SCCA Time Trials

It has been one magnificent month for the Tire Rack Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty. First there was Palmer Motorsports Park in Massachusetts for the July 4th weekend, followed by the Time Trials National Tour visit to South Haven, Michigan, and GingerMan Raceway. The capstone for July was then positioned this past weekend at Ridge Motorsports Park in gorgeous Shelton, Washington, where entrants confronted the 16-turn, 2.47-mile circuit located just 90 minutes southwest of downtown Seattle.

Global Time Attack and Lone Star Drift shared the venue with the Time Trials National Tour, which certainly added to the excitement. Several hundred spectators poured through the entry gate both Saturday and Sunday. That definitely “upped” the energy level at a circuit SCCA National Time Trials Manager John Hunter believes should be a track every driving enthusiast must visit.

“‘The Ridge’ could very well be one of the top two or three Time Trials circuits in the country,” Hunter stated. “It has an awesome blend of ‘yeehaw’ portions and technical segments. The elevation changes and the layout of corners makes the track challenging and a whole lot of fun. Plus, you’ve got nice, long straights for cars to play with power. It’s a bucket list track for sure.”

Riding The Ridge to Victory

It is astonishing that after so much time on track during a two-day Time Trials National Tour event that the difference between first- and second-place finishers can be only a couple seconds — or even less. In the Max 3 class, the margin of victory was only 0.478 second as Tom Bruck drove a 2018 Porsche 911 to victory over the 1993 Toyota MR2 of John Tritsch. Aaron Trout finished third in a 2013 Subaru BRZ.

In Sport 2, Edward Marshall wheeled a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro to victory by 1.236 seconds over the 2019 BMW M2 of Jaejun Yoo. Marshall was indeed faster during each of the three “scored” segments of the event, but the time difference was miniscule across the board. Jeff Woodbury, driving a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro, finished third in the class.

The overall win went to Unlimited 1 driver Xuanqian Wang in a 2019 McLaren 570S, which is basically a race car you’d see at some pro-level road race events. He set the fastest lap time of the weekend with a 1:43.315 around the 2.47-mile circuit, decimating the SCCA Time Trials overall lap record at the Ridge. His margin of victory was 1.076 seconds over Cody Bulkley and his 2007 Chevrolet Corvette, which participated as an Exhibition class car over the weekend.

Third overall went to Tuner 1 driver Ryan Otis in a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro. Otis, who has SCCA autocross experience, finished only 8.044 seconds off the winning time of Wang’s Unlimited 1 car. And Tom Bruck, who drove what is essentially a stock Porsche 911, put together an impressive performance to finish fourth overall.  Then it was Tritsch, another experienced SCCA autocrosser, who rounded out the top-five overall finishers.

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Additional Awards for The Ridge

The Spirit of Time Trials award went to Nichlas Crowley, who lives in Northwest Washington. Crowley reached out to Time Trials National Tour organizers over social media and simply stated he had no previous experience in motorsports, but wanted to get involved and really wanted to volunteer in any way possible during the Ridge event. He showed up, worked grid and helped with Saturday evening’s Hagerty Party, and displayed a lot of enthusiasm over the weekend. He hopes to get behind the wheel at some point, but he certainly picked a great way to learn more and get involved.

Speaking of enthusiasm, Michael Luttmer displayed a ton of such at The Ridge. A competitor in the Tuner 4 class, Luttmer consistently voices a great deal of support through social media for Time Trials National Tour and regional Time Trials events in the Northwest. For his efforts, he received Time Trials National Tour Champion recognition this past weekend.

The Breakthrough Performer award went to Jaejun Yoo. With a little bit of previous SCCA autocross and Time Trials experience, Yoo performed exceptionally over the weekend as he consistently picked up time from one session to the next on his way to a runner-up finish in class. Someone else who also showed steady improvement throughout the two days was Nissan 350Z driver Carl Tanner. For his efforts, the Tuner 3 driver was named Most Improved during Sunday’s KONI Podium Celebration after winning his class.

Then there’s the Top Novice award for Ridge Motorsports Park, which went to Garrett Cogburn who wheeled a 2005 Honda S2000 in the Sport 5 class. He threw down some top times to claim the class win by 16.324 seconds.

Wampum Time!

Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania is next on the Tire Rack Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty schedule. That event takes place August 28-29 on the fantastic 2.78-mile, 19-turn circuit that is also part of the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour. Registration for the Time Trials National Tour stop at PittRace is open now, so “get ‘er done” and sign up today!

Register Here!

Photo Courtesy of Global Time Attack