[h=2]SCCA: Norman wins Formula Atlantic title[/h] Sunday, 25 September 2016
Above: Ryan Norman won Sunday’s Formula Atlantic race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Credit: Jay Bonvouloir
Ryan Norman, of Aurora, Ohio, scored a flag-to-flag victory in Sunday's Formula Atlantic race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, capping a record-setting week with his first National Championship and a Super Sweep at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Starting from the Tire Rack pole in his No. 48 K-Hill Motorsports/Hoosier/Mazda Swift 016a Mazda, Norman jumped to the lead at the race start and was never challenged throughout the 23-lap race.
Keith Grant, of Germantown, Tennessee, finished second in the No. 40 Mazda/Hoosier/Polestar Swift 016a Mazda. Spencer Brockman, of Westport, Connecticut, finished third in his No. 34 Mazda of Milford Swift 014a Mazda and won the Sunoco Hard Charger Award.
Morning temperatures in the low 50-degree range made for a damp Mid-Ohio circuit for the Atlantic race, which went green at 8:30 a.m.
"On the out lap I tried to get my tires up to temperature, but that really didn't do anything," Norman said. "The first five or six laps were really sketchy, I got a few seconds gap on Keith, and halfway through the race we started to plateau, running the same times, and it was pretty steady from there. It feels great to win our first National Championship."
The National Championship was the crowning touch on a great week for Norman at Mid-Ohio. He repeatedly set new track records earlier this week in qualifying, culminating with a Thursday time of 1:14.920 around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn course that is the quickest all-time lap for any SCCA class at Mid-Ohio. Norman broke Graham Rahal's 2005 Formula Atlantic record by a full 1.68 seconds.
Grant took control of second at the race start but was never able to mount a charge on Norman.
"It was really a wet track the first few laps," Grant said. "Mid-Ohio is notorious for that in recent years, early in the morning first time out each day, and it was pretty slick. It was our first time out this early in the morning. Ryan did a good job today, I tried to stay with him but just couldn't."
Brockman battled with Brian Novak for third for most of the race, taking the position for good on lap 10 with an inside pass at the end of the back straight.
"I feel pretty happy," Brockman said. "The whole week I have been third but Novak clipped me on the final day by a few tenths of a second in qualifying, but I was still pretty happy with fourth. I got a good start and after that, deeper braking into the Keyhole, I came out and had a really good draft. I went down to the inside, a simple, clean pass with no contact, and I held it from there."
Novak was fourth in the No. 75 Honda Performance/Hoosier Swift 014a Honda, and Dwight Rider completed the top five in the No. 10 Ralt RT41 Toyota.
The 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America's Club Racing National Champions this year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, from Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25.
- Click here to stream the live broadcasts of the 53rd running of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB until 6 p.m. ET.
While the live broadcast of all 28 National Championships is available at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
Provisional results for Sunday's Formula Atlantic race at the 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (1), Ryan Norman, Aurora, OH, Swift 016a Mazda, 23.
2, (2), Keith Grant, Germantown, TN, Swift 016a Mazda, 23.
3, (4), Spencer Brockman, Westport, CT, Swift 014a Mazda, 22.
4, (3), Brian Novak, Dearborn, MI, Swift 014a Honda, 22.
5, (5), Dwight Rider, Aurora, CO, Ralt RT41 Toyota, 22.
Length of Race: 52 miles
Overall Time of Race: 31:56.227
Average Speed: 97.568 mph
Margin of Victory: 14.695 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: No. 48 Norman 1:19.009 (102.884 mph)
Lap Leaders: No. 48, laps 1 – 23
Sunoco Hard Charger: No. 34 Spencer Brockman