Severe storms make Infineon Raceway even more difficult than usual
Battling the elements and their fellow competitors, World Speed Motorsports drivers Dave House, Larry Schnur and Stan Kohls all recorded podium finishes in the season opening double-header of the 2009 MOLECULE Formula Mazda Challenge at Infineon Raceway this past weekend.
Winter storms, which had been absent for most of the season, making it one of the driest winters on record for Northern California, swept across the region dumping heavy rain that presented a challenge for the drivers as they took to the track for the first time in 2009.
“Weather usually isn’t something worth mentioning here as a factor in racing as the conditions are usually ideal but this weekend was far from it and I’m pleased that our drivers were able to capture podium results in these conditions,” commented World Speed Operations Manager Mark Milazzo. “I also have to commend the crew for their efforts under the circumstances. It was a challenging weekend and they performed exceptionally well.”
Tire choice would be the deciding factor of the opening round of the championship as drivers were faced with a damp track but sunny skies over the Infineon Raceway circuit. Team drivers Max Maxedon and Paul LaHaye would take a gamble and run the event on rain tires while House, Schnur, Kohls, and Sean Prewett would elect to run slicks on the quickly drying circuit. On the opening laps it appeared that the rain tire gamble would pay off as front row starter Michael Guasch had his race cut short when he hit a weeper in turn eight that sent him off course and then a brief shower soaked the track again. Prewett the 2008 SFR FA Champion said, “Max and Paul blew by us like we were standing still when the track conditions got wet.”
The conditions quickly reversed and Maxedon and LaHaye, who had worked their way up to second and third respectively and had been reeling in pole-sitter Chuck Hulse, saw their advantage disappear and came under attack by House, Schnur and then Kohls. House and Schnur would join Hulse on the podium while Kohls would set the fastest lap of the race. Afterward LaHaye commented, “Max and I almost made the right decision staying on rains and it looked good for awhile. That was a fun race for all of us, and we’re here to have fun.”
Monsoon conditions greeted the participants as they arrived at the track on Sunday for the second round of the weekend and the decision was made to change the scheduled qualifying session into a practice and arrange the starting grid based on points. As the rain continued to fall the World Speed mechanics took to adding additional grooves to the rain tires to handle the soggy circuit and the series announced that the track would be modified for the race to eliminate the turn 11 hairpin which was now underwater.
“In all my time here at Infineon Raceway I don’t think I have seen a rain that heavy,” commented World Speed owner Telo Stewart. “If it had come down any harder we might’ve had to fit rudders to the cars.”
The opening laps of the race added to the drama as House, lined up second on the grid, spun on the pace lap as the field trailed the NASA Mazda3 pace car and Kohls would complete a 360 degree spin in turn six on the opening lap and gather the car up without losing a position. Hulse would capture his second win of the weekend while Kohls would finish second and House, fighting his way from the back after his spin, would capture his second podium finish of the weekend.
“That wasn’t the way I wanted to start the race but all things considered I’m happy to be back on the podium,” explained House. “The conditions were tricky all weekend so to come away with podium finishes is awesome. I want to thank the World Speed crew for all their work out in the elements and my Standing Start coach Grant Ryley for his insights with racing in these conditions. Hopefully the weather in March is much better.