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It was not the smoothest start for the guys, as iRacing technical issues forced Elia out of the race. We quickly had to create a new team, which allowed the 11Tenths team to compete, but this meant that Mark Baxter-Jones and Colin Wynn would have their work cut out to complete the entire race without their third driver.
Despite the unfortunate start, Mark Baxter-Jones took the class pole position with only half a tenth spare. He also started the race from a rolling start and kept it in 1st place despite avoiding action on the opening laps. The top three drivers were trading tenths for their entire first stint until the race director called the safety car one lap before our scheduled stop.
We dropped back to third after the pit stops and yet another safety car; Wynn kept it very clean throughout his stint, scoring no incidents points and keeping a very consistent average lap time. We chose to take tyres for Mark’s next stint, which paid off as he was able to shave 2 to 4 seconds a lap from the car in front to then take 2nd place.
Baxter-Jones continued in the car for the final stint to minimise any time lost as we were only 12 seconds in front of the team third. The race was long from over yet, but Mark managed to keep the gap consistent, and the end was in sight for a 2nd place finish until the penultimate lap! We were running on fumes and had to pit for a splash of fuel which ultimately lost us 2nd place.
A podium finish is still a superb result for the team’s debut endurance race. A considerable amount of experience gained which we’ll use going into the next race, the Peach State 500 at Road Atlanta on the 1st of May.
Race Results
