Travis Hill (TWOth Autosport) and Brady Clapham (Radical Canada).
A rocketship on track, Riedmann was able to convert his pole position into a race win and also score the fastest lap of the race to take top honors in RCC 1340. Woolridge, who started third, was able to advance one position and climb to the second step of the podium as he looks to do more tomorrow with the block being rounded out by Travis Hill. Behind the podium trio, Owen Clarke and Brady Clapham rounded out the top five. Similar to a Platinum class driver, Woolridge was dropped down the running order after a post-race review for yellow flag infringement that saw him classified seventh. With Riedmann the victor, the official podium results included Travis Hill in second with Owen Clarke in third.
RCC Masters
It was the No. 07 entry of Tim Sanderson (Northwest Atlantic MS) and the No. 2 entry of Robert Burgess (Radical Canada) who were on top after qualifying as they would occupy the RCC Masters front row. Daniel Earle (Radical Canada) and Liang Qiu (TWOth Autosport) would roll off from row two ahead of John Hughes (Radical Canada) and Jon Sobol (JMJS Motorsports) in row three.
Much like Riedmann did in the RCC 1340 class, Sanderson dominated the RCC Master class taking the win and honors for the fastest race lap in his class. Burgess crossed the line in second as the top two qualifiers finished first and second on track. Liang Qui and Daniel Earle swapped third and fourth between when the green flag waved and the checkered flag flew with Qiu getting the best of the duo to stand on the podium. Earle crossed the line in fourth with Sobol in P5.
Drivers will be back on track Saturday for the second race of the weekend with race three taking place on Sunday. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup North America pages for news, information, photos, and results from the event weekend.
Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.
