BARBER: Laguna Seca report

• "J.E. Fantelli" <76026.3511@CompuServe.COM>
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Tue Sep 10 21:07:49 EDT 1996

SCHIE WINS WHILE LARSSON STUMBLES

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 7) - Thomas Schie said Saturday morning after taking the
Barber Dodge pole position, his first,  "Once you win your first race, which is
very hard, the second is much easier." Apparently. At Laguna Seca Raceway in the
Superior Performance Challenge, Schie shook off another full field of Barber
Dodge competitors to win his second on the trot, dispatching Geoff Boss with a
clean pass under braking following a full-course caution--a caution called to
retrieve the sand-stuck car of none other than points leader and five-time race
winner Fredrik Larsson. Schie, who took his maiden win two weeks ago at Road
America, has suddenly made a "runaway" points chase into a real battle; Schie
now sits just 10 points behind Larsson (133 - 123), with only the Reno Grand
Prix and Lime Rock Park left on the schedule.

     Schie lost the lead at the start to front-row compatriot Boss: "The
stewards warned us to be even in the front out of the Hairpin, but I wait too
long to press," [that's "nail the gas" in American] and trailed by three car
lengths for the first five laps. But then Larsson made a very uncharacteristic
mistake. Coming out of Turn Five and just before Six, two lefthanders, Laguna
Seca's pavement jukes in from the right just a tiny bit as it passes under a
bridge. Larsson didn't make that little correction and got his right-side
Goodyears into the dirt. Before he knew it, he was spinning off into the gravel,
the car ending up buried to the hubs in the runoff. The marshals called for a
full-course yellow to drag his errant mount off, and on the re-start Boss was
loose: "It felt like the right-rear was going down, the car was sideways through
the lefthanders." Schie thought it was dirt that Boss had picked up as he
flailed it on the exits. Whatever it was, Boss couldn't put the power down at
the exit of 11, the Hairpin, and Schie passed Boss going into Two for the lead.
Though Schie didn't drive away, niether could Boss come up with anything to
challenge and crossed the line .905 seconds behind the Norwegian.

     Skip Barber "Big Scholarship" driver Tony Renna (who was just named the
Valvoline/Team USA driver to partner Jerry Nadeau, the 1992 "Big Scholarship"
winner, in the Nations Cup Formula Opel/Vauxhall race Nov. 2-3 at Donington
Park, England) staved off Rino Mastronardi for third. Tim Moser, Rocky Moran,
Jr., newcomer Jon Fogarty and Derek Hill swapped spots continuously until
finishing in that order. Bryan Selby, wearing the colors of race sponsor
Superior Performance Racing, a new Indy Lights team, was ninth while Andres
Felipe Gomez came all the way from 20th to take 10th.

     "This Laguna track, it is very good. You must be smooth and then you can go
fast," Schie said. "And I like the street courses, I am looking forward to
Reno." Larsson had left the building, so to speak, before he could be asked how
he was feeling, but I think we have a good guess. Still, it is he who leads the
points going into the last two races and it is unlikely he'll repeat the mistake
he made here. But street races, they can reach out and bite anyone. Stay tuned.
-Rick Roso

The Superior Performance Challenge, SCCA Pro Racing Barber Dodge Pro Series,
Laguna Seca Raceway, 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course, Monterey, Calif., Sept. 7,
1996

Time of Race/Laps: 30:26.875/19laps
Winner's Average Speed: 83.800 mph
Fastest Race Lap: Schie, lap 18, 1:26.863/92.779 mph
Leaders: Geoff Boss, 1 - 11; Schie, 12 - 19
Cautions: one, for three laps
Most Progressive Driver: Andres Gomez, 20th to 10th

Fin.	Strt.	Driver/Town			Laps	Status	Prize

1.	1 Thomas Schie/Norway			19	Running		$10,000
2.	2 Geoff Boss/Narragansett, R.I.		19	Running		$6,000
3.	4 Tony Renna/Deland, Fla.		19	Running		$4,000
4.	3 Rino Mastronardi/Italy		19	Running		$2,500
5.	6 Tim Moser/San Jose, Calif.		19	Running		$1,800
6.	11 Rocky Moran/CotodeCaza, Calif.	19	Running		$1,500
7.	9 Jon Fogarty/Portola Valley, Calif.	19	Running		$1,300
8.	8 Derek Hill/Santa Monica, Calif.	19	Running		$1,200
9.	14 Bryan Selby/Alpine, Calif.		19	Running		$1,000
10.MP	20 Andres Felipe Gomez/Colombia		19	Running		$1,500
11.	16 Chris Mennina/Pella, Iowa		19	Running		$800
12.	18 Skip Streets/Mnhattn Bch, Calif.	19	Running		$700
13.	13 Nick O'Sullivan/Boulder, Colo.	19	Running		$600
14.	17 Jeff Bucknum/Simi Valley, Calif.	19	Running		$500
15.	10 Jeff Shafer/N. Hollywood, Calif.	19	Running		$500
16.	19 Brian Pelke/Lansing, Ill.		19	Running		$500
17.	21 Jarrett Boon/Chandler, Ariz.		19	Running		$500
18.	26 Joe Vantreese/Batavia, Ill.		19	Running		$500
19.	24 G.J. Mennen/New Vernon, N.J.		19	Running		$500
20.	25 Steve Lorenzen/Tahoe City, Calif	.19	Running		$500
21.	22 Micky Gilbert/Arvada, Colo.		19	Running		$500
22.	27 Patsy DeFilippo/Apollo, Pa.		18	Running		$500
23.	23 Carlos Bonetti/Brasil		12	Accident	$500
24.	5 Fredrik Larsson/Sweden		5	Spin		$500
25.	15 Will Langhorne/Wellesley, Mass.	1	Accident	$500
26.	7 Steve Rikert/Rhinebeck, N.Y.		0	Accident	$500
27.	12 Seiji Ara/Japan			0	Accident	$500

Top-10 Points Standings after 10 of 12 rounds

1.	Fredrik Larsson		133
2.	Thomas Schie		123
3.	Rino Mastronardi	109
4.	Tim Moser		103
5.	Derek Hill		93
6.	Tony Renna		93
7.	Geoff Boss		85
8.	Jeff Bucknum		51
9.	Andres Gomez		49
10	Memo Gidley		49

Next race: Round 11, Reno Grand Prix, Reno, Nev., Sept. 22