June 3-4, 2023: Rocky Mountain Motorsports.
Photography by © Tyler A.W. Burke. All rights reserved. 2023.
The first race weekend of 2023 felt like it picked up right where Zac left off at the end of the 2022 season: another smoky weekend at Rocky Mountain Motorsports filled with some great results for the red #13 Spec Miata.
The #71 of Chris Saunders and the #888 of Connor Peet sparred with Zac here and there (especially in Race 3 where Saunders took an early lead necessitating some white-knuckle racing between him and Zac in the midst of some other open-wheel cars - see below) but for the most part Zac stayed ahead of the pack.
RESULTS:
Race 1: P1 | Race 2: P1 | Race 3: P1 | Race 4: P1 | Race 5 (WCMA Points Race): P1 | Race 6: P1
Unlike our last race at RMM - where the Spec Miatas ran alone - this weekend they shared the track with other closed-wheel classes and it definitely made for some tense moments. (If you’re new to racing: sometimes different classes of cars will race at the same time to keep the weekend from running long - the different classes are not competing against each other.) Watch some drama unfold between Zac, Saunders, and two other closed-wheel cars below or use the link to skip ahead to Zac’s eventual pass:
https://youtu.be/0ki_yl9T-vo?t=765 ( start at 12:45)
Not one to sit on his heels, Zac was consistently pushing the #13 onto faster and faster lap times - surpassing his previous track record (and getting a little loose on a corner or two).
Photography by © Tyler A.W. Burke. All rights reserved. 2023.
If you want to see Zac’s perspective of the corner photographed above, watch the Race 2 video below, or use the link to skip ahead to just before the corner:
https://youtu.be/N-Sah-Wuuuk?t=1210 (start at 20:10)
Another closed-wheel class’ driver made things challenging for Zac when he decided to forgo track etiquette and refused to let Zac by - even going so far as to block him several times on Sunday - despite the fact that they were not competing with each other. Frustrated but largely keeping his cool, Zac made it past the car several times throughout the weekend. Watch some Race 5 (the WCMA Points Race for the weekend) footage below or use the link to skip ahead to some tense moments with the other class’ driver:
https://youtu.be/4sQY3vO2zzU?t=1027 (start at 17:07)
With a great opening race weekend behind us, we’re looking forward to July 15-16 at Rad Torque Raceway up in Edmonton. Stay tuned to our Instagram for updates!
Photography by © Tyler A.W. Burke. All rights reserved. 2023.