May 07, 2006:Kligerman doubles up at Willow Springs Internationa Raceway Park
Round 6 – Sunday, May 7th: Alexander Rossi started the race from pole position having beaten Parker Kligerman to the top spot in qualifying earlier in the day. Unfortunately for the Round 4 race winner his race weekend would end abruptly in the opening laps following a collision with Paul Mashouf from the 2000 class, both drivers racking up DNF’s in Round 6.
Kligerman capitalized on his front-row rival’s misfortune and he duly drove his way to the front of the pack to score his second win of the weekend and his fifth from six starts this season. In doing so he opened up a 67-point advantage over his Paladin Motorsports team-mate, Liam Kenney, in the 1600 championship standings, 206-139. Billy Goshen welcomed another second place finish, and the points for fastest lap of the race, to add to Saturday’srunner-up spot behind Kligerman, leaving Willow Springs just six points behind Kenney in the title fight.
Luis Martinez Jr. bounced back from his accident in Round 5 to climb onto the podium for the third time this season, his third place finish matching his best finishes from Fontana and Buttonwillow in the opening rounds of the championship. Liam Kenney’s fourth place finish kept him ahead of Goshen in the points but with his team-mate opening such a significant advantage over him in the points battle the Virginia racer will be keen to return to the podium next time out, Willow Springs marking the first time he’s failed to land a podium spot this season.
Tayler Malsam in the #19 Odyssey Motorsports entry produced another consistent drive to fifth with Kerry Lynch completing the top-six finishers. Tony Welch’s run of bad luck over the weekend continued with an electrical problem sidelining him between the third and fourth turns on the eighth lap, a full course caution deployed in order to recover the stranded race car.
Kligerman returned to his winning ways
Round 5 – Saturday May 7th: May Series leader Parker Kligerman returned to his winning ways at Willow Springs Raceway having seen his chances of a fourth straight victory denied by Alexander Rossi last time out at Buttonwillow. The Paladin Motorsports racer set the benchmark in qualifying, capturing pole position ahead of Rossi and Luis Martinez Jr. but he wouldn’t have it all his own way in the race. Rossi enjoyed a turn at the head of the pack but eventually it was Kligerman who triumphed with his fourth win of the season.
Rossi, in the #16 Odyssey Motorsports car, couldn’t quite capitalize on the pace which had taken him to the front in the early stages, although he would pick up the two bonus points for fastest race lap, and it was Billy Goshen, who had qualified down in sixth place, who took the runner-up spot to Kligerman at the checkered. Rossi had to settle for third place, the 14-year-old’s third successive podium finish since returning to 1600 action in Round 3 at Buttonwillow.
Behind them Kerry Lynch matched his best performance of the season with fourth followed by Tayler Malsam and Cameron Grisdale rounding out the top-six runners. Grisdale’s CT Motorsports team-mate, Kerstin Smutney, finished the race a lap down in seventh. The race ended under the caution courtesy of a spin on lap 15 at Turn 5 by Tony Welch. In the immediate aftermath of Welch’s spin, title-contender Liam Kenney and Luis Martinez Jr. crashed along with 2000 class runner Dino Bruno trying to avoid the stricken #11 Welch Racing entry.
