Former Champs Sweep World Challenge Opener at St. Pete
Mar. 25, 2012 - St. Petersburg - A pair of SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup champions opened the Pirelli World Challenge season with a 1-2 finish on the Streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday. 2011 Champion Michael Cooper topped 2009 champ Todd Lamb for the class win.
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| Michael Cooper took the Pirelli World Challenge opener in a MAZDASPEED3. |
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From the Pirelli World Challenge race report:
One of the race's fiercest battles came in Touring Car, where Cooper, of Syosset, N.Y., fought tooth-and-nail for most of the race with Tristan Herbert, of Reston, Va. Herbert was looking for his second St. Pete victory in the No. 33 Brimtek/GermanAutoParts.com Volkswagen GTI after taking the Touring Car win in Race 2 last year, while Cooper, the 2011 Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup champion, was looking to get his World Challenge career off to the best possible start.
Cooper started from the pole position in the No. 3 MAZDASPEED Motorsports MAZDASPEED3, but Herbert got the lead at the start and led the first two-thirds of the race with Cooper in hot pursuit. On Lap 22, Cooper pulled off the Cadillac CTS-V Move of the Race, getting around Herbert in Turn 10 and into the Touring Car lead. Two laps later, Herbert attempted to retake the lead heading into Turn 1 and momentarily got the position before running wide on the exit of the corner and losing several positions, while Cooper disappeared into the sunset.
"It didn't go nearly as smooth as I would like," said Cooper. "I think we got hit from about every angle, front, back and both sides, but we got it done. We avoided some crazy maneuvers, avoided the crashes and made it here.
"You always hope it's not going to be like that, because you need to race tomorrow. But if it's like that, you've got to do it. You've got to get down there and get dirty with those guys and get it done."
Cooper's first career victory was solidified when Herbert and Ryan Winchester, of Mason City, Iowa, crashed together in Turn 1 to bring out the final full-course caution. Both drivers avoided injury. Before the incident, Herbert posted the fastest Touring Car lap of the race at 1:25.101 (76.144 mph).
Todd Lamb, of Atlanta, Ga. took second in Touring Car in the No. 71 National Karting News/HPD Honda Civic Si, followed by Anthony Rapone, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, who finished third in the No. 81 Durabond Racing Honda Civic Si. Rapone earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award after advancing 18 positions from start to finish. Fourth in Touring Car went to Gustavo Michelsen, of Lima, Peru, in the No. 69 TLMUSA.com Honda Civic Si and Shea Holbrook, of Groveland, Fla., completed the Touring Car podium with a fifth-place run in the No. 67 TrueCar.com Honda Civic Si.
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