Global Rallycross had its first ever Supercar Lites race in the northeastern United States in the midst of inclement weather. Practice day was cancelled due to severe thunderstorms, then the race day schedule was compressed.
Lites driver, Geoff Sykes, described the scene, “we had a couple of storms come through that completely flooded the track. It was like a monsoon.”
The rallycross course started on the pit lane straight, went into a dirt chicane and a jump, followed by one turn on the Nascar oval with a metal table top jump, and finally a hairpin ramp over the pit wall, putting the cars back on to the pit lane straight.
A challenging course with varying conditions, Sykes worked on building his experience in the new class Supercar Lite on the dirt, mud and slippery surfaces.
In the LCQ (last chance qualifier), Geoff moved from 5th up to 2nd but a last lap pass into the chicane moved him to 3rd and out of the finals.
“It was disappointing not to make the finals,” said Sykes, “but we got to put on an exciting LCQ for the fans, along with a final that was real fun to watch.”
ABOUT RALLYCROSS AND GEOFF SYKES
Rallycross combines circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition with intense, crowd-pleasing action in a fan-friendly track environment, featuring a challenging course that includes jumps, unbanked turns and changing track and surface conditions that can include dirt, gravel and wet asphalt.
Geoff Sykes is driving his first season in Global Rallycross, having come from an autocross and road racing background with multiple records and championships in the BMW CCA racing series, and is the current GT points leader in the US Touring Car Championship.
Sykes’ rallycross racing includes support from GetEnergyFX.com, Midnight Oil and DTV Solutions.
Photos: QNIGAN.COM
