BUTTONWILLOW, CA – Larry Mason and Team LMR rebounded strongly from the disappointment of the SCCA Runoffs two weeks ago to cap off an incredible year of racing. This was the first season of taking all of the race car prep in-house and it was a steep learning curve. However it also delivered the satisfaction of a job well done all the way around by everyone who supported Mason and Team LMR. This weekend was all about getting the most out of himself and his car so the team continued their development program of setup changes to chase speed.
One of the only benefits of not completing a lap of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at the Runoffs is that Team LMR had plenty of fresh tires to use up this weekend. The weekend schedule included practice, qualifying and a race on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday he ended up qualifying P2 in class. He had a decent start at the drop of the green flag, but missed a shift and would have to follow the other driver into Turn 1 and avoid another car spinning in front of him. Mason continued to shadow the other driver and had a great exit out of the blind, uphill off-camber “Phil Hill” turn which set him up for a pass heading into the highest speed corner of the track “Riverside.” Mason saw the gap, saw the other driver back-off and Mason drove to the inside. Unfortunately, the other driver never saw Mason and he turned down into Mason’s right sidepod and right-rear wheel. The contact made Mason’s car get loose while the other driver bounced off of Mason’s car and went off into the dirt. The car felt okay to Mason so he continued. He thought about making a pit stop to check everything out but he didn’t want to lose positions in the race so he continued in the lead in class. Mason had a great run getting through lapped traffic and won the race! He was unhappy with the contact (which damaged his brand new sidepod), but as they say, “that’s racing.” The other driver said that he never saw Mason before the contact. When the team reviewed the on-board video, Mason was actually in front of the other driver when the contact occurred. Other than the victory, the greatest news and surprise of the day was that Mason had broken the track record in Formula Mazda that had stood since 2003!
Instead of celebrating a victory and just waxing and refueling for the next day, it meant bodywork repair for the crew at the end of the day and into the next morning. The team decided to skip the practice session and go directly into qualifying. Mason was able to get in a good lap early which was fast enough for pole position and was slightly quicker than the lap record he had set the day prior. Now it was just a matter of going out and trying to win again. Mason had a great start and by Turn 1 went from third overall to second. When the overall leader in the other class slowed with a mechanical problem, that left Mason in the overall lead! However, the driver behind him was in a faster class car and hounded Mason for the first few laps. Mason put his head down and got to work and continued to eke out a bigger lead every lap. That is until, without radio communication, Mason tried to look and see where the other driver was on the track. That moment of not looking where he was going meant that he missed his turn-in point for one of the high-speed doglegs on the track. A last second pull on the steering wheel to make the corner wasn’t enough and the car spun backwards at over 100 mph. Mason then drove it backwards, did a reverse 180, put it in gear and kept going. The rest of the race was uneventful and he completed a perfect “spin and win” result. Pole position, class and overall victory, and a new track record faster than he went the day before!
This was a great way to end the season and a wonderful way to enter the short off-season. Much work remains to improve and go faster for next year, but a strong foundation has been set for the future. The tally at the end of the year? Seven poles, nine wins and three track records! Every finish he had was in the top five and only one DNF for the year.
Mason says, “Thank you to all who sponsored, crewed and/or supported Team LMR in a big way this year. Please know that you played a pivotal role in my success.”
A special Team LMR thanks to – Sonia, Russ, Fred, Marcos, Guy, Luke, Dan, Bill, Kenton
Auto Diagnostic Services – Tom, Stella
Polar – Janelle, Wayne, Chris, Matti, Corey
Jim Webb Motorsports – Jim, Cheyne
The Fiberglass Body – Scott
Performance Plus – Dave
Triathlon Lab – Lloyd
Computer Technician – Luis
Texas Autosports – Moses, Tara
Mazda – David, Scott, Mike
Goodyear – Paul
Stay tuned to www.LMRUSA.com or the team’s FB page at Facebook.com/TeamLMRUSA for more updates.
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| Team LMR (from L-R Tom, Stella, Larry & Sonia) basks in the glow of a double victory weekend. |
 Photo by Larry Mason |
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