The much talked about FARA racing series ventured north from their home base of Florida for a Holiday race weekend at Autobahn.
It was clear early on during the Saturday activities that the SM group was going to be very competitive. Autobahn Members mixed in with National level racers with lap times within 10ths of a second. After 2 qualifying rounds it was Alex Bertagnoli sitting on pole positions by just a fraction but the drama was just beginning. Alex didn’t complete the session and had to be towed in with a broken ball joint. Could the car be prepared in time for the first race? Well, fans did not get the answer until mere seconds before the race was to start. At the 1 minute warning there was still no sign of Alex. As the pace car prepared to pull onto the track Alex appeared seemingly out of nowhere to take his position at the front. The first race was a 15 minute sprint and the top 6 freight train set the tone for the remainder of the weekend. Alex would take the win by .002 secs!
The weekends feature race was a cash paying pro Spec Miata race. Again the 6 car pack at the front could be covered by a blanket. Each move had to be carefully calculated as one small mistake would be costly with these expert drivers.
Gavin Gleitsman would be the star of the show. He backed up his second weekend race with a win in the money race. His execution was similar in both races. Get a good start, be patient, and when the time was right grab the lead. Sounds easy but with 5 other hungry drivers on your bumper there was no room for error. Gavin drove a masterful race to take home the prize.
