Podium Sweep in Trans-Am at The Ridge
As racers, every weekend is remembered by certain moments that stick with us. Some are cherished more than others. As any driver knows, there are usually more bad days than good days in racing. But when everything goes right, it makes all the tough days and late nights worth it. Every so often, all the puzzle pieces align for a weekend that checks all of the boxes. We were ambitious and brought our first three-car effort to a Trans-Am race in early June, when we visited the Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, WA. It hosted the 4th round of the Western Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli. David Hampton made his return to the series in his 718 Cayman GT4. Making his debut in the series was Larry Luck who piloted our E46 M3 arrive and drive car. Larry has consistently been working to hone his craft in our Spec E46’s these past few years and decided he was ready to make the jump up to professional racing.
We also had our motorsports director Martin Sarukhanyan make his debut in the series with his Ecotec swapped Miata, affectionately known as Greta. Martin raced “Greta” for the first time at this track eight years ago with Lucky Dog Racing League. The car has undergone several iterations between now and then, with the most recent being a turbocharged Ecotec engine putting it into the GT category for Trans-Am racing against factory-built race cars. As a family and team, we were thrilled to see Martin make his professional debut in a car that he has put so much time and energy into.
We started the weekend with testing on Friday in a deluge of rain. All three drivers ran a bit to shake down the cars, but we didn’t spend too much time on track with the weekend predicted to be dry. The best part of Friday was when Chef Ben pulled off a Seafood Boil. Complete with Crawfish, Shrimp, Clams, Corn, and Potatoes in a spicy broth inspired by our team’s historic favorite restaurant, Dragon’s Crawfish in Tacoma. It was a wonderful warm meal after a soggy day! As usual, Chef Ben wowed us all. We don’t just come for the racing. We come for the food that he prepares.
Saturday brought better weather and an uber-competitive qualifying session in the GT category. 4 of the top 5 qualified within a second of each other. David captured his first-ever Trans-Am pole with a 1:45.579. One of the Killer Shrimp Racing Corvettes of Kevin Michaels took second just .2 tenths behind. Larry piloted the M3 to third with a 1:46.0, with Martin just a tick behind at a 1:46.5 in his underpowered yet lighter Miata. A solid day, to say the least, with ideal track conditions yielding some great laps in the afternoon during the session.
We found it neat to see four vastly different cars all be so close within qualifying. Kudos to the team at Trans-Am for putting together a class that has a solid BOP platform to allow a wide range of vehicles to be competitive in the GT class.
We went into Sunday knowing the race could get interesting! David fell to second on the start getting held up by a few TA2 cars on the initial drop of the green. He made a great pass on Kevin getting late on the brakes heading into the carousel just a few corners into the lap to reclaim the lead. Martin tucked in right behind in the third. Larry initially fell to 5th but got back by JC in the other Corvette after a few laps. As the race settled in, David had his mirrors full of Kevin and his Corvette with a lot of early pressure. David didn’t make any mistakes and was able to keep him behind until Kevin suffered a mechanical failure. Martin then inherited second and was running some consistent times, hoping to rely on managing his tires to close the gap as the 75-minute race taxes equipment, and it’s easy to use up your stuff early on. Unfortunately, a newer set of wheels started to expand and back out a few lug nuts, creating a loose wheel condition that forced a pitstop.
Martin recovered to third, which gave Larry the second spot. David was able to cruise to victory with his two teammates finishing behind him.
To have all three of our drivers share the podium together for the first time was a special feeling. “I couldn’t be prouder of our whole group that contributed to achieving this together,” said Martin. “I also want to specifically thank Josh, John, and all the guys that put so many hours into the car. It’s just a $400 junkyard motor with a big turbo, and it held together. I’m excited for Portland!”
Larry felt humbled by the opportunity to be up on the podium in his professional debut. “The Trans-Am folks were great. I came here for the first time and couldn’t ask for a better experience to be a part of the series. The AR gang was unbelievable all weekend; I can’t thank them enough for the great car prep. Couldn’t ask for a better day.”
David’s infectious smile could be seen across the paddock! “I can’t tell you how great it is to work with this group. They are just a wonderful crew that works so hard to prepare these cars, and they always keep me motivated to go faster with their tweaks to get the car just right. Just a heck of a lot of fun today! This car was tight on making it on fuel, but we had just enough to get to the end. We got her done today! This is a win I will remember for a long time.”
Certainly one of our highlights of the season thus far. We’re already looking forward to the next Trans-Am West round in Portland in late July!