The Cayman Interseries returns to racing action for the first time in over two months this weekend for a full schedule of sprint and endurance race competition at the HSR Atlanta Historic Races at Road Atlanta, September 16 – 18.
The Cayman Interseries is making its second appearance of the season at Road Atlanta after a competitive weekend of racing during the annual Classic Motorsports Magazine Mitty event last spring on the legendary Georgia road course. That race marked the first battle between top Cayman Interseries competitors and championship challengers Lee Davis (right in picture) and Mark Sandridge (left in picture), two drivers who once again are expected to be the pacesetters in a full field of Cayman Interseries cars and drivers this weekend.
Davis, an Atlanta-area resident and the reigning Cayman Interseries Champion, drives his black and red No. 33 Cayman S, which carries the colors of the Advan Porsche 956s and 962s and Luna C Clothing. Sandridge races his white and red-and-yellow striped No. 49 Cayman S, which is themed after his 1994 IMSA Champion Team Salad Porsche 911 RSR. Sandridge debuted his Cayman at this year’s Mitty, won the pole in qualifying, finished second in the enduro and earned third-place showings in the weekend’s two sprint races. Davis finished second in both sprint races and third in the enduro.
“The last race here was a battle and I expect nothing less this time around,” Davis said. “I believe I had the fastest race lap, but finished second in both sprint races and third in the enduro. It’s a credit to the other drivers and the series that the racing is so close. You never know who’s going to win, and that’s what makes it so much fun!”
A twist in the return to Road Atlanta this weekend will be some different co-drivers for Davis and Sandridge this time around. Both Ryan Eversley, who regularly co-drives with and coaches Davis, and Sandridge’s coach and teammate Joe Varde will be racing at Mid-Ohio in the season-ending GRAND-AM race weekend. Davis has called on two-time Road Atlanta Cayman Interseries race winner Steve Jenkins while Sandridge is enlisting Georgia road racing legend Jack Baldwin.
“Unfortunately, Joe’s GRAND-AM team responsibilities take him to Mid-Ohio this weekend in a search of a championship,” Sandridge said. “We wish Team Rum Bum all the luck and to remember to keep the throttle to the floor! I’ll have the opportunity to drive with another one of the pro ‘old timers,’ Jack Baldwin. Jack and I have never raced together but he is a longtime friend and multiple IMSA GTU and Trans-Am champion, therefore no stranger to winning. We have talked many times about the strategy of this endurance race and look forward to the challenge of the other Cayman competitors.”
Varde manages Team Rum Bum, which is battling for the Grand Sport (GS) championship, while Eversley is in the hunt for the driver championship in the Street Tuner (ST) class up at Mid-Ohio.
“Since Ryan will be at Mid-Ohio trying to win his first GRAND-AM championship, I needed someone to co-drive with me in the enduro,” Davis said. “I’ve known Steve for awhile, first as a fellow competitor in GRAND-AM in 2008 and 2009, then in the Cayman Interseries last year. He is a good guy, a good friend, a great driver, and I’m really looking forward to us driving together instead of against each other this weekend!”
Jenkins won both sprints at the 2010 Mitty and has a solid record of five Cayman Interseries victories in six career starts.
“I’m super stoked to return to the Cayman Interseries,” Jenkins said. “It’s such a fun series with good competition, and great cars! I’m really thankful for Lee Davis and Luna C Racing for calling me to fill in this weekend. Lee’s regular co-driver Ryan is busy this weekend trying to wrap up a championship. I wish him the best, he’s a good friend and I hope that my being here in his place helps him be comfortable about what is going on here so he can focus on winning that title.”
While Davis and Sandridge have emerged as the standout series regulars this year, several other competitive Cayman Interseries drivers are heading to Road Atlanta.
Bob Schneider drove in the first race weekend of his career one event ago at Mid-Ohio and finished on the podium in all three races. His No. 26 Cayman S he drove this weekend carries the livery of the 1998 Le Mans-winning Porsche GT-1.
Schneider had a great race with Cayman Interseries regular Bill Riddell in the final sprint at Mid-Ohio and they could pick up where that left off at Road Atlanta. Riddell, who also competed in the Mitty last spring, races a distinctive green and white striped Cayman S, themed after a David Piper Racing Porsche 917K.
Husband and wife Cayman Interseries competitors Randy Cassling and Lori Cassling are also heading to Road Atlanta. Randy Cassling drives his yellow, black and red No. 18 Cayman S that pays tribute to the Le Mans winning factory Shell Porsche 962s, while Lori Cassling drives the popular No. 23 “Pink Pig” Cayman S that carries the distinctive pink livery of the one-off Porsche 917/20 that raced in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Atlanta Historics Cayman Interseries schedule includes Friday practice and Saturday morning qualifying before the first races of the weekend. The first of two sprint races is Saturday at 11:15 a.m. while the weekend’s featured enduro goes down that afternoon at 3:30 p.m. for 90 minutes. The weekend’s final sprint is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Source: Cayman Interseries
