By alley - Apr 18, 2015, 4:50 PM ET

Doubleheader Majors Weekend at VIR, Day 1 report

Day one of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour at VIRginia International Raceway ran the entire day under sunny skies. The race served as Round Nine for the Southeastern Conference and was the season-opening race for the Northeastern Conference.

Drivers in each of the eight race groups, made up of 28 Runoffs-eligible classes, took to the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit for a 25-minute sprit race. Conditions were good as drivers worked to put down some fast laps while they could, as Sunday's forecast is calls for rain.

Spec Miata led the day off in a big way. With oil-dry on the course near the finish line, the opening moments saw six cars make contact just after taking the green flag. Three of those cars were able to continue the race, while three were not. The rest of the race, restarted on lap five, proved to be just as intense with a multi-car battle for the lead that included eventual race winner Dillon Machavern.

The wild nature of the Spec Miata race was a foreshadowing of what was to come later in the day. Many of the groups, including the big-bore cars of Group Five and the quicker Wings 'n Things of Group Seven, has full-course yellow flag laps that bunched up the field. In each incident the driver was fine, but the same could not be said for the car.

In the production group, Kevin Leigh put on a clinic regarding how to race at VIR. Following qualifying he was the undisputed leader in his class, clearing his closest competition by nearly two seconds. By the time the checkered flag fell on the 25-minute sprint race, Leigh ran away from the rest of the field by putting 36 seconds between himself and GT-Lite winner Robert Lentz.

The small-bore formula group featured a pair of close finishes. In Formula F, Thomas McGregor took the win over James Stiehr by a slim margin of 0.282-second. Laura Hayes sealed a win in Formula Vee over Gary Kittell. Hayes crossed the line just 0.747-second ahead of her class rival.

Sunday's races will conclude the two-race Majors event at VIRginia International Raceway. Eight 16-lap races are scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. (EDT). With a significant chance of rain forecasted, things could get interesting.

Additional information, including interviews with the winning drivers and results, on the VIR Majors can be found at SCCA.com/VIRMajors.

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ALTON, Va. - Provisional race winners for Saturday's Southeastern Conference Majors Tour Round Nine and Northeastern Conference Majors Tour Round One at VIRginia International Raceway. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car.

American Sedan: Daniel Richardson, Derwood, Md., Chevrolet Camaro
B-Spec: Mac Korince, Ridgeway, Ont., Can., Mini Cooper
Formula 1000: JR Osborne, Greenwood Village, Colo., Firman F1000
Formula 500: Michael Brent, Bethel, Conn., Invader QC-1
Formula Atlantic: Kevyan Soori, Naples, Fla., Swift 016
Formula Continental: Tim Minor, Falls Church, Va., Citation
Formula Enterprises: Reece Everard, Lake Orion, Mich., Formula Enterprises
Formula F: Thomas McGregor, Saskatoon, Sk., Can., Spectrum 014
Formula Mazda: Robert Noell, Cary, N.C., Formula Mazda
Formula Vee: Laura Hayes, Fletcher, N.C., Protoform P2
E Production: Kevin Leigh, Harrisonburg, Va., BMW Z3
F Production: Ken Kannard, East Troy, Wis., Mazda Miata
H Production: Will Perry, Sale Creek, Tenn., Honda CRX
GT-1: Michael Lewis, Poway, Calif., Jaguar XKR
GT-2: Randy Kindsland, Whittier, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette
GT-3: Ray Stephenson, Miami, Fla., Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite: Robert Lentz, Chantilly, Va., Nissan Sentra
Prototype 1: Gianpaolo Ciancimino, Coral Springs, Fla., Stohr WF1
Prototype 2: Michael Crowe, Jamestown, Ky., Stohr
Spec Miata: Dillon Machavern, Charlotte, Vt., Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford: Scott Rettich, Columbus, Ohio, SCCA SRF
Spec Racer Ford Gen3: Kerry Jacobsen, Deland, Fla., SCCA SRF Gen3
Super Touring Lite: Kevin Boehm, Marysville, Ohio, Honda Civic Si
Super Touring Under: John Schmitt., Sunbury, Ohio, Honda Civic
Touring 1: Thomas Ellis, Pompano Beach, Fla., Ford Mustang
Touring 2: Kurt Rezzetano, Phoenixville, Pa., Ford Mustang
Touring 3: Chad Gilsinger, Marysville, Ohio, Acura TL
Touring 4: Michael Scornavacchi, Matthews, N.C., Ford Mustang