DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 27, 2015) – Gianpaolo Ciancimino, of Coral Springs, Florida, took the lead from his outside front row starting spot at the drop of the green flag and raced straight to a National Championship Sunday with a convincing Prototype 1 class victory in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway. James Devenport, of Modesto, California, finished second and Miles Jackson, of Maple Valley, Washington, finished third.
Ciancimino, who won his first National Championship in his second attempt after debuting las year at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, was unstoppable in his No. 99 GC&G Services Inc./Young Racing Stohr WF1 Suzuki in the 14-lap race.
“We worked really hard for this,” Ciancimino said. “I didn’t really think we had a good shot because we were down on horsepower and speed. The plan was to just jump out in front in Turn 1 and just put my head down and put in a bunch of good laps. It worked really good right up until a restart when the track was really slick, but I just tried to not make any mistakes, push as hard as I could, and it worked out. I am happy, I am really happy.”
Several competitors retired with contact or mechanical issues and the Daytona road course ended up slick with oil for the second half of the race. A restart after a mid-race full-course caution was a challenge for the entire field.
“The restart was interesting to say the least because there was oil between what I felt was right in Turn 1 and all the way through Turn 6,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t a lot of fun but after about the third lap after the restart everything seemed to settle down again and we went back to racing.”
Devenport, driving his No. 23 Cranbrook Group Inc. Norma M20FC, avoided the mechanical and off-course issues that took a toll on his competitors but could never get close to challenging Ciancimino.
“Gianpaolo got away with a strong start and basically just pulled away,” Devenport said. “We just kept our nose down and kept going, got in a podium spot and just tried to run as hard as we could. The restart was really challenging with a lot of oil on the track. After a lap or so at least it was drivable in the infield so at that point we just kept going and got to the end.”
Jackson drove a clean and competitive race in his No. 52 Jackson Dean Construction/Wolf Race Cars Wolf GB08MJB Suzuki to snag the final podium spot.
“It was partly attrition and partly keeping your nose clean for the remainder of the race, and I managed to keep my nose clean,” Jackson said. “
Ciancimino’s winning average speed was 100.73 mph and he crossed the finish line 16.755 seconds ahead of Devenport.
The 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowned Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27.
While the live broadcast of all 27 National Championship were available live at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 27, 2015) – Provisional results for Sunday’s Prototype 1 race at the 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Gianpaolo Ciancimino, Coral Springs, FL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 14.
2, (4), James Devenport, Modesto, CA, Norma M20FC, 14.
3, (6), Miles Jackson, Maple Valley, WA, Wolf GB08MJB Suzuki, 14.
4, (1), Jim Downing, Atlanta, GA, Downing Atlanta Inc. DAY-02 Mazda, 14.
5, (9), Gary Peck, Cherry Valley, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 14.
6, (7), Bob Wheless, Reidsville, NC, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 14.
7, (5), Kirk Kindsfater, Eaton, CO, Speads RS11, 13.
8, (3), Jason Miller, Sheboygan Falls, WI, WynnFurst Kohler, 3.
9, (8), John Gyann, Darien, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 3.
10, (10), Tim Day Jr, Scottsdale, AZ, WF-1 Stohr WF-1, 2.
Length of Race: 50 miles
Overall Time of Race: 29:40.834
Average Speed: 100.753 mph
Margin of Victory: 16.755 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: No. 99 Ciancimino, 1:49.792 (116.730 mph)
Lap Leaders: No. 99, 1 -14
Sunoco Hard Charger: No. 16 Gary Peck
Image: No. 99 Gianpaolo Ciancimino won the Prototype 1 National Championship with a flag-to-flag victory Sunday in the SCCA Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.
Credit: Jay Bonvouloir
