The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series held three races at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina on the weekend of September 11th-13th, hosted by the Tarheel Chapter. It was a great weekend of clean racing for those that competed.
There were three races over the CMP weekend, with two sprint races and a feature race. There were 21 entries spread among seven classes, with the highest number of cars in SpecE46 (nine) and SpecE36 (six). There were four cars that only had one car per class, and one class that had only two cars, but that led to good mixed racing among the various classes, in tricky track conditions.
Sri Haputantri won all three races overall.
The weather was dry over the weekend but very warm, which led to high track temperatures and slippery conditions. The best lap times were well off what they’ve been there in the past, but there were three caution-free races, though also a few “offs” due to the slick surface.
Shaun McKenzie scored his first pole position for the feature race and was second overall in all three races in his C-Modified E46 M3.
Sripathi Haputantri was the only entry in the PWR4 class with his E36 M3, but he ended up winning all three races overall. Shaun McKenzie was likewise the only entry in the C-Modified class with his E46 M3 but started on the pole for the feature race (his first) and was on the overall podium in all three races. The two M2 Spec drivers were second overall in all three races, with Mark Lightfoot in second in the first sprint and the feature and Michael Kerner in second in the final sprint race.
Mark Lightfoot won two of three M2 Spec races and finished second overall in the first two race.
Some of the best racing of the weekend took place in the SpecE46 and SpecE36 classes. “It was a great weekend for our Spec racers, both SpecE46 and SpecE36,” said Shaun McKenzie. “The SpecE36 folks are perennial there and they enjoy that track. That’s their stomping grounds.” Tom Tice took the SpecE36 win in the first sprint race in his 328i, while John Wilkins won the final two SpecE36 races in his 325i. Sam Nixon and Harry Meyer were also on the SpecE36 podium, finishing second and third in race one. Nixon finished third in the feature and Meyer finished third in the final race.
Tom Tice won the first race in SpecE36 and was second in the final two races.
The SpecE46 group had the largest number of entries but the same two drivers finished one-two in all three races, with John Park taking three wins in his 330ci and Stephen Parker finishing second in his 330i. MP Spierer finished third in class in the first two races in his 330i, while Michael Rohrbaugh finished third in the final race in his 330ci. “There was some good competition among the SpecE46 crowd,” said John Park. “It was a smaller group this weekend, so I think that’s part of the reason that we had such clean racing. The high temperatures led to a very slick track, which made it very challenging to get the power down. Being patient and gentle with throttle application was necessary for optimal lap times under these conditions.”
John Wilkins won two of the three races in SpecE36.
SpecE46 cars also finished fourth and fifth overall in race one and in the top seven in the final two races. “CMP is fun to drive,” said Park. “The SpecE46 car naturally has some slip to it, and you have to be comfortable with the car being loose at times and driving the car with the throttle. With CMP being a flat course but with low, medium and high-speed turns, it’s a really fun track to drive in a SpecE46 car.” Other class winners in single-entry classes included Jeff Traenkner in I Sport in his E36 M3 and Stephen Grayson in PWR2 in his E36 328is. Grayson finished in the top six overall in all three races, with a best finish of fourth overall in the final race.
John Park won all three SpecE46 races and was in fourth, sixth and fifth overall.
The Spirit of Club Racing award for the CMP weekend was given to Jack Sugameli, a member of the Sandlapper Chapter, who has been the driving force behind bringing club racing to CMP. Jack was also driving the safety car for the CMP weekend. “A big thank you to all the club racers and staff the presented me with the Spirit of Club Racing flag,” said Sugameli. “It is a huge honor and a meaningful award. Seeing all of you with big smiles made all of the work worth it.”
Jack Sugameli (left) was awarded the Spirit of Club Racing flag by Mike Hinkley (right) and Steve Whitcomb (middle).
Scott Reiman was the Competition Steward at CMP, and tech was handled by Mike Hinkley and Steve Whitcomb. Larry Fletcher took care of the timing. The next Tire Race BMW CCA Club Racing weekend will be at Watkins Glen this weekend (September 25th-27th), and there are currently 84 entries among 11 classes, led by SpecE46 with 24 entries and PWR3 with 17 entries.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy David Williams]
