Page 17 - 2021CalSpeedMagazineAug

Miles Calvin
Day 1 of the Classico GP weekend capped off as it has for the past two years with the All-Star Race, bringing together some of the most elite drivers we have seen in the 11 years
of kart racing at CalSpeed. For the past two years, the same driver crossed the line first at the end, but the drivers on either side would be different; A familiar theme would play out here for the 3rd edition of the event.
Once again, the race was split into multiple parts, with the first 15 laps requiring a pit stop and a ‘joker lap’, with the field resetting for a final 10 laps that would also require one joker lap. This time however, the pit-stop would be quicker for more on track action, and the top 8 finishers of the first segment would swap karts for a new ride in the final 10 lap shootout.
2019 Classico GP winner Andrew Wood would lead the field of 19 All-Stars away in the double-file rolling start, but it would be current IronMan Series point leader Paulo Franca start to his outside that would lead lap #1. At the tail of the field, CalSpeed GM Mike Smith, would be the first to try out the new pit stop location, kicking off the strategy game right out of the gate from P19. Joining Smith in the early-stop strategy would be two-time All-Star Champ Miles Calvin, with he and former Classico GP winner Taylor Hays the first to try out the Joker lap in segment #1.
As the laps clicked off, a mix of pit stop vs. Joker lap strategies took place, with some making both happen on the same lap, but out front, a different strategy unfolded. Multi-time race winner, and two-time Masters champ Jose da Silva, maintained the top spot and stayed out front, instead of electing to wait until 4 laps remaining to make his pit stop. As he exited, it became clear that it may not have been the best strategy; Out front by a large margin, was Super Series point leader Sam Hunt, who took the Joker on lap 2, while the aforementioned Smith sat P2 with both his pit and Joker in the books.
Hunt’s lead was approximately 9 seconds, but he still had not made his pit stop. When he exited on lap 14, it turned into a nerving battle between him and Smith. Hunt took a defensive line down the back straight, but Smith went to his outside and made the move into the final complex, slipping by and holding off Hunt in the drag race to the line to win segment 1 of the race.
Smith may have crossed the line first at the competition yellow, but the Champion’s #1 Plate is awarded to the driver who crosses first at the end of the full 25 lap contest. His chances at the win looked to evaporate, as he elected to take the joker lap right away in segment 2, exiting out 13th, but with a train of six drivers that went with the same strategy. After catching the pack a few laps later, 6 drivers peeled off right in front of him, to bump him and the rest of the train up to just outside the top 5.
Overall, the correct strategy looked to have come from Miles Calvin, who was promoted from 5th to 1st after everyone in front of him took the joker in the opening two laps, but then showed why he has brought home the last two events. Over the next six laps, he cut them on the inside .2 tenths of each other, slowly stretching his advantage to 2 seconds over the only other non-stopper at the time, P2 man Jose da Silva. The important gap however was to third, where significant infighting saw the gap grow to over 7 seconds.
Da Silva followed Calvin through the Joker, the pair exited 1-2 with Miles maintaining his advantage over Da Silva, and reigning Super Series champ Diego Morales heading up the train about 1 second off Jose. Morales made inroads to Da Silva, but no one came close to Miles Calvin, who brought home an incredible 3rd All-Star win in a row, flanked by a pair of first time podium finishers in Jose da Silva and Diego Morales.