Sean Rayhall doubles-down on double podiums at CTMP in Canada

Driving coach and current 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda season championship points leader, Comprent Motorsports' Sean Rayhall (L) pours the Champagne of podium victory over 8Star Motorsports driver, Christian Potolicchio (R). Image Credit: 8Star Motorsports via Facebook

Sean Rayhall doubles-down on double podiums at CTMP in Canada

This last weekend saw the IMSA development series Rounds 7 & 8 in the 14 Round 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda season play out. As the round numbers suggest, the season passed by the halfway point with the races run at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formally Mosport), around 60 miles drive East of Toronto and the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

As mentioned in the pre-weekend "Sean Rayhall poised to move at The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix" article, season points leader (by only one point) Sean Rayhall was poised to repeat the feat that launched him into the points lead with a double win weekend like he had at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This is exactly what transpired, and more, much more.

Round 7, also referred to as Race 1 of the The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix two race weekend, had Rayhall start the race at the pole position, but very early into the race, he was passed by the driver who was sitting third in the season points, Performance Tech #18 Ryan Booth.  

"Booth got by me on the start, through a tight run side by side through one, where I had to settle in and save my tires for the right time," said Rayhall in a post The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix weekend interview.

There Sean Rayhall sat with the gap times remaining fairly consistent between .246 sec. to .471 over the course of around 9 laps. On Lap 10 Rayhall saw his opportunity and took it.

"I made the pass after catching a draft down the back straight into turn 8, where I held the line when Booth made contact with my right rear causing him to spin, while I had a huge correction before driving away," recounted the Robert Talbott Inc. #14 Comprent driver.

Booth re-entered the track in P9 after the spin. Rayhall then put on a clinic of consistency while drivers behind him kept loosing time. Eventually, Rayhall had pulled out a lead of as much as 20.020 seconds on #6 Daniel Goldburg, Booth's Performance Tech team-mate, by Lap 14. By Lap 17, Booth had moved his #18 Performance Tech car up to P7.

Lap 17 saw a YELLOW Flag at around 24 minutes into a 30 minute session. Goldburg was able to make up some of the time he had lost to being behind by 16.750 sec.. This, of course, reset the field for a battle to the end when the GREEN Flag would again fly.

The restart on Lap 19, at 27:40, left only a few short laps for the field to reign in Sean Rayhall. Booth moved up to P5 at the beginning of Lap 20 with Goldburg sitting 2.874 sec. and Booth 5.311 sec. behind. The race finished on Lap 22 with Ryan Booth moving up from 5th to 3rd - Goldburg 3.074 - Booth at 6.038 giving Performance Tech a double podium.

During the race Sean Rayhall set a new track record for Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda - 1:14.994.

Sean Rayhall driving the Robert Talbott Motorsports Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda past the Start/Finish flag stand and into Turn 1 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park during The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix weekend. Image Credit: Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda

Enter Round 8, also referred to as Race 2 of the The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix two race weekend. Sean Rayhall, once again, started on the pole position and Ryan Booth, once again, passed Rayhall for the lead in the race. This was beginning to look like a conspiracy of circumstance with a two race weekend having both races begin the same way with the pole position starting driver loosing the lead on the first lap.

Q - Was the pass kind of like in Round 7 where there might have been a touch and Booth looses control and has to pit?

"No just a great run out of turn 5b after Booth got loose, and a solid draft to finish it."

Later in the race, Booth, while about 2 laps behind due to some extended pitstop work for mechanical issues, set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 11 at 1:14.931 which would have set a new mark for this Canadian dedicated road course. On Lap 29, however, Sean Rayhall reset the mark at 1:14.920 putting a final cap on a dominate performance. Rayhall was able to keep the race at bay once he re-assumed the lead and finished the race on Lap 31 9.206 sec. ahead of Performance Tech's #6 Daniel Goldburg and 9.634 sec. on P3 8Star Motorsports' Christian Potolicchio.

Q - Great race ... and the team that you are working with, 8Star, made the podium. Christian Potolicchio remained very close to Daniel Goldburg once Brownson was out of the way ... I thought he might have had a chance at getting by the #6 but a P3 is very good - is this his best result?

"Christian did a fine job, I am absolutely stoked to be a part of 8Star Motorsports, and also very excited that Christian had his best finish in Prototype Lites yet! He was very close to Goldburg and we will continue to make him and the 8Star Motorsports team as a whole, better each race!"

Q - What were the keys to being able to sweep the Mobil1 Sportscar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and take a giant step toward securing the points championship?

"The key was behind setup and maintaining a smooth line for the first half of each race. Being smooth and conserving the tires of our really fast Robert Talbott Motorsports Mazda so we could make huge gains mid-way through each race!"

Q - Double podium in Round 8 with you at P1 and 8Star Motorsports driver Christian Potolicchio at P3. Could you give me a sentence or two about the nature of your efforts and new relationship with 8Star Motorsports and, specifically, Christian Potolicchio?

"I am now Christian's driver coach and am working with 8Star Motorsports to develop him for the remainder of the season as of right now. Perhaps you will see us co-driving together at some point?

"But [what] an amazing feeling to come away with two wins and to have Christian on the podium with me, knowing how hard we worked to get him there tasted nearly as sweet as victory!"

The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Round 8 of the 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda season podium. From R to L - P2 Performance Tech's Daniel Goldburg, P1 Comprent Motorsports' Sean Rayhall, and P3 8Star Motorsports' Christian Potolicchio. Image Credit: 8Star Motorsports via Facebook

While there were many double podiums for The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix's 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park - Daniel Goldburg's Round 7 & 8 P2s, Performance Tech's Round 7 P2 and P3 posting of Ryan Booth and Daniel Goldburg respectively, none were as dramatic and decisive as Sean Rayhall's two double podiums for first - Round 7 & 8 P1s but also due to his coaching relationship with 8Star Motorsports, second - the Round 8 P1 and P3 performance of Sean Rahall himself, and the driver he is coaching, Christian Potolicchio.

Next stop is another two race weekend featuring Rounds 9 & 10 at the 2013 Road Race Showcase, Road America // Elkhart Lake, WI - August 9th through 11th, 2013.

Maybe an opportunity for a quadruple double podium ... dya' think?

... notes from The EDJE

Sean Rayhall poised to move at The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix

Comprent Motorsports Robert Talbott Inc sponsored #14 Elan DP-02 currently lead the points and this feat was produced by scoring points in only five of the six races run to date. Image Credit: Sean Rayhall via Instagram

Sean Rayhall poised to make a championship move at The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix

It is always like this when one is interested in following events in motor culture. It seems that there is never anything going on ... and then, BAM! Great racing starts popping out all over the place.

Take living in Toronto, Canada, for example - Last weekend they held the first ever two (2) race weekend of the IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS) at the Exhibition Place temporary street course track. The IICS is experiencing one of the most competitive and tight championship points fights with 1/3rd of a season still left on the schedule once the weekend of double-points and big moves was over. The crowds were larger than in recent years of the two decades old annual IICS event.

The very next weekend has the sports car world visit Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (formally Mosport) with the last race of the American Le Mans Series due to the merger with the Grand-Am series to compete as United SportsCar Racing (USCR) in 2014. The Mobil1 SportsCar Grand Prix for ALMS cars is to be held on Sunday July 21, 2013 at 12-2:45 p.m. ET with live television broadcast carried by ESPN2 beginning at 1:00pm ET.

The other set of races that surround the racing action is to be supplied by The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel cars, the Mazda Playboy MX-5 Cup, and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda - both feature a two-race weekend. The last time the Mazda Playboy MX-5 Cup, and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series were together was a weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Diamond Cellar Classic June 14-16, 2013.

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda will contesting Rounds 7 and 8 in a 14 Round season. Sean Rayhall and Comprent Motorsports Robert Talbott Inc sponsored #14 Elan DP-02 currently lead the points and this feat was produced by scoring points in only five of the six races run to date. Rayhall would be the first to say that this has been a great team effort.

Sean Rayhall appears to be poised to repeat the feat that launched him into the points lead with a double win weekend like he had at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. All three practice sessions had Sean in the lead, or barely #2 by 9/100s of a second.

8Star Motorsports #2 driven by Christian Potolicchio takes the Qualifications for Rounds 7 & 8 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix. Image Credit: John Dagys via 8Star Facebook

Before qualifications for the weekend's Rounds, Sean Rayhall had these responses to the following questions.

1- Is this your first time at this track? If so, What is you favorite impression of the track (corners, difficulties, and etc.)?

Yes it is my first time at the track and I absolutely love the high speed corners as well as it really being a drivers track!

2- With two races over the next couple of days, what do you see are the critical sections of the track and what do you intend to be on the look-out for?

Critical sections rely on the high speed areas and having enough aero without hurting the straight line speed before the back straight!

3- Pre-Race - What are the team's thoughts on the upcoming weekend's races (Rounds #5 & #6)? Is your team back to full strength?

Team thoughts are to have a smooth consistent weekend, and come away with good points for the championship, but we always are in it to win it! - Yes.

4- Additional thoughts on being at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and rubbing elbows with the folks in the other series racing this weekend.

Additional thoughts are I am also coaching for 8Star Motorsports Lites programs for the remaining of the season so working side by side with LeMans winner Enzo Potolicchio is an absolute pleasure!
ENDS

After qualifications for Rounds 7 and 8, the Comprent #14 driven by Sean Rayhall outpaced the competition in similarly prepared Elan DP-02s.

Results communicated through a Facebook entry in the following manner:

@TheEDJE
Sean Rayhall - P1 - Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Qualifying - 1:14.238 | 119.244mph - @CTMPOfficial @IMSALites ‪#‎CTMP‬ ‪#‎Mobil1SCGP‬

The #14 was 1.035 clear of Ryan Booth's Performance Tech #18 and faster by 1.64mph!!! Whoa, the Comprent guys really had the Elan hooked up.

Excellent set-up for the Mobil1SCGP race weekend.

@prnmag
@IMSALites top three from qual: 1. Sean Rayhall 2. Ryan Booth 3. Daniel Goldburg. Race 1 at 5:10 pm ET @CTMPOfficial #Mobil1SCGP
— at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series has the GREEN Flag dropping in Race One at 5:10 p.m. ET Saturday. Race Two is set for Sunday, July 21 at 8:10 a.m. ET -   wake up early!!

If one is following the action, either at the track or on internet services ... it's like, don't blink, you'll miss something.

... notes from The EDJE

Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

A peek into the business end of Sean Rayhall's Mazda-powered Elan DPo2. Image Credit: Racelite Protection

Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

His first time at taking to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in anger gave the young driver with the familiar sounding name ... especially here, very familiar results.

The road course at Mid-Ohio will always be linked in motor culture lore as the home turf of the Rahal racing family, and more clearly, Bobby Rahal.

Bobby Rahal and his father, Mike, visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its first-ever race in 1962, and throughout his motorsports career Rahal has been tied to the track and its former owner Jim Trueman.

In addition to other series, Rahal competed in 16 Indy car races on the road course, earning victories in 1985 and 1986 - on his way to the CART championship, six other podium finishes, and pole starts in 1983 and 1985.

Bobby Rahal, in a 2012 interview to IndyCar.com said, "In 1987, I made a mistake and tried to pass a guy I was lapping and he came down on me and flattened the tire with a few laps to go and (Roberto) Guerrero won instead and I had been well in the lead."

Sean Rayhall, for his first time experience, also contended with moves that may be common for the track layout at Mid-Ohio with its elevation changes, corner-leading-to-corner, and fast sections design.

Sean Rayhall in the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02. Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

Through the qualifications, young Rayhall had little trouble with cars 'coming down' on his car in the corners because, after all, this session was only for where one was to start the races for the weekend.

Qualifications for the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda ,at the Diamond Cellar Classic June 14-16, 2013, was interrupted by two RED Flags but through it all Sean Rayhall was able to prevail over his next closest competitor, Ryan Booth by a margin of 0.086 seconds on the 2.258 mile, 13 turn road course. Booth, in car #18, was able to post a fastest lap on LAP 6 of 1:18.530 only to have it eclipsed by Sean on the very next lap at 1:18.444 on LAP 7 of the qualification session. The other competitors in the field were in the 1:20.000's or beyond.

Rayhall, for his part, after the first RED Flag stoppage posted a lap of 1:18.474 on LAP 13, just before the second RED Flag stoppage just to make sure that his car would beat the best qualifying time laid down by the #18 car of Booth's.

Round 5, however, saw the following mechanical event that effected the outcome of the first race of the weekend.

The Diamond Cellar Classic In Round 5 Rough For Rayhall ... After leading for 14 of the eventual 18 laps (timed 30 minute race session), posting the fastest lap time of the race - 1:19.326 (as opposed to the next fastest - 1:19.780), and creating as much as a 4 second lead gap before the first of two YELLOW Flags that led to thirteen minutes of the timed 30 minute race to be run under caution. Sean Rayhall finishes Round 5 in P2 to end up being tied in the points championship at 76 points with #18 Ryan Booth.

Round 5 podium with Ryan Booth P1 (c), Sean Rayhall P2 (l), and Daniel Goldburg P3 (r). Image Credit: imsalites.com

In an exclusive post race interview, Sean Rayhall shared what happened on the second restart that led to being passed by car #18 - "Left rear (brake) caliper ceased up. It was completely locked when I stopped in the pit (at race's end), went down off the back-straightway into the braking zone and the car just turned sideways before the corner, saved it from an off, got passed, and wasn't able to achieve over 500 lbs. of brake load without the car coming out from under me. Definitely not the result we were hoping but I salvaged what I could."

So five races into a 14 race season have the points race tied largely explained through two race-time equipment failures on the #14 Comprent Motorsports Elan DP02. The first race of the season netted zero points out of a possible total of 20 for the young Rayhall due to a transmission linkage failure.

Round 6, contested the very next day, Sunday June 16, 2013, Father's Day, saw the kind of move (twice) that had happened to Bobby Rahal late in the race where he lost his bid to 'three-peat' at the famed Mid-Ohio road course when the eventual winner was Roberto Guerrero. In this case, the outcome was dramatically different.

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series grid for Round 6. Image Credit: imsalites.com

Rayhall Regains Luster in Diamond Cellar Classic Round 6 ... In what could be a bit of deja vu for a race car driver with the same sounding name at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Sean Rayhall survives a car 'coming down' on his car twice in the Round 6 of 14 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series.

The race went GREEN Flag after the Keyhole Turn 4 which allows the cars to sort themselves out along the back straight through Turn 5. In this case, according to Rayhall in a post race phone conversation, the #18 car of Ryan Booth 'came down' on me, we touched and spun. "I re-entered the track at P15 and was able to make up two positions by the end of the first lap (no YELLOW Flag full course caution).

One corner leads to another flow at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Image Credit: imsalites.com

The following Tweets from the Prototype Lites twitter account (@imsalites) and entries from @TheEDJE -

Prototype Lites ?@IMSALites
Contact between @seanrayhall and @RyanBoothRacing on lap one. Rayhall has continued, Booth is off driver's left in the gravel trap Turn 4.

@seanrayhall dropped back to P10 after the incident and has now moved up to P7 on lap 4.

@TheEDJE
P5 on LAP 6

@seanrayhall working his way back up, eight minutes into the race and is now P5. #CooperLites

P4 LAP 7

@seanrayhall passes @ChrisPoto22 entering Lap 7 to take fourth position. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

12 minutes in @seanrayhall gets around Jon Brownson on lap 7 to take P3. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P3 LAP 10 - @seanrayhall rapidly catching the top two and just turned the fastest lap of the race: 1:19.524. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P2 LAP 11 - @seanrayhall's nose is right on the tail of Goikhberg as he battles for the second position. #CooperLites

Daniel Goldburg remains the leader, @seanrayhall now P2. #CooperLites

LAP 13 - Rayhall - 1:19.357

@seanrayhall pressuring Goldburg now for the lead entering Lap 14 at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

19:29 - left @seanrayhall has been putting pressure on Daniel Goldburg for five laps now, but Goldburg hanging onto the lead entering lap 17.

@seanrayhall and Daniel Goldburg side-to-side contact made, but both continued. Goldburg still leads heading into Lap 18. 20 mins to go!
- break in tweets-

Here is where Sean recounts that Daniel Goldburg 'came down' ("door-slammed") on his car while having the inside position in the Carosel Turn 14 by no less that 3/4th of a car length after Goldberg drove in a manner that could be characterized as very fat for several laps. In this case, unlike what had happened to Bobby Rahal in the 1987 passing of a back-marker, Sean Rahall went on in a very strong way putting additional time distance between him and the next closest competitor, #10 JDC Motorsports Mazda of Mikhail Goikhberg, on each sucessive lap.

- resume tweets -
@seanrayhall is the new leader now on Lap 18 after getting past Daniel Goldburg at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperTires #DiaClrClassic

Daniel Goldburg is now off the track, driver's left Turn 4. Mikhail Goikhberg is now P2.

15 mins remain at @FollowMidOhio! @seanrayhall P1, Mikhail Goikhberg P2, Jon Brownson (M) P3, @ChrisPoto22 P4, Lamont Harris (M) P5.

13 minutes left LAP 23 - @seanrayhall is 10.213 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

LAP 25 - @seanrayhall is 11.544 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - turning laps in the 1.20s

7 minutes left - LAP 27 - @seanrayhall is 14.185 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - still turning laps in the 1.20s

5 minutes remain - LAP29 - @seanrayhall is 21.508 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - 1:19.778

The white flag is out. Last lap here at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

1 minute remains - LAP 32 - @seanrayhall is 27.828 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

@seanrayhall sees the checkered flag first and takes Race Two at @FollowMidOhio! #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic
- end of tweets -

Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

The race ended with the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02 having a 30.088 second lead.

Sean Rayhall shared that the team entered the weekend short handed given that the team race engineer, Mike Davies could not be physically at the track for the weekend which left the duties to Sean and the Crew Chief who usually provides the data analysis, Brandon White, to ... multitask!

Quite a charge and brilliant luster (from P15 to the win in Round 6) that capped a weekend that saw mechanical failure, followed by tough driving and 'coming down' tactics result producing a seven point lead in the series championship at The Diamond Cellar Classic run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

... notes from The EDJE

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**Article first published as Rayhall Revels In Mid-Ohio Racing Tradition And Glory on Technorati**