Scott Tucker returned to victory lane today as he posted his sixth win of the Ferrari Challenge season in the 25-lap, 45-minute sprint race held at Quebec's Circuit Mont-Tremblant. Posting a fastest lap time of 01:41.252, the No. 55 Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life F430 driver led the final seven of the 25 laps, overtaking Series points leader Mark McKenzie (01:41.089) and holding him off for the last half of the race.
"We've competed against a lot of phenomenal race cars this year out on track," Tucker said. "It's been a great season for us here in the Ferrari Challenge Series. With every race, the competition keeps getting tougher and tougher. This team has set up a great car, one that excels when things get intense."
Qualifying with a time of 01:40.364, Tucker took his front row starting position on the grid alongside pole winner McKenzie (01:40.352), who had posted a time just 12 one-thousandths of a second faster than Tucker. As the green flag dropped at 3:15 p.m. EST, McKenzie forged ahead as the field rolled into turn one. Tucker remained close behind in second, and Ferrari of Beverly Hills' James Henley tagged along followed by Zak Brown in the No. 99 F430.
Ever the tough competitor, Tucker kept constant pressure on McKenzie in the opening laps, forcing the Texan to overdrive his No. 27. It was a strategy that would pay off.
The first caution flag flew on lap 12 when Ferrari of Houston's Richard Fant crashed his No. 42 car into the wall-a reprise of his terrible crash just one month ago at Road America. The incident forced Fant to retire early from the race.
Back under green, a single file restart put the now 17-car field back to work. Tucker was more determined than ever to pass McKenzie and take over first position. With 14 minutes left to race, the Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life driver executed his plan of attack. As McKenzie and Tucker entered turn 10-the turn Tucker had been studying all weekend-the No. 55 made a late-breaking move and planted his car inside the No. 27. This smooth pass gave Tucker momentum at lap 18's turn 10 as he pulled ahead by three car lengths.
Henri Richard, who had started the race in fifth position, pushed his No. 98 machine up to fourth. With Richard and Ferrari of Newport Beach's Steve Hill, who was now in fifth, locked in a door-to-door duel, the two closed in on third place Brown to make it a five-car battle to the finish line.
As the checkered flag flew high, Tucker cemented the win. McKenzie came in second, Brown (01:42.091) was third to the line, while Richard (01:42.165) followed in fourth and Hill (01:42.541) in fifth.
"It was a really good race for us today," Tech Jean Marchioni said. "From the beginning Scott has proven his talent as a driver. Scott used a well-planned strategy over McKenzie during race-one that took a mental and physical toll on the Ferrari of Houston driver. Each week, we make it a point to be better and to get out there and fight with the best of them. Going into tomorrow's sessions, our goal is to continue to gain ground and keep working our way to the top of the points standings."
After today's race, Tucker is closing in on first place McKenzie's 1495 points; the Boardwalk Ferrari Supercar Life driver has 1375 points. Brown holds third place with 1290 points. Tomorrow's race events begin with a qualifying session at 9:30 a.m., with race ten scheduled to begin at 1:25 p.m. EST.
Catch Supercar Life Racing on SPEED TV at the following dates and times:
Ferrari Challenge Series:
Saturday, August 22 at 1:30 a.m. EST (Race 7 at Road America)
Friday, August 28 at 9:30 a.m. EST (Race 8 at Road America)
Rolex Series:
Sunday, August 7 at 8 p.m. EST Race 9 at Watkins Glen)
Saturday, August 29 at 2 p.m. EST (Race 10 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve)
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