Thomas keeps him clean to win Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1 in St. Pete

The experience played a key factor in the third round of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin at the San Petersburg Grand Prix on Saturday. The podium was composed of a lot of experience in the street circuit. Jared Thomas.

The Polesitter Jeremy Fletcher (No. 22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) appeared in control of the race from the beginning, leading all but two laps before the first caution of the complete courses came out. He held a position to defend the rookie of the year Westin Workman (No. 13 BSI Racing) before taking out a three -second and a half second gap in the rest of the field. That advantage was deleted when the first warning was issued in the full 15 -minute course in the race.

The fluids on the track caused several cars to lose control in curve 10 and three cars made contact with the tire wall, which required a long cleaning. When the races resumed, there were less than 12 minutes on the clock.

In the restart, Fletcher spread in curve 1, allowing several cars to slide inside, including Thomas, who took care of the front. He was followed by Nathan Nicholson (No. 56 Autosports Advanced), McGee and González.

McGee actually acted as a rearfield while exerting the pressure on Nicholson and then assumed the second place. A few laps later, a full -year caution came out again so that a car stopped in curve 10. When the time came to run again, the drivers found themselves in a green, white stage.

Thomas had a great restart and built a gap for his teammate when they reached the white flag. McGee was able to free himself from Nicholson and get a breath space for the last round.

Thomas La Victoria could not be denied, his second in the streets of St. Pete.

“I think it’s just one thing to turn around here,” Thomas said. “But it is another thing to run hard and get your elbows and be door to the door crossing these corners with a right wall by your side. I think the experience helps. I was really comfortable. “

Thomas described a little characteristic tenth, but trusted that he had a fast car under him.

“I knew we had a good car,” Thomas said. “I was a bit annoying with the way I qualified. I wasn’t too excited with that, so I knew I had some work to do. We made some more adjustments in the race and had a good enough car to win. ”

McGee fiercely defended his second place position, determined to write down his first race podium. It was an emotional achievement for the driver who went from a SIM corridor to an MX-5 Cup driver thanks to the Mazda MX-5 Cup shooting.

“Oh God, I love this series,” McGee said. “It is a very important series for me. I am the only type in the world that comes directly from video games, directly to professional careers in the MX-5 Cup series. So this series has always had a really special place in my heart. It also has some of the best young talents in the world here due to what Mazda does to support everyone, you can earn a lot of money here! Then, everyone struggles hard and, to win or get a podium here, you must be really cooking to do it. We fight very hard. I liked it again, eighth or something. I ran back to the second, I stayed, I stayed with my Jared teammate and thought about challenging him, but I thought we wouldn’t bother the boss, and we would end up two. It’s great to be on the podium for the first time in this series. “

The first and second place were obvious when they left the final turn, but third place was another story. Nicholson and González had an intense fight through the final laps. González obtained for Nicholson in curve 10 and arrived by the final turn with Nicholson in his bumper. Nicholson tried to obtain enough draft to go back to González, but could not make it work.

González crossed the line in third place, but the career officials were not happy with the way he arrived there and issued a penalty of 10 seconds after the race, which led him to 16 in the final results.

Nicholson inherited third place, his first podium from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last June.

Fletcher recovered from his messy restart to finish fourth. The rookie Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee Mcaleer Racing) completed the first five, the best of the first year class.

Peter Atwater.

Sally Mott’s Saturday (No. 15 JTR Motorsports Engineering) had a bad start; He had a turn in the qualification, which did not damage the car at all, but while they stopped it, it was hit by another car, which ended the session for her. Starting from the back of the field, Mott remained level in chaos and finished the race in the 16th, which earned him the Penske Stripking Performance award.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to compete today,” Mott said. “I started the second until the last one, and I simply lowered my head and tried to invent as many positions as I could, because, man, I just want to do it very well.”

He joined the podium after the race by Heather Hadley (No. 54 Hendricks Motorsports) that ended 12th and won the highest female driver award.

Having two female drivers as part of the ceremonies was the perfect way to underline the launch of a new docuserie on the MX-5 cup called “first until the end.” March 25, in Prime Video, the series follows Mott and Hadley during the 2024 season, as well as the owner of the Bsi Racing team, Shea Holbrook.

There is another race of the MX-5 Cup to go to St. Pete. Round 4 turns green Sunday at 3:45 pm et. Live broadcast is available here in Racer and The corridor channel On YouTube.