Ruscitti, from Burnaby, British Columbia, completed his two-day reign over the IMSA Development Series by winning Round 8 of the season Sunday, July 13 in wet conditions in the No. 4 8Star Motorsports entry. He beat series leader Mikhail Goikhberg to the checkered flag by 16.749 seconds. Young star Ruscitti, 20, also drove to victory in Round 7 of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda and in the ST class in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge under sunny skies Saturday at CTMP. These were his first two starts in Prototype Lites.
“It’s unbelievable to get two wins in my first weekend in the Lites car,” Ruscitti said. “It’s an awesome feeling. During the middle of the race, it actually started to dry, and then it started to get really wet. It was just car control. Keeping the car on the track is probably what won it at the end of the day.
“Definitely a perfect weekend. I wouldn’t have thought it coming into the weekend. I think like they said yesterday, I should go buy a lottery ticket.”
Goikhberg, from North Vancouver, British Columbia, returned to the podium after a first-lap crash eliminated his No. 10 JDC Motorsports entry from Round 7 Saturday. He leads the championship, 136-83, over Robert Alon with six rounds remaining.
“I want to thank the crew that stayed up all night fixing the car from yesterday,” added Goikhberg. “We were lucky we were able to even start the race. Given the big blow to our championship points yesterday, the only thing on my mind was to finish and collect points. I want to congratulate Remo (Ruscitti) on his win. He did a great job coming into the series and winning both races under different conditions. I’m happy with the end results and how we’re leaving Mosport.”
Madison Snow, from Lehi, Utah, finished a career-best fourth in the No. 29 Extreme Speed Motorsports entry, while Ruscitti’s teammate Christian Potolicchio rounded out the top five in the No. 2 8Star Motorsports entry.
Ruscitti started sixth but wasted little time powering to the front in steady rain and a stiff wind in the open-cockpit cars. He pulled up beside pole sitter Goikhberg in Turn 10 entering the front straightaway near the end of the second lap, completing the decisive pass just before the start-finish line. Ruscitti never trailed thereafter.
The field bunched during a full-course caution with about 29 minutes remaining in the 45-minute race due to the stopped Lites 2 car of Jerome Mee, and Ruscitti lost his 9.788-second lead. But Ruscitti never was threatened on the restart, building a 4.728-second lead five minutes after the field returned to racing.
While Ruscitti pulled away, Falb’s charge through the field created drama in the closing laps.
Falb passed Potolicchio for third with five minutes remaining. Falb pulled to within six-tenths of Goikhberg at the white flag while Goikhberg was trying to clear the lapped car of Lites 2 leader Brian Alder.
Goikhberg and Falb both passed Alder, and Goikhberg held his line and his cool over the final two turns to beat Falb to the finish by .367 of a second. Still, Falb took the lead in the Masters Championship, 114-106 over Craig Duerson, with his victory in the class in the race.
Michal Chlumecky, from nearby Windsor, Ontario, was the second-finishing Masters driver in the No. 31 Eurosport Racing entry for the second time this weekend. Falb’s teammate Lee Alexander finished third in Masters in the No. 48 ONE Motorsports car in just his second career start in the series.
“Wow, it was an interesting start, and I obviously spent some time getting acclimated to the track and trying to find some dry areas where I could find some grip,” a happy Chlumecky added. “Through (Turn) 5B, I got overzealous on the gas and got it around. That cost me about a lap or so, but I was able to get the car back on the track and compete. Unfortunately, I think we had an electrical issue, and we were running three cylinders from that point on. But all in all, it was a great race. It was fun, but it was challenging finding good speed. But definitely exciting for me.”
Alder, from Marysville, Ohio, completed a weekend sweep in Lites 2 in the No. 22 BAR1 Motorsports car. Todd Slusher finished third in the No. 62 ONE Motorsports car, followed by Mee in the No. 95 Alta Velocita Racing entry.
Rounds 9 and 10 of the season are scheduled for Aug. 9-10 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. For live updates on all the action, follow @IMSALive on Twitter.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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