Red Bull Global Rallycross: Race Recap Memphis

For a complete visual recap, visit the Xceleration Media post with galleries throughout the weekend here.

Red Bull GRC Memphis: Supercar Round 1 Recap

IN BRIEF: A new racetrack and a new race format couldn’t stop two-time defending Red Bull Global Rallycross champion Scott Speed. He won the pole, multiple heat and semifinal races, and the main event in the 2017 season opener at Memphis International Raceway. Speed’s Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross teammate Tanner Foust finished second, crossing the line under a second later, while Loenbro Motorsports’ Steve Arpin placed third.

HEAT RECAPS: Five drivers won heats under the brand new race format, which adds not only more heat races but also more points to the championship. Speed and Arpin won Friday’s first round heats, while it was Speed once again and Chris Atkinson who kicked off Saturday with second-round heat wins. Foust and Sebastian Eriksson won the third round heats, while the semifinals went to the VARX duo of Speed and Foust.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: Contact on the first lap of the final ended Patrik Sandell’s day early, forcing a red flag and a restart. On the restart, Speed and Foust jumped out to first and second place, continuing their run as the class of the field from qualifying and the heat rounds.

But the podium wasn’t truly settled until the checkered flag fell, as multiple drivers held third place during the 10-lap final. Sebastian Eriksson had the spot initially after starting on the front row, but Mitchell deJong took the spot for most of the first half of the race. Arpin then used a well-timed Joker Lap at the halfway point to grab third for the remainder of the final.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 Red Bull GRC season:

Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
Steve Arpin, #00 Loenbro Motorsports
Mitchell deJong, #24 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE
Oliver Eriksson, #16 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE
Cabot Bigham, #2 Bryan Herta Rallysport
Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE
Chris Atkinson, #55 Subaru Rally Team USA
Patrik Sandell, #18 Subaru Rally Team USA
Austin Dyne, #14 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 Red Bull GRC season:

Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross: “Everybody is working so hard. The first race when you come back is always the one you’re looking forward to. Almost everyone has done their homework, and you wonder who did the best job. I think it’s pretty clear. Our game plan is always the same: we focus on what we can control as a team and we do our job. If we do that, that’s all we can ask for. There are a lot of variables out there and you can’t control anybody. We just keep our head down and do what we do.”

Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross: “It really is a tricky track. The first corner is so fast—when you dive in there, you wobble your way up the banking there. You really need to be inside on the second corner. Scott put up an amazing fight, and all you can do is go on those heels and game on. The points are much closer, and going into the final basically the points are similar for everybody. This track is awesome, the fans are awesome and there were so many people in the pits. It’s so great to come out here after a six-month season. It was great to reengineer and do everything that we possibly can to come out of here with a 1-2 finish.”

Steve Arpin, #00 Loenbro Motorsports: “This first one was tough. It was pretty good, but we had a tough weekend starting off. We pretty much missed both practice sessions, and I just completely blew it in qualifying. But our guys, they worked their tails off. No words can describe how good of people the Leach family is—to be able to work for them and put this race team together and build it, Loenbro Motorsports is an honor to work for. And with all the guys who came with us from last year, we have good and fast racecars. It’s going to be exciting, and we’ve got exciting things to come!”

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 Red Bull GRC season:

Scott Speed earned the record 12^th victory of his Red Bull Global Rallycross career on Saturday in Memphis. Speed became the first driver to win finals in each of the past five seasons. The win was also his record third in Red Bull GRC season openers (April 2013, Brazil; May 2014, Barbados).
Tanner Foust earned his first podium of the season, and the record 25^th of his career, by placing second. His result also gave Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross its first 1-2 finish of the season, after taking three last year; the most recent came in Los Angeles last October, when Foust also finished second to Speed.
Steve Arpin earned his first podium of the season in the first race for Loenbro Motorsports. It was the second time that Arpin earned a podium in a Red Bull GRC season opener (May 2014, Barbados).
Mitchell deJong earned the best finish of his Supercar career by placing fourth on Saturday. deJong made his debut in the class in 2016 with two main event appearances.
Supercar rookies Oliver Eriksson and Cabot Bigham finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in their Red Bull GRC Supercar debuts.
Chris Atkinson gave Subaru Rally Team USA its first points-paying heat victory since the 2014 season finale when he won Heat 2A on Saturday. It was also Atkinson’s first Red Bull GRC heat victory in his fifth career start.

UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS:

Scott Speed, 79
Tanner Foust, 74
Steve Arpin, 64 (tie)
Mitchell deJong, 64 (tie)
Oliver Eriksson, 56
Sebastian Eriksson, 55
Cabot Bigham, 54
Chris Atkinson, 49
Patrik Sandell, 46
Austin Dyne, 0

UNOFFICIAL MANUFACTURER POINTS:

Volkswagen, 5
Honda, 4
Subaru, 3

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Red Bull GRC Memphis: GRC Lites Round 1 Recap

IN BRIEF: DirtFish Motorsports’ Conner Martell took advantage of a bad break for Alex Keyes halfway through the main event to win the 2017 GRC Lites season opener at Memphis International Raceway on Saturday. Martell held off Olsbergs MSE X Forces’ Cyril Raymond and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Christian Brooks to take the third victory of his Lites career.

HEAT RECAPS: Six of the 11 drivers in this weekend’s event took a victory in the heats or semifinals, with Martell, Raymond, and Cole Keatts winning the first round heats and Brooks and Colin Braun joining Raymond as the second round winners. Keyes outdueled Raymond to win the first semifinal, while Martell took the second over Brooks. Series newcomer Burt Jenner won the last chance qualifier over Jon Bennett.

MAIN EVENT RECAP: The entire field got off the line cleanly to kick off Saturday’s main event, with Keyes jumping out to an early lead over Martell and Raymond in what many expect to be a preview of the year-long championship battle. But Keyes’ work to build up a lead went for nothing halfway through the final, as a punctured left rear tire took him out of winning contention.

Martell and company made it past Keyes on the pit straightaway, with the DirtFish driver holding a consistent lead over Raymond for the remainder of the event. Brooks, meanwhile, managed to get to the finish line ahead of Braun to take his first-ever GRC Lites podium, but with less than a second to spare.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: The results from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 GRC Lites season:

Conner Martell, #21 DirtFish Motorsports
Cyril Raymond, #13 Olsbergs MSE X Forces
Christian Brooks, #44 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Colin Braun, #56 CORE autosport
James Rimmer, #25 DirtFish Motorsports
Alejandro Fernandez, #126 AF Racing
Jon Bennett, #54 CORE autosport
Travis PeCoy, #3 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Alex Keyes, #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Burt Jenner, #5 AF Racing
Cole Keatts, #53 Olsbergs MSE X Forces

QUOTES: A selection of quotes from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 GRC Lites season:

Conner Martell, #21 DirtFish Motorsports: “It was just about being consistent all weekend. The track was unbelievably rough. I feel bad for (Alex) Keyes. But we were consistent and that’s why we won. And the plan is to win the championship!”

Cyril Raymond, #13 Olsbergs MSE X Forces: “It was a great weekend! My first race was a great result for me and the team. I am happy to be here. There is a very high level of competition in USA and it’s very hard on the track. I’m here to gain a lot of experience and hope to win the championship.”

Christian Brooks, #44 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: “It’s definitely great to be up here for the first time. I want to thank all the guys at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. We were fast right out of the gate. I’m just glad we are here on the podium. The plan is to have more to come!”

FAST FACTS: A collection of facts from Saturday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Memphis, the first round of the 2017 GRC Lites season:

Conner Martell earned his third career GRC Lites victory, and fourth career podium, by winning Saturday’s final in Memphis. It was the second year in a row that Martell took a Lites victory in the first event of the year, after he won 2016’s second main event in Phoenix.
Cyril Raymond took his first career GRC Lites podium, as well as his first two heat victories, in his first start in the class. Raymond was the 2016 European Lites champion.
Second-year driver Christian Brooks also earned the first podium of his GRC Lites career by placing third on Saturday. Brooks’ second-round heat victory was the second of his career, after taking his first last season in Atlantic City.
Alongside Raymond and Brooks, James Rimmer (fifth) and Jon Bennett (seventh) set or equaled personal best finishes in a GRC Lites final.
Alongside Raymond, Cole Keatts (Heat 1A) and Colin Braun (Heat 2B) earned the first heat victories of their GRC Lites careers, while Burt Jenner (LCQ) also won the first race session of his GRC Lites career.
All five teams (AF Racing, CORE autosport, DirtFish Motorsports, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and Olsbergs MSE X Forces) entered in this weekend’s event won at least one race session.

UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: