The third weekend in the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship got off to a roaring start under hot and sticky conditions with a pole position and new track record on the long track for Mac Clark and a dominant win in race 1, leading every lap and setting fastest lap of the race. Adding to the excitement, it was also the prestigious Al Craighead Memorial Cup, One of Canada’s most coveted titles. Teammate Connor Clubine nabbed an impressive 2nd place finish in B Class with Sean Johnston continue his development and finishing a satisfying 4th place.
On Sunday the skies opened up and it poured shortly before the F1600 race was to start, flooding many parts of the track and making for a very interesting set of conditions at the drop of the green flag. Meghan Gilkes got the jump on Mac Clark at the start and he spent the first 3 laps in 2nd position. Conditions inside the helmet proved a challenge as Clark’s glasses fogged up and , coupled with the tremendous amount of spray, made vision a real problem. He would drop to 3rd for one lap but was back to the front by lap 7 and maintained control of the race from there, grabbing the win. Connor Clubine survived a couple of spins but was very quick late in the race and finished 4th in B Class followed by teammate Sean Johnston in 5th who really took to racing in the rain.
The track dried up for the final race of the weekend and Clark would start outside pole. He quickly jumped to the top spot and disappeared from the rest of the field posting several fastest laps in the first third and settled in to comfortably take the chequered flag by over 20 seconds. In B Class Connor Clubine recovered from another competitor forcing him off track and down the escape road at the end of the back straightaway to take the win – his first in series competition. Sean Johnston, in just his 3rd weekend of motorsports competition placed 2nd in B Class behind Connor – an amazing accomplishment.
