Track records fall at Willow Springs during SCCA Majors Tour

ABOVE: Clement Lee (#33), Dean Busk (#7) and Steven Powers (#145) fought hard for the Spec Miata win Saturday during the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour.

Powers emerged the victor. Photo credit: Dennis Baer

It was a little chilly when the day began, but both the temperature and racing heated up in the afternoon during Round 3 of the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour taking place at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California.

The overriding theme of the day was broken track records. In all, there were 12 classes where new high marks were set including Prototype 1 (Jim Devenport), Prototype 2 (Jeff Shafer), Formula Mazda (Austen Charles), Formula Continental (Timothy de Silva), Formula 1000 (Gary Hickman), Super Touring Lite (Andrie Hartanto), Touring 3 and Touring 4 (Tom Wickersham), Formula F (Edward Erlandson), Touring 1 (Ross Murray), GT-2 (Robert Kahn) and Spec Miata (Clement Lee).There was also plenty of action throughout the day's seven races. In Group 3, which consisted of seven different car classes, Joe Huffaker in his F Production MG Midget and Brian Linn in a GT-Lite MG Midget ran one and two early on. But before the race's halfway point, Wayne Graham in an E Production Mazda RX3 got a fantastic run out of Turn 9 and blew by Huffaker and Linn. Soon after, Andrie Hortanto's Super Touring Lite Acura Integra and Oscar Jackson's Super Touring Lite Honda CRX Si were in hot pursuit. Graham, Hortanto and Jackson put on a great show the last half of the race. And even though Graham emerged the overall Group 3 victor, all three drivers slid from their cars with giant smiles."I got a good holeshot coming out of Turn 9 and just blew by people," Graham said after the race. "But then they came after me in the corners."As predicted, the Spec Miata class put on a pretty great show, too. Dean Busk, Steven Powers and Clement Lee put a gap on the rest of the field early on. And then the three swapped positions for a dozen laps. It was Powers that came through a cloud of dust in Turn 9, resulting for another competitor's off-course excursion, to cross the finish line first."This feels great. It's incredible," Powers said. "Eighth to third on the first lap made me real happy."Round Four of the Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour continues on Sunday at Willow Springs with 35-minute races beginning at 10:30am PST. More information can be found at SCCA.com/majors.

ROSAMOND, Calif. – Provisional race winners from Saturday's Round Three of the SCCA Western Conference U.S. Majors Tour at Willow Springs International Raceway, with Class: Name, Hometown and Car.American Sedan: Christopher Qualls, W. Los Angeles, Calif., Ford MustangB-Spec: Calvin Tam, Long Beach, Calif., Honda FitE Production: Wayne Graham, Santa Barbara, Calif., Mazda RX3F Production: Joe Huffaker, Petaluma, Calif., MG MidgetH Production: Jason Isley, Cota de Caza, Calif., Toyota YarisFormula 1000: Gary Hickman, Santee, Calif., Phoenix F1000Formula Atlantic: Ed Lever, Bakersfield, Calif., Swift 014aFormula Continental: Timothy de Silva, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Van Diemen FCFormula Enterprises: Jeff Read, Vacaville, Calif., Van Diemen FSCCAFormula F: Chuck Horn, Los Gatos, Calif., Swift DB6/HondaFormula Mazda: Austen Charles, Newhall, Calif., Formula MazdaFormula Vee: Mark Edwards, Los Angeles, Calif., GlamdringGT-1: Michael Lewis, Poway, Calif., Jaguar XKRGT-2: Dylan Doherty, Fallbrook, Calif., Porsche 997 GT3 CUPGT-3: Wolfgang Maike, Santa Barbara, Calif., Toyota PaseoGT-Lite: Brian Linn, Hermosa Beach, Calif., MG MidgetPrototype 1: Jim Devenport, Modesto, Calif., Norma M20FCPrototype 2: Jeff Shafer, Las Vegas, Nev., Radical SR3Spec Miata: Steven Powers, Mesa, Ariz., Mazda MiataSpec Racer Ford Gen 3: Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, Calif., Spec Racer FordSpec Racer Ford: Jake Pipal, Oakdale, Calif., Spec Racer FordSuper Touring Lite: Andrie Hartanto, Concord, Calif., Acura IntegraSuper Touring Under: Oscar Jackson, Chino, Calif., Scion FR-STouring 1: Ross Murray, Marina Del Ray, Calif., Dodge ViperTouring 2: Guy Dreier, Indian Wells, Calif., Ford Mustang GTTouring 3: Tom Wickersham, Piedmont, Calif., Ford MustangTouring 4: Tom Wickersham, Piedmont, Calif., Mazda RX-8