CalSpeedSept2018

T he Pro Class saw several familiar faces team up for the two-hour race, including the winning team from the July event Alexander Bermudez and Jetson Lieser. Once again it would be Bermudez taking the reigns for the first half of the event, with their primary rivals once pole sitters Andres Prieto and Diego Morales jumping out to the early advantage. For Morales it was a chance at redemption, as he looked to bring home the win after doing so but coming in light at the scales back in July; teamed up with veteran karter Prieto, and his chances looked good. While their starting driver hadn’t been to CalSpeed in quite some time, he was no stranger to the track or the karts, and it was obvious he never lost a step, leading for the opening 8 circuits before ducking down pit road for his first of two required stops. With Prieto knocking out his allotment of pit stops by coming back down just a couple laps later, the next time the lead switched hands wasn’t until lap 42, when Bermudez completed his second required stop in the first hour. And while the latter was able to reel in the leader in the opening circuits, once alone it was Prieto showing the advantage, carrying an almost ten-second gap once the pit stops were finished. With his job completed, Colombian Prieto would hand off to fellow native countryman Diego Morales about the halfway point, his lead having grown to 12 seconds during the driver exchanges between the two teams. Much like in July, Morales would once again face the challenge of Jetson Lieser in the second half, but this time it was the latter’s turn to shine. Over the next hour or so the only time the lead changed hands was when pit stops were made, with Morales electing to come in for back to back stops on laps 98 and 99. Interestingly enough, when he came out of the pits he would be right on the heels of his rival, albeit a lap down. Lieser would immediately pit in an effort to shake his competitor, clicking off as many fast laps as possible before finally coming down pit road for the final time with about 30 minutes left to run. At this point, it was evident that Lieser was on the move, as he had shaved the lead down from 12 seconds to less than five, and still had enough to to get to the front. With ten minutes to play the gap was down to 1.5 seconds, the duo scything their way through traffic, several times coming close to throwing it all away, all in an effort to come out on top. It was indeed traffic that would be a huge factor, with Morales losing a full second with about eight minutes left to allow Lieser to close into attack position. Jetson would stay on his bumper for the next few laps, finally making his move for the lead with about five minutes to go. Simultaneously working traffic while trying to find a way around his opponent, Morales looked good for a shot at the front, although this got more interesting when coming up on fellow Pro Class traffic. Coming to the white flag it was Lieser, Morales and third place Tony Wika -who had just set the fastest lap of the race in their trail- with the top two putting on a show. The final lap would see move and counter move, with the bypass complex being the decider, all the while with Wika in the mix. A defensive move from Lieser would see Morales carry the run, and while Wika found his way by at the same time, the drag race to the line was on. At the line it would be Lieser by just .090 seconds after 2 hours of racing, having come back from 12 seconds down to steal away the win for himself and Bermudez in the end. Morales and Andres Prieto would settle for second, while Tony Wika brought things home third for himself and teammate Duane Lawson. Round 9 Sept 22 PRO Winn Alexander Be PRO RESULTS 1 Alexander Bermudez/ Jetson Lieser 2 Diego Morales/ Andres Prieto 3 Tony Wika/ Duane Lawson 4 Christian Franck/ Mike Lewis PRO Winn Jetson Liese