Ahead of This Weekend’s HSR Classic Road Atlanta 10 Hour Presented by Mission Foods
The co-headlining Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Fall Historics got underway Thursday and Friday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (MRRA) with two competitive days of on-track action setting the stage for this weekend’s Second Annual HSR Classic Road Atlanta 10 Hour presented by Mission Foods.
The weekend’s opening HSR SascoSports International/American Challenge presented by Hoosier sprint belonged to polesitter Damon DeSantis, who turned his front-row starting position into overall and Porsche class honors. DeSantis led all 10 laps aboard the 1974 No. 82 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR fielded by AJR Heritage Motorsports. Fellow 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR driver Jack Lewis brought the No. 9 home second overall and in class, while AJR Heritage teammate Ricky Park secured third overall and in the Porsche class with his 1973 No. 44 Porsche 911 RSR.
Austin Jabaley produced one of the weekend’s biggest drives, advancing from 18th overall on the grid to take the International class win in his 1971 No. 71 Datsun 240Z/2.8. Craig Joslin maintained a presence at the front of the International field throughout the race to place second in his 1983 No. 09 Volkswagen GTI with polesitter Clay Mobley following in third in the 2004 No. 97 BMW E46/330i.
Steven Piantieri put the 1965 No. 95 Ford Mustang GT 2+2 at the head of the American class, crossing the finish line inside the top five overall. Corvettes filled the remaining two class podium positions, with HSR and Road Atlanta first-timer Ted Zapras taking second in the Type 1 Performance 1966 No. 6 Corvette C2 after passing John Arnold late in the race. Arnold settled for third in the 2000 No. 5 Corvette C5.R for his first SascoSports Challenge podium.
B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge competition saw 901 Shop driver Todd Treffert control the early pace from the pole in his 1972 No. 14 Porsche 911 S/T, with teammate David Agretelis maintaining close company in the similar No. 66 Porsche. The teammates finished one-two overall and in the Vintage class while Park rounded out the overall podium and took the Historic win in his Porsche.
George Kovakas joined Treffert and Agretelis on the Vintage podium in his 1986 No. 114 Porsche 944 Turbo. In Historic, Mitch Eitel and Mark Hamilton Peters mounted a notable recovery in their 1971 No. 60 Lola T212, climbing back to second after dropping to 17th early on. Franklin Farrow completed the Historic podium in third with Air Cooled Classics 1974 No. 17 Porsche 911 RS.
Other B.R.M Challenge podium players included a pair of KMW Motorsports & TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCRs that finished one-two in class with Cliff Berry leading teammate Ryan Harrold to the line.
Friday’s day-ending Mission GT Challenge presented by Pirelli one-hour enduro provided another close fight at the front, with Andrew Myers arriving just after a trip from Tokyo to secure overall and GT3 class honors. Myers led the field away in the yellow 2018 901 Shop No. 51 Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup to take the win over TwoTh Autosport owner Trevor Hill and co-driver Leonard Gousha in their 2023 No. 21 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Local Georgia outfit Kingpin Racing, led by owner/driver Tyler Hoffman and Scott Rowbotham, completed the overall and GT3 podium in the 2019 No. 888 Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup.
Kingpin also swept the GT4 podium at its home circuit, where the team’s shop is located just minutes from Road Atlanta. After starting second in class and leading for much of the race, John Eddlemon regained the top spot on the final lap to win GT4 in his military-inspired 2024 No. 22 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, sharing the car with Hoffman. Robert Campbell placed second in the 2021 No. 81 Toyota Supra GT4, while Kevin Clayton slipped to third on the final lap after leading the closing minutes in the 2020 No. 03 Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Friday’s Fall Historics action opened with the 90-minute HSR Prototype Challenge presented by Michelin feature race. An early spin by polesitter Pierce Marshall in the Matador Motorsports 2017 No. 01 Cadillac Dallara DPi didn’t stop him from surging back to the front of the field with co-driver Eric Foss to secure the overall win. Marshall dedicated the victory to late HSR competitor Chip Romer.
Paul Arnold and co-driver Sean Rayhall took the P3 class victory and a strong overall runner-up finish aboard the PTC Motorsports-prepared 2021 No. 14 Ligier JS P320. John Reisman and co-driver Guy Cosmo scored the P2 class win in the Hudson Historics-prepared 2017 No. 33 Dallara Cadillac.
The HSR Classic 10 Hour presented by Mission Foods begins its opening races Saturday starting at Noon EDT for a full afternoon of 42-minute races for each Run Group.
