SOLO: National Tour San Diego event notes

Variety Rules the Day at San Diego National Tour

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (April 14, 2010) -- Sunny Southern California weather greeted 295 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour competitors at Qualcomm Stadium for the San Diego National Tour event, April 10-11.

The Qualcomm Stadium layout was a challenging, yet fun course designed by reigning E Modified National Champion Jeff Kiesel. The Sunday runs required more precision from competitors than Saturday, but the natural progression was a hit with the drivers. Kiesel's layout, his first design, was created with coaching from Andy McKee and drew rave reviews.

By all accounts, the event was successful, both on and off-the track, with tight competition and multiple marques claiming class wins.

The new Street Touring offering--the "R" class is alive and well in Southern California. With numerous car makes and tire manufacturers participating in the class, the competition was stiff. Jeff Cawthorne, of San Diego, Calif., led the STR class early on Saturday in his No. 6 2006 Mazda MX-5. By the end of the day, Cawthorne had fallen to fifth, but was less than 0.2-second from the lead.

The battle continued through the day on Sunday, and when the runs were over, Cawthorne had ridden his Dunlop tires to the top spot in the class by just 0.123-second over Ken Motonishi, of Chino Hills, Calif. Motonishi drove a 2009 Mazda MX-5 on Toyo Tires, followed by Jim Reyenga in a Hankook-shod 2000 Honda S2000, Bob Endicott in a 2006 Honda S2000 riding on Bridgestones, and Mike Simanyi in a 2000 BMW M Coupe on Dunlops. In all, three manufacturers and four tire companies cracked the top five in the Street Touring R class.

Variety was the name of the game in C Stock, as well, with four different marques in the top four final positions. Bryan Heitkotter, of Fresno, Calif., earned the win in his No. 49 2007 Mazda MX-5. Falling 0.142-second behind in the No. 199 TimBo Racing/Evo School 2006 Pontiac Solstice was multi-time Champion Ryan Buetzer, of Long Beach, Calif. Andrew McKee (2000 Porsche Boxster) and Brian Coulson (2007 Mazda RX-8) filled out the top-four.

In keeping with the theme, the Super Stock class also placed three different cars on the podium. Gary Thomason, of Oceanside, Calif., piloted his No. 71 Kumho Tires 2004 Porsche GT3 to a 0.45-second win over David deRegt. deRegt, of Redmond, Wa., earned the silver medal in the No. 186 2006 Lotus Elise. Kevin Dietz scored the final podium position behind the wheel of a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour returns to Action, May 15-16, for the Western States Championship at the Wendover Airport in Wendover, Utah.

For full results from the San Diego National Tour and more information on all upcoming Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour events, visit www.scca.com/solo.

The national focus turns this weekend to the Tire Rack ProSolo National Series, which opens its 2010 season at El Toro in Southern California this weekend, April 17-18.

Full results are also available directly at www.scca.com/documents/resultfiles/results16.pdf.

-source: scca