2019CalSpeedMagazineOctober

T he Season Finale for the 2019 CalSpeed IronMan Series would take on the Tecnico course for the second time on the year, with both the Overall and Summer Series hardware hanging in the balance… The front few drivers leading the field away at the green would consist of sport karting veterans Alexander Bermudez, Bill Kreig and Diego Morales, with Morales taking control after just a couple of circuits. The trio continued to work together in a train for the next several laps, before they came across lapped traffic for the first time on lap 10. Seizing the opportunity, Sean Fite moved into the second spot, having worked his way up from the 11th starting spot. Fite had entered the day on the outside looking in by just 2 points, and wanted to get inside the hardware with a good result. On lap 21 the lead was his, taking over for long-time leader Morales, and he never looked back. Fite went on to win the race, leading the most laps in the process to score enough points to jump back onto the overall podium. And while things pretty much went all Fite’s way at the sharp end, the battle for the Summer Series title raged all race long between Paulo Franca, Alyssa Yauney and Jose da Silva. Unfortunately for da Silva, a combination of tough luck and some on track issues would not only squash his chances at the sub-championship, but also end up knocking him off the overall podium as well. Instead, it was a dual between Franca and Yauney, the pair tied in the Summer Standings heading in, while Franca all but secure the overall title with da Silva’s misfortune. The title contenders started 18th and 19th respectively, and for the early part of the race it was Yauney leading Franca as they worked through the field. The latter made his move on lap 25, essentially taking the provisional title, as it would come down to whoever finished in front of the other. At the first pit stop the roles would reverse however, and Yauney stole back the spot, and with it her shot at the Summer Championship. The pair would again stay in lock-step as they worked their way back towards the front for the next handful of laps, until lapped traffic played a role in the outcome. The result would be a 2 second gap between the battling pair, a deficit Franca would never be able to overcome. As the laps ticked away, Yauney would emerge P3 on the day and winner of the Summer Championship, with Franca settling for 5th in the end, albeit enough to secure the overall championship. For his part, Michael Hazlewood drove a stellar race from the 9th spot on the grid to claim the second step on the podium, his second piece of hardware in the past three rounds. Round 10 - Nov 2