With two crews stepping up to the topflight of SRO America racing for the first time, you wouldn’t ever expect much more than perhaps consistency and a decent learning curve as both crews amateur drivers looked for guidance and inspiration first time out from their respective pro drivers.
Again, it would be too easy to sit back and perhaps criticise the apparent inconsistencies within the series Balance of Performance criteria between the competing chassis in class that apparently allowed amateur drivers in one or two platforms to simple drive away from the pro drivers in another, but we have learned that there are simply too many variables for that to actually happen.
This time around Jason Bell would be joining his driver coach Michael Cooper for the season aboard his #2 Racers Edge prepared AMR whilst Gray Newell would be stepping to full time GT3 racing in America alongside AMR factory driver Darren Turner and their #26 Heart of Racing entry.
Racing two, ninety minute and compulsory pit stop punctuated races, the qualifying positions were determined earlier on Saturday but with Q2 being red flagged curtailed that stopped several cars (including the #2) from posting no time at all and with the #26 car being listed with a time equivalent to determine what turned out to be their lowly race two starting positions.
For race one, both Ams started the two Aston Martins with Newell starting from P9 and Bell from P14, but Newell lost most of that early advantage going wide on the opening lap before being mugged for positions as he recovered. The two Astons would then interchange positions as their opening stint passed by but within their Pro-Am class, their lead competitors were already making an escape way up front to them.
Pitting from P13 and P14, the Racers Edge went according to plan as Cooper made for a quick exit on new rubber but for the Heart of Racing team, something went wrong with their wheel gun air system that only allowed them to change one tyre before being forced to send to Turner back out on otherwise used rubber.
Whilst others would struggle double stinting tyres, Turner would be outwardly nonplussed about the situation losing and then gaining back places as the race unfolded. Despite everything, the #2 Racers Edge would finish race one P10 overall/P6 in Pro-Am with the HoRT finishing just behind P12 overall/P8 in class.
Race two was a different affair as they still picked up the remnants of the earlier rain but with the pro drivers starting most of the cars this time around there was at least a little more control of the situation on track with all the cars on slicks for the start.
For Turner, his second time around the Sonoma racetrack was certainly a bumpy one as nobody gave him any room with many encouraging him to move on or move out the way but pushing his car in that direction. Cooper meanwhile was having none of that as he did the encouragement as he moved up to P11 overall with Turner down to P14 before Turner eventually settled in and retook position from Cooper.
Pitting from P8 overall at the time, this time there were no errors from the Heart of Racing team, but Cooper left it to nearly the very last second before entering pit lane to allow Bell to coming out P10 overall whilst Newell was further back in P15.
Despite a brief Safety Car intervention for a Ferrari stranded in the tyre wall belt at the final hairpin corner, the natural positions of both Aston Martin Am drivers would pan out across their forty-five-minute stint with Bell eventually dropping back and getting passed by Newell to earn them P11 and P12 finishing positions in class at the end.
Next time out for the series with be from CoTA in a months’ time.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media