SCCA Time Trials

It was a wonderful April 15-16, 2023, weekend in Willows, CA, as absolutely lovely weather greeted the entrants who came together at Thunderhill Raceway Park for the second Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty (TTNT) event of the year.

The sky was a beautiful blue with only some wispy clouds to be found, and temperatures peaked in the upper 70s around the two-mile, 10-turn Thunderhill West layout used over the weekend. The surrounding hills were green with snow-capped mountains visible in the distance, and smiles were in abundance at the event hosted by SCCA’s Reno Region.

Sharing the course Saturday afternoon was a nearly sold-out Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack (TNiA) event, and the other portion of Thunderhill’s enormous venue hosted an SCCA San Francisco Region road race. No matter where you looked, everyone was playing with cars.

Record-Setting Weekend

It was 2019 when TTNT last visited Thunderhill, which also happened to be TTNT’s very first year of existence. Lots of development has happened since then in terms of car prep and driver skill. Combine that fact with perfect weather conditions, and it’s no surprise that a number of new lap records were either established or reset over the two days.

In Max 4, Tony Rodriguez set a new mark of 1:21.014 driving a 2004 Honda S2000. That’s the same car he set the Tuner 4 lap record with back in 2019, a record that still stands. Rodriguez has developed the car since then and moved to another class, but now the chassis technically holds two TTNT lap records at Thunderhill.

Speaking of Tuner 4, that class produced the closest finish after two days of competition. Skyler Burton bested Alex Shen by only 2.06sec, with both drivers wielding Honda S2000s in a field with eight entrants – which happened to be the largest class at the event.

Track records reset this weekend include Max 1 where Anthony Pelayo turned a 1:22.427 in a 2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Max 3 where Tom Bruck produced a 1:23.988 in a 2018 Porsche GT3, Sport 5 where Taylour Wargo earned a 1:26.782 in a 2015 Scion FR-S (that will also make an appearance at an upcoming Solo event taking place at Crows Landing in California), Sport 6 where Sam Strano posted a 1:29.593 in a 2004 Mazda RX-8, Tuner 3 where Eric Shin turned a 1:24.052 in a 1985 Honda Civic, and Tuner 5 where Ahren Renner produced a 1:28.940 in a 1985 Toyota Corolla. Unlimited 2 also saw a record reset when Andrew Maffessanti put down a lap of 1:23.129 in a 1992 Mazda Miata.

It should be noted that the overall TTNT lap record for Thunderhill did not fall during the weekend. That record is still a 1:19.680 owned by Unlimited 1 driver Cory Davis in a 2005 Subaru Impreza. Steven Case gave it a shot, though, laying down a 1:20.695 lap in his Tuner 2-class 2019 Tesla Model 3 – he set both the fastest time of the event and the Tuner 2 lap record.

Below are the overall top five finishers from Thunderhill with name, class, car, and overall time produced from three clocked segment sessions during competition.

1. Steven Case, Tuner 2, 2019 Tesla Model 3, 4:03.443
2. Tony Rodriguez, Max 4, 2004 Honda S2000, 4:04.273
3. Anthony Pelayo, Max 1, 2017 Chevrolet Corvette, 4:08.948
4. Carrie Willhoff, Unlimited 1, 2006 Chevrolet Corvette, 4:10.082
5. Andrew Maffessanti, Unlimited 2, 1992 Mazda Miata, 4:12.289

 Event Results

Additional Thunderhill Awards

KONI Podium Celebrations that close each TTNT event are a chance to applaud top performers, and also an opportunity to hand out some special recognition. For instance, Sport 6 driver Shelly Monfort took home the Most Improved Driver honor.

Monfort is a very successful autocrosser who also has some road racing experience. She showed up at Thunderhill to share a ride with Sam Strano in a recently purchased Mazda RX-8. The duo was sorting out the car all weekend, but Monfort still managed to improve her performance each and every session on course.

The Spirit of Time Trials honor went to Tuner 4’s Grey Lunk. Prior to the weekend, Lunk had only a half-dozen track days under his belt. But he came to Thunderhill ready to have fun – a goal he nailed. An ear-to-ear grin was on his face the entire time, and his enthusiasm was felt throughout the paddock.

A few new superlative awards were also handed out at Thunderhill. First, the Fastest Big Bore Award went to Anthony Pelayo, who drove his Corvette to a third-place finish overall. The Fastest Small Bore Award was received by Andrew Maffessanti, who finished fifth overall in a Miata after spending a portion of the weekend serving as driver coach to some TTNT and TNiA attendees.

Then there was the Fastest Honda S2000 Honor. At Thunderhill, nearly a dozen drivers were in S2000s. Tony Rodriguez was fastest, but he was also the ambassador who brought a lot of other S2000 drivers with him to the event. So, he politely removed himself from contention for this particular award, which instead went to Alex Shen.

Crucial Stop in Bowling Green Next for TTNT

Next on the TTNT calendar for 2023 is a May 6-7 visit to Bowling Green, KY, and NCM Motorsports Park. It’s an amazing circuit, and a destination track for many Time Trials diehards. Plus, it’s also the site of the 2023 Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty in October.

This will again be a popular stop on TTNT’s schedule as many drivers use May’s visit to the facility as a way to prep for the big event in October. Registration for the upcoming TTNT event is open, so click the link below for more information and get signed up today.

 NCM TTNT Registration

Photo caption: Andrew Maffessanti drove his Unlimited 2 Mazda Miata to the class win while also setting a new track record.
Photo by Dito Milian