PWC: Geraci, Goulart and Washay win TC/TCA/TCB at Lime Rock

Anthony Geraci, Elivan Goulart and Travis Washay won in TC, TCA and TCB, respectively at the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Lime Rock presented by Bentley, round 6 of the 2016 Touring Car season taking place on Saturday.

From the standing start, Nick Wittmer, in the No. 91 Honda Ste-Rose Racing Honda Accord V6 Coupe, took the lead on the outside over Dennis Hanratty Jr., in the No 4 KRUGSPEED Racing/Beta Tools/OG Racing/Winmax Brakes Lotus Exige, who was passed in the esses by Anthony Geraci, in the No. 69 S.A.C. Racing European Granite & Marble Group, Inc. Mazda MX-5, while Toby Grahovec, in the No. 26 BMW M235iR for Classic BMW Motorsports ran in third.

In the TCA class, Elivan Goulart, in the No. 70, S.A.C. Racing/SCDA1.com Mazda MX-5 Cup, led early ahead of Eric Powell, in the No. 23 Tech Sport Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup.

In TCB, P.J. Groenke, in the No. 25 Tech Sport Racing, Verax.ca/Tundra/Clorox Pool & Spa/Cabano’s Comfort Food/Clairhaven, Ltd/Martinrea Intl Inc/Pelto Agri Investments/Ro-Ro Property Management Corp./Warp Speed Computers Inc. Chevrolet Sonic, led lap one over Travis Washay, in the No. 30 Indian Racing Summer MINI Cooper. Will Rodgers in the No. 65 Hale Motorsports Solvang Brewing Co/Kelly Benefit Strategies/Foundation Fighting Blindness Mazda 2, ran third.

In TC, Hanratty received a drive-through penalty for movement before the start. As Hanratty hit pit road in his Lotus, Grahovec was promoted to third and followed by John A. Weisberg, in the No 5 BERG Racing Power Brake/REDCOM/Red Line Oil/Powerflex/Mann’s/Miller/MCS Mazda MX-5, and Adam Poland, in the No. 33 Doghouse Performance Edge Addicts Mazda MX-5. In sixth was Shea Holbook, in the No. 67 Shea Racing BUBBABurger/LucasOil/KoniShockAbsorbers Honda Accord V-6 Coupe.

Early in the race the focus was on two battles for the lead, as Geraci challenged Wittmer in TC and Washay challenge Groenke in TCB with Rodgers right there in third place.

On lap four, Geraci took the point, passing Wittmer in turn one for the race lead as the leaders diced through the TCB traffic. In TCA, Goulart had built up a safe 2 second lead over Powell.

The TCB leaders continued to mix it up, with Washay leading lap eight over Rodgers and Groenke.

The TC class saw a terrific battle for second with Wittmer leading Grahovec and Poland as the three challenged one another around the seven-turn Lime Rock layout. Poland was then reported off course in turn one on lap 16, while Grahovec was able to pass Wittmer for second place.

At roughly the half-way point of the race, Powell had caught Goulart in TCA for the lead. In TCB, Washay led Rodgers by 2.8 seconds, with another 3.1 seconds back to Groenke in third. Up front, in TC, Geraci continued to lead, with 1.7 seconds back to Grahovec.

In addition, Weisberg was able to pass Wittmer for third in TC, while the TCA leaders went at it in their pair of MX-5s.

It didn’t take long for Weisberg to catch Grahovec’s BMW for second place and took the position on lap 25.

In the closing stages of the race, Geraci had a 4.5 second lead in TC while Goulart had a 3 second lead in TCA. In TCB, Rodgers had caught Washay and brought the gap down as the battle began for the class lead. The battle would culminate as Rodgers made contact with a TCA car in turn one, sending him spinning off course.

In the closing moments of the race, Weisberg had brought Geraci’s four-plus second margin down to just half a second as traffic came into player, with the two cars briefly touching managing traffic.

Geraci would hold down the lead, however, running to the checkered flag ahead of Weisberg in second and Hanratty in third place in TC ahead of Grahovec, who won the Motortrendondemand.com Clean Pass of the Race. Weisberg scored the Cadillac Best Move of the Race with his pass for second.

In TCA, Goulart took the victory with Powell in second.

TCB saw Washay scored the class win as Rodgers and Groenke completed the podium. Rodgers scored the VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Awards as well the Optima Best Start Award.

Touring Car class action from Lime Rock Park will air on CBS Sports Network Thursday June 9 at 9:00p.m. Eastern. Pirelli World Challenge next heads to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and Road America, June 23-26.

Results from Saturday, May 28, 2016 Pirelli World Challenge Championship TC-TCA-TCB Race Round 6, part of the Lime Rock Grand Prix Presented by Bentley.
Pos. PIC, Class, Name, Hometown, Car, Laps
1. 1, TC, Anthony Geraci, Glen Head NY, Mazda MX-5, 41
2. 2, TC, John A. Weisberg, Webster NY, Mazda MX-5, 41
3. 3, TC, Dennis Hanratty, Mechanicsburg PA, Lotus Exige, 41
4. 4, TC, Toby Grahovec, Little Elm TX, BMW M235iR, 41
5. 5, TC, Daniel Moen, Rindge NH, Mazda MX-5, 40
6. 6, TC, J.W. Roberts, Dallas TX, BMW M235iR, 40
7. 7, TC, Nick Wittmer, Montreal Canada, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 40
8. 1, TCA, Elivan Goulart, Shelton CT, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 40
9. 2, TCA, Eric Powell, Orlando FL, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 39
10. 8, TC, Dinah Weisberg, Webster NY, Mazda MX-5, 39
11. 3, TCA, Kevin Anderson, Huntington NY, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 39
12. 4, TCA, Spencer Patterson, Pittsburgh PA, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 39
13. 5, TCA, Kris Wright, Pittsburgh PA, Kia Forte Koup, 38
14. 6, TCA, Matthew Fassnacht, Madison NJ, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 37
15. 1, TCB, Travis Washay, Milford CT, MINI Cooper, 36
16. 2, TCB, Will Rodgers, Murrieta CA, Mazda 2, 36
17. 3, TCB, P.J. Groenke, Richmond Hill ON, Chevrolet Sonic, 36
18. 4, TCB, Henry Morse, Redondo Beach CA, Mazda 2, 36
19. 5, TCB, Jasper Drengler, Shawano WI, Honda Fit, 36
20. 6, TCB, Zack Kelly, Milford MA, Chevrolet Sonic, 36
21. 9, TC, Shea Holbrook, Orlando FL, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 33
22. 10, TC, Adam Poland, Ft. Worth TX, Mazda MX-5, 14
23. 11, TC, Tony Rivera, Vista CA, Nissan 370Z, 3
24. 12, TC, Randy Hale, Haddam CT, Mazda MX-5, 0
25. 7, TCA, Johan Schwartz, Hunterville NC, Honda Civic SI, 0
26. 13, TC, Patrick Gallagher, Thornville OH, Mazda MX-5, 0
27. 8, TCA, Joey Bickers, Moorpark CA, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 0
28. 9, TCA, Jonathan Goring, Norfolk CT, Mazda MX-5 Cup, 0
29. 14, TC, Jason Fichter, Jupiter FL, Honda Accord V-6 Coupe, 0