Langford, B.C., January 16, 2011
Twenty-five hardy drivers took the green flag for two hours or two hundred laps of racing whichever came first on a rain soaked afternoon in the Steve Copp Sponsored winter Series for Hornet cars. Alex Atkinson and Jake Spring held the front row with Atkinson leading the first two laps, Spring leading lap three, and Howie Mace taking the lead on lap four. Behind him, Darren Yates and Marc Parkinson, driving the 09 car, moved up to run second and third respectively on the next lap. Over the next few laps the lead changed often with Yates, Mace, Steve Copp, taking turns in the lead. Cody Aumen moved up into the fourth position on lap twelve while Caleb Van Bree followed him through to run fifth. Copp took over the lead on lap eighteen followed closely by Mace, Yates, Aumen, with Darrell Midgley moving up to run fifth on lap twenty-nine. On lap thirty-eight, Mace took the lead again with Yates taking the second spot followed by Aumen with Copp dropping back to fourth. On lap forty-four, Yates grabbed the lead while Mace, Copp, and Aumen battled for position behind him The lead was short lived as Mace regained the lead two laps later as Yates entered the pits and his day finished. Mace led until he was passed by Copp on lap fifty-three with Aumen holding the third spot followed by Midgley and Doug Hopwood now running fifth.
On lap sixty-seven Aumen took over the lead followed by Copp, Midgley, and Mace dropping back to fourth. That lead didn't last too long as Copp moved back to take the lead on lap seventy. Mace passed Midgley on lap seventy-two while Hopwood followed him through to run fourth dropping Midgley back to fifth. On lap seventy-seven Midgley entered the pits ending his day giving that position to Glen Rand. Over the next several laps Aumen, Mace, Hopwood, and Rand chased Copp until Mace passed Aumen for second on lap ninety-eight. Rand took over the fourth spot with Jason Frost moving up to run fifth. On lap one hundred and five, Mace again got around Copp for the lead while Aumen continued to hold the third spot ahead of Rand and Frost. Over the next several laps it seemed at some points the front runners were close but at times the leader was able to run up a big lead that only lasted for just a few laps as the field again bunched up. As time was becoming a factor, Mace built up a pretty good lead up front with Copp still running second and Aumen running third until he dropped back on lap one forty-eight. Rand took over the third spot followed by Frost and Aumen now running fifth.
On lap one hundred fifty-eight the two hour time limit ran out and Howie Mace drove away with the win followed by Copp, the only other car in the field, on the same lap.Glen Rand, Jason Frost, and Cody Aumen rounded out the top five positions. Pretty well the whole afternoon saw the race run mostly in rain while sometimes heavy followed by light rain and even the sun peeking through however briefly as these drivers chased the rainbow. Considering the conditions, the speed was fast with no serious crashes and only a few caution flags for broken cars. The Hornet drivers have been a dedicated lot and today was no different given the conditions. The top five drivers traded positions on a regular basis throughout the event and it was only the last several laps that Mace was able to run up a big lead.
Twenty-five hardy drivers took the green flag for two hours or two hundred laps of racing whichever came first on a rain soaked afternoon in the Steve Copp Sponsored winter Series for Hornet cars. Alex Atkinson and Jake Spring held the front row with Atkinson leading the first two laps, Spring leading lap three, and Howie Mace taking the lead on lap four. Behind him, Darren Yates and Marc Parkinson, driving the 09 car, moved up to run second and third respectively on the next lap. Over the next few laps the lead changed often with Yates, Mace, Steve Copp, taking turns in the lead. Cody Aumen moved up into the fourth position on lap twelve while Caleb Van Bree followed him through to run fifth. Copp took over the lead on lap eighteen followed closely by Mace, Yates, Aumen, with Darrell Midgley moving up to run fifth on lap twenty-nine. On lap thirty-eight, Mace took the lead again with Yates taking the second spot followed by Aumen with Copp dropping back to fourth. On lap forty-four, Yates grabbed the lead while Mace, Copp, and Aumen battled for position behind him The lead was short lived as Mace regained the lead two laps later as Yates entered the pits and his day finished. Mace led until he was passed by Copp on lap fifty-three with Aumen holding the third spot followed by Midgley and Doug Hopwood now running fifth.
The next scheduled event will be held on February sixth with only three races left in the winter Series winding up on March 20th.