Sixth season of Apex Challenge series kicks off with surprise rookie wins

On Oct. 26 the curtain was raised on the 6th Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge season at Apex Motor Club. If you noticed a bit of dust, that’s the new circuit and clubhouse being built. Arizona’s premier motorsports club soon will be featuring a new multi-configuration circuit that’s expanding from 2.27 miles to an incredible 4.76 miles.

The other dust came from 36 entries across 4 races that all experienced the tightest times and competition since the series launched in 2019. Radical gold and silver groups -- all 1340 model SR3s -- run together as one and the top 10 qualifiers were separated by a mere 1.8 seconds.

Evan Wolf started seventh overall out of 15 cars and first in the Radical silver class, marking his first career pole position. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue on the opening lap of the race left the up-and-coming Alaskan on the sidelines to witness an equally impressive outcome: a podium sweep by three drivers in their first-ever Radical races. In order, that was Ryan Fisher, Jason Dyer and Niko Kourouglos.

"It was a battle. There's some really fast drivers out there. I had a lot of confidence in the car going into the race," said Fisher. "Crown Concepts did a really good job of setting up the car for my driving style, so when the race happened I could focus on the race craft as opposed to thinking about the car and what it is going to do."

In the Radical gold class, 4-time champion Chris McMurry nipped Seth Bacon by 0.128s in qualifying, who was ahead of Jace Bacon by even smaller 0.088s margin. Jace got by his father on the first lap and the three held position for 20 minutes. On the restart the younger Bacon nipped early at the heels of McMurry, who gradually pulled away for a 1.2s win. Ralph Gilles completed the podium, his second straight dating back to last season.

In the GT race, another newcomer stole the show: Brannan Hankins. Hankins started fourth in the Porsche Cup class. His early lap patience paid off, picking up spots on the small errors of others. Once at the front, Hankin’s clean-air pace -- which included the fastest lap -- proved too much for his fellow podium finishers Chris Hansen and pole-sitter Ralf Ludwig.

"I think everyone saw that it was a little hairy going two-wide through Turn 12. Once we got clear, I just tried to get into a rhythm and not make any mistakes -- forget about your rearview mirrors and just drive," said Hankins.

Elsewhere in GT, the GT4 race finished with Audi R8-runners Joey and Joe Rainey one and two, just as they started. The Aston Martin of Matt Williams got by Scott Dehlendorf, only to have to give the spot back due to a pass under yellow. Williams would retake the position later, closing the gap to the elder Rainey to 2.2s.

Race day also welcomed, for the first time, the Mazda MX-5 Cup to the main event. The growing field included first-time Miata racers Tayne Griffin and Greg Coury. Coury found a groove late in the race, but it was Jessica Rainey who finished the job she started by taking the pole and leading from the green flag to the checker flag. It was Jessica's third MX-5 Cup victory at Apex, and the podium was a Rainey family reunion with brothers Joey and Jacob alongside.

Time Attack rounded out the day and Star Sawalqah captured her second win at Apex, this time in the Street Car category.

Round 2 of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge series presented by Coffin & Trout is up next on Nov. 16. If you’re interested in becoming an Apex member and racer and getting involved, please email info@apexmotorclub.com.

Here’s a look at the early season standings:

Radical Gold

25 - Chris McMurry

20 - Jace Bacon

16 - Ralph Gilles

13 - Andy Voelkel

11 - Jason Plotke

Radical Silver

25 - Ryan Fisher

20 - Jason Dyer

16 - Nico Kourouglos

13 - Rick Anderson

11 - Carl Frerickson

Porsche Cup

25 - Brannan Hankins

20 - Chris Hanson

16 - Ralf Ludwig

13 - Jordan Darling

GT4

25 - Joey Rainey

20 - Joe Rainey

16 - Matt Williams

13 - Scott Dehlendorf

Mazda Miata

25 - Jessica Rainey

20 - Joey Rainey

16 - Jacob Rainey

13 - Joe Rainey

11 - Tayne Griffin

Time Attack Street Car

25 - Star Sawalqah

20 - Jordan Sawalqah

16 - Brett Voelkel

13 - Kent Kirimli