The Mazda V-Prix of California was held at Laguna Seca, and the star studded field was finely poised as they left the grid for the formation lap – Kip Maxwell took his first pole position in the series ahead of full season front runners Felipe Cesar, Yakumi Takahashi and Brock Kidd, while Nathaniel Powers and Puccio Giodano started on the inside and outside of row three respectively. From the rolling start, Maxwell led the field into the Andretti hairpin, but after losing traction gave Cesar the inside line for turn three, handing the Brazilian the lead in a dramatic start. Behind, Powers made the most of the inside line in Andretti, leapfrogging both Takahashi and Kidd. Further behind, 2016 FV Champion Adrien Simon started well after languishing in 15th in qualifying – the Frenchman made up no fewer than six places in the first three laps, including a ballsy move into the Corkscrew to get past Rodrigo Sanchez.
While the start was clean, on lap seven the first full course caution was called when Nick Addison’s Toyota-engined Morley car slowed at the top of the hill, and while the rest of the lap to the pitlane is downhill, the Australian couldn’t quite coast it to the pitlane, grinding to a halt about 100 metres short and retiring from 8th place. It was only a short caution period due to Addison’s proximity to the pit lane, so two laps later, Cesar led the field away with aplomb, pulling out a small gap to Maxwell, who by now was being hassled by Powers. On lap 32, Powers finally found a way past his countryman, diving down the inside of Maxwell in the final corner. Both cars squirrelled wide onto the tarmac runoff, sending up plumes of dust, but there was no harm and no foul, meaning Powers could finally set about reducing the 2.5 second gap to Cesar in front. Within 10 laps, he had done just that, crossing the line on lap 43 just 0.216 seconds behind. Deep in the slipstream of the Cerberus car, Powers pulled to the left into the Andretti hairpin, but slightly outbraked himself. Cesar had to avoid contact by going straighter than he would have liked, but as Powers pulled the car around the hairpin to take the lead, Cesar dipped a wheel on the grass on the right hand side, spinning up the rear wheels. While he held control, he lost about 3 seconds – enough to lose second place to Maxwell. Powers started to pull away at a rate of knots, while Maxwell was a distant second. Cesar was starting to drive more and more erratically, losing a tenth every lap to Kidd and Takahashi behind. Simon had continued his progress after a shocking qualifying, overtaking Einarsson with ease in Andretti, while making a second move at the Corkscrew, this time on Marcus Thunder. The race was neutralised once more on lap 58 when Enzo Domenicalli outbraked himself into turn five and speared into the side of Kiara Thunder. Both drivers were unhurt, but the cleanup operation required was sizeable, meaning the safety car was out for seven laps. From the restart on lap 66, Powers escaped once more, this time somewhat taking Maxwell with him, while Cesar was under severe pressure from Kidd. The American got a run into the Andretti hairpin, but could only move to the outside. Having held it all the way around, it meant he had the inside line for turn 3, but Cesar chopped in front in a forceful moved. A disgruntled Kidd continued to press, getting a good run up the Rahal straight before locking up both front wheels in the braking zone for the Corkscrew. Cesar allowed the smoking Kidd through and tried the cutback, but somehow Kidd managed to slow the car enough to hold position. Towards the end of the race, reliability started to become a factor: on lap 80, Puccio Giodano’s race came to an end when his Chevrolet engine stopped firing at turn 4; lap 85 saw the second Toyota failure of the race when Will Hoskins was forced to pit his Morley car with hydraulic issues; and finally Mikko Heininen’s front-left suspension collapsed – believed to be an after effect of clouting the inside curb before the Rahal straight. Lap 98 saw the final full course yellow of the day when Daniel Bruner and Didier Arnaud failed to give each other racing room, tangling in the Andretti hairpin. Quick work from the marshals meant the drivers were quickly out of harm’s way, but there was a moment of comedy when the recovery truck proceeded to roll backwards down the hill, crunching the nose on Arnaud’s Signature car. Another five laps were needed to complete the recovery, setting up a thrilling 9 lap race to the finish. Powers however had other plans. Another blistering restart saw him take out 3 seconds in the first two laps of the restart, while Maxwell and Kidd battled on. Takahashi took advantage of the safety car by getting right on the tail of Cesar, and indeed made the move to take fourth place three laps before the end into the final corner. Adrien Simon’s day got worse when Thunder pushed him wide in Andretti, allowing Einarsson to sneak through as well. There was a final scare for Powers when it looked like Rossendo Werner hadn’t seen him on the final lap of the race, very nearly removing his front wing with only three corners left. However, Powers took what turned out to be a comfortable victory, 5.4 seconds ahead of Maxwell, with Kidd, Takahashi, Cesar and Thunder rounding out the top six. With that and just two races to go, the championship takes a dramatic swing as Marcus Thunder now leads, 2 points ahead of Kidd and 3 clear of Cesar. Addison has slipped back meanwhile to 42 from the lead while Takahashi is 48 and Taylor is still in with a shout sitting 64 points behind. Laguna Seca was the final road course road of this season meaning the road course champion was crowned, with Marcus Thunder topping the standings by four points from Yakumi Takahashi. The Triple Crown champion was also decided in what was the last Triple Crown event of the year in favour of Felix Beyer, the first Triple Crown race winner. 214 points saw him comfortably clear of the rest of the pack after he finished all three races in the top ten. See below for full race classification and championship standings:
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April 2018
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