Page 15 - 2021CalSpeedMagazineJan

T Round 1 - Jan 16
he CalSpeed Super Series kicked off its 12th season on the Nuotivo circuit, a high-speed circuit that also claims some of the hardest braking and best passing zones
available. High winds meant drafting was at a premium, and it provided some great action throughout the day. Qualifying would see some usual suspects at the sharp end, with arguably the best qualifier of active drivers claiming yet another pole to his name, Sam Hunt. It was his 6th career pole, and continuing an impressive stat that has seen him in the top 3 in qualifying in 11 of the past 19 events. Joining him in the bonus point game was P2 in qualy Ayrton DeMoss, and 2019 Series champ Alyssa Yauney in third.
Some different faces would get to the front in the heat races however, and only Alyssa would back up her qualy run with a win in her first heat. Instead it was up and coming talent Evan Karp claiming the spotlight by sweeping both of his heat races, and with it pole position for the first A-Main of the year. Hunt would indeed get a heat win however, bouncing back in his second heat for the win, joining Jose da Silva and reigning Super Series champ Diego Morales on the list of heat race victors for round number one.
The first Main of the day of course was the C-Main, and it would get off to a rocky start with an incident out of the horseshoe corner as the field finished its opening lap. Once the incident was cleaned up and the drivers checked out ok, racing would resume, with newcomer Andrea Delfanti leading the way from the start. He would immediately come under fire from fellow new face to the series Eric Hovanessian, with veteran Michael Collins also stealing away a lap as the leader. Fellow front runner Ariel Rubio was in the mix, duking it out with the newer drivers for the top spot, but it was Delfanti in control every time at the line. Bryant Min would enter the mix as well, and in the second half of the race it would be Delfanti, over Min, over Rubio, the trio crossing the line that way at the checkers. The overall winner would be decided at scales however, with Rubio promoted to victor after both 1st and 2nd came up light...
With daylight waning, the B-Main would get under way with a 2 lap cut in the action, the second-to-last race of the day now a 10 lap battle for the final transfer spot to the A-Main. Jeremy Aldridge and Michael Floerchinger would occupy the front row at the drop of the green, with Floerchinger slipping by Aldridge early, only to see his own time at the lead come to an end a lap later. Instead it was the drivers on the second row going to the front, as 2020 Sprint Series champ Diego Alvarado took over the top spot in a bid to bounce back from an incident earlier in the day. He was joined by another rising star in Carl Zhu, and the duo took over the top two positions before halfway, and pulled away from the infighting behind them. It would come right down to the end with Zhu applying plenty of pressure, but
A Main Podium
B-Main Diego Alvarado
C-Main Ariel Rubio