Michele Abbate, of Henderson, Nevada, competed in an 12 of the Western Conference races scoring no lower than second place in the eight that counted toward the Super Touring Under class title. The championship season was not expected as this was Abbate’s first year taking part in SCCA Club Racing competition.

“This Majors Tour Championship is absolutely huge for me and my team – it’s been my favorite year yet,” Abbate said. “Being my rookie year in SCCA Club racing, we weren’t sure what to expect. I started the season off by launching a 30 day all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaign with a goal to raise $10,000 so that we could pursue our first year in the Majors. Successfully funding over 130% of it, we were thankful to even be a part of the series.

“After securing the lead in points, it was truly a surreal feeling. The first championship win of my career was won in 2012, which was the year I earned my provisional race license. It was my first rookie year and I raced with the MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Challenge. Winning my first championship in my first year of racing was a pretty phenomenal feeling, but the Majors Tour title ranks just a bit higher because as the team and car owner, it felt good to earn it by ourselves, with our own decisions and all of our own efforts.”

Abbate said the biggest hurdle for her team was figuring out the car as it was one of the only cars of its kind to be road raced in North America.

“We had several struggles, but the major one is being one of the only teams in North America racing on this brand new FT86 (Subaru) chassis,” Abbate said. “We had no one to turn to for help with set up, horsepower, and cons of the car. Thankfully, it is an awesome platform that was meant for road racing, but we are slowly finding small gremlins as we continue to pursue road racing.

“For example, the first race of the year was at Auto Club Speedway; we were fast, on pace even with old used street tires. But, the roval caused fuel starvation after anything less than half a tank. We limped the car through the weekend, but it was something we hadn’t expected. Other minimal issues included things we could address at the track, and finishing every race on the podium is what brought the championship home.”

For Abbate, and her team, the turning point of the season came as the Western Conference headed to the Pacific Northwest.

“Just before Pacific Raceway, in Kent, Washington, was definitely the turning point [of the season],” Abbate said. “Up until that event we were enjoying the Majors Tour for what it is and the experience we were gaining.

“It was just after the Thunderhill races where we realized ‘wait a minute, we can win this thing!’. Initially we didn’t budget to do the races in the northwest region, but for us it meant winning the overall championship, extending our national points lead and learning two new tracks – we couldn’t lose the opportunity. Thankfully, Toyota of Olympia partnered with us and helped us make the long haul up north. With that came one of the most action-packed races to date, for me. I learned more that weekend than I have at any other race and it ended with our second win of the year on Memorial Day weekend. It went so well with the theme of our race car and team this year I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Abbate made sure to thank many of the people that made her successful season possible.

“First and foremost, I have to thank my best teammate in life, Anthony Philleo,” Abbate said. “From tearing apart our brand new Scion FR-S to building motivation, success and our first championship together I truly cannot say I would be where I am without him. Together we’ve sacrificed to get to where we are and we are so thankful and happy for what’s to come. I also want to thank my parents for teaching me that if you want something, you have to earn it – thanks for showing me what I am capable of doing on my own.

“From the GRR Racing team we want to thank all of our partners and sponsors who made this championship-winning year possible: Reklaw Design, Delicious Tuning, SEIBON Carbon, Nameless Performance, Five:AD, GTSpec, Weds Wheels, Whiteline, Takata, APR Performance, ACT Clutch, Mishimoto, Raceseng, Driven Steering Wheels, Berk Technology, Driveway Labs, AST Suspension, Keyport, DBA USA, Autometer, and our newest partner, Fuel Safe!”