Cayman Interseries - Lee Davis Scores Hard-Earned Flag-To-Flag Sprint Race Victory At Rennsport Reunion

MONTEREY, October 17, 2011: Lee Davis drove straight from the pole to a Cayman Interseries sprint-race victory Sunday morning at Rennsport Reunion IV but the flag-to-flag win was far from easy. The 20-minute sprint was the first race of a Sunday Cayman Interseries doubleheader at Rennsport and will be followed by a 45-minute finale this afternoon.

Davis led into Turn 1 at the race start in his black and red No. 33 Cayman S that carries the colors of the Advan Porsche 956s and 962s and Luna-C Clothing, but immediately felt what was going to be race-long pressure from debuting driver Jack Kachadurian. Driving a No. 14 Cayman S in the theme of a Richard Lloyd Racing Canon Porsche 956, Kachadurian jumped from third to second at the race start and kept the heat on Davis for the majority of the race.

“It feels awesome, it really does feel awesome,” Davis said. “It was one of the longest sprint races for a little bitty short race that I have ever been in. Jack was right in my mirrors for most of the time, and he got into me a little bit going down into the Corkscrew, I just corrected and kept going, and fortunately it was a light hit. I gapped him a little bit but then the track was coated with oil later in the race. I am glad everybody made it through that with no major damage.”

Davis crossed the finish line just ahead of Kachadurian while Mark Sandridge, driving his white and red-and-yellow striped No. 49 Cayman S that is modeled after his 1994 IMSA Champion Team Salad Porsche 911 RSR, prevailed in a great battle with Henry Davis to take the final podium spot. No relation to Lee Davis, Henry Davis finished fourth in his No. 21 Cayman S that carries the memorable markings of the silver Martini Porsche 917s. Bob Schneider completed the top five in his No. 40 Cayman S that pays tribute to the Martini “Baby” Porsche 935.

In Sportsman class action, Will Conniff led early on and again when it counted to score the victory in a yellow No. 55 Cayman S that is themed after a David Piper Racing/Sandeman Porsche 917K. Conniff waged a great mid-race battle with Mike Cassling, who drives a blue and yellow Cayman S in the colors of a Hydro Aluminum/Brun Porsche 962, and scored the win when Cassling spun off course in the oil that coated the track in the final laps of the race.

“It’s great to be back, I miss it badly,” said Conniff, a series regular the past two seasons. “Personal reasons are why I am not out here more because I love the guys and I love the format. Really, it’s just getting back in the car. When you are out of that car you just really lose a lot of your feel and momentum. I felt good about coming back after being away for almost a year and it was a blast.”

Conniff didn’t even know he was passing for the victory when he saw Cassling’s stranded car off course in the downhill run out of the Corkscrew.

“I had no clue,” Conniff said. “I was just focused on what I needed to do, stay on the track and try not to do anything stupid.”

David Gronke finished second after a strong run in his white and blue No. 8 Blaupunkt/Joest Racing Porsche 962-themed Cayman S. Randy Cassling, at the wheel of his black, yellow and red No. 18 Cayman S that pays tribute to the Le Mans winning factory Shell/Dunlop Porsche 962, finished third to salvage a podium finish for the Cassling family after his brother spun out of the lead.

The Cayman Interseries schedule at Rennsport Reunion IV wraps up with the weekend’s featured 45-minute race Sunday afternoon.

Noteworthy

- Davis spread some wide credit for his victory. “It was really a fantastic race and it was fun having all of these cars out there,” Davis said. “It was great to get the win for Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF), really happy with that, Ryan Eversley my coach did a great job on the radio, and Adam Twinley did a great job preparing the car. Just a really good race for us.”

- While a series-record field is racing this weekend at Rennsport Reunion IV, the Cayman Interseries has also been in action this weekend in the HSR event at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

Jim Thomason won the pole in qualifying in his pink and white No. 9 Cayman S, which is themed after the 1989 Blaupunkt/Joest Racing Porsche 962C, and then joined co-driver Tim Lewis Jr. in winning the weekend’s one-hour enduro race. Lewis passed Bill Riddell, driving his green No. 80 Cayman S that pays tribute to a David Piper Racing Porsche 917K, just two laps from the finish.

“That was fun,” Riddell said. “Yeah, I was trying to do everything I could, if I had had a grease bomb I would have thrown that out there. This is Cayman racing. A great car, a great set up and a lot of fun.”

Riddell quickly rebounded from the narrow loss and came back to win the weekend’s first sprint race less than an hour after the enduro finished.