Team Stradale just came back from an incredibly successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park running with the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America series. Four drivers represented Team Stradale and Autobahn Country Club in the race weekend, which included rounds 1 through 3, and ran in conjunction with the Barber Motorsports Park Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Louis Schriber III, Mike Anzaldi, Jason Greenwood, and new driver Alex Morton.
With a lot of hype still surrounding the all-new SR10, all eyes were on Schriber to see what he could pull off throughout the weekend. After taking a year off from Radical Cup, Schriber returned on-form, and instantly went to the top of the time sheets in early practice sessions.
Because of a fuel delivery issue early on in practice, Schriber had turned down the power to conserve fuel. He had inadvertently left the power level lower on his car during qualifying, but still managed to secure 3rd place in qualifying in the Platinum class among tough SR10 competition.
With the full 425 horsepower available once more, Schriber was able to secure his third place position, till brake fade caused an off-track excursion, getting debris where debris didn’t belong. This happened later in the race, and forced an early retirement.
Race two fared much better. Schriber was able to work with a new set of brake pads that kept temperatures in check. His third place starting position was kept from the initial qualifying run, and allowed him to battle John Field for a podium spot. A last lap hip-check from Field forced Schriber into 4th for race 2. Field was reprimanded for avoidable contact.
In Round 3, Schriber was on-form. Close battles are now the norm in the Platinum class, and Schriber finished second to Indy Al Miller with under 0.8 seconds separating them. Given another two laps, Schriber could have had the win, as his pace was nearly half a second faster.
The SR3 classes had plenty of excitement, too. Alex Morton was able to get adjusted from formula cars to Radical race cars with ease. Racing in the PRO1500 class, he had the most competition on track. The fifteen drivers in PRO1500 represented half of the entire field.
Race 1 saw Morton take home a respectable 5th in class, after tight battles throughout the race with hot-shoe Gustafo Rafols, and Gregg Gorski. In fact, 3rd place to 5th was separated by just 0.44 seconds.
Much the same would happen in race 2, this time with Alex elevating himself to a 4th place finishing position and missing out on his first podium by just 0.1 seconds behind Gorski.
Race number 3 included a mandatory pit stop for all drivers, which gives drivers and teams the opportunity to use pit strategy for track position. For Morton, this resulted in another 5th place finishing position. In all, an impressive result for such a newcomer to Radical Cup.
Mike Anzaldi and Jason Greenwood took part in PRO1340, with Anzaldi leading the charge for Team Stradale in that class. Anzaldi was quick to show pace by being the top qualifier in class. Anzaldi scored two podiums over the weekend. A 3rd place in race 1, and the same finishing position in race 3. Unfortunately, contact from another driver in race 2 forced an early retirement.
Jason Greenwood took home 6th, 5th, and 6th in each of his three races. He expressed great pleasure at his inaugural trip to Barber Motorsports Park and calls it one of his new favorites. That is high praise for Greenwood, who is now enjoying Radical SR3’s after coming from the world of top fuel drag racing.