The opportunity to be a part of a major event, is always a special privilege.  But sometimes, it comes with unintended consequences.   Unfortunately, today, some of the competetors in the Formula X Motorsports Festival as part of the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda at the New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Circuit.  (Phew… say that ten times fast!)  Anyway, as being part of such a large event, the schedule is strictly controlled, and any incident that would be otherwise par for the course in Time Attack, causes a pretty large problem.

Time Attack drivers felt that pinch today as the first 30-minute practice session was cut short due to a sccary incident involving two drivers colliding off the track.  One of the drivers involved suffered minor damage, and the other’s car is severely damaged, and both the driver, and a passenger were transported to a local hospital.  At this time, the driver is said to have three cracked ribs, and his passenger has a mild concussion. 

The second session was cut short when one of the rookie drivers, driving a 240sx, blew an oil line and layed oil on the line for the entire length of the circuit, delaying the start of the Star Mazda.  In order to finish in the alloted time, the top drivers from each class were sent out in an ultra abbreviated session (20 minutes) to set their times.  Leading the way after the first session is Phillip Grabow in the Element Tuning STI with a blazing time of 1:32.209 (compared to practice times in the 1:41 range).  James Elterman’s Takata STI is 1.6 seconds behind with a 1:33.906.  Robert Fuller leads the Modified RWD class in the G35 with a 1:37.9, good enough for third overall.  Quick look at the street class, Alex Sharanevych, Douglas Wind and Thomas Mak lead the AWD, FWD and RWD classes respectively.

Full Details: Saturday’s Results