The Carrera Cup Long Beach Race 1 is underway and, although my predictions were iffy (read here), #77 (Maxson) is starting at 6th, and #9 (Hedge, also my hometown pick) is starting second. Read below my real time thoughts and updates!
LIVE UPDATES
33:38
After a few minutes of racing, #32 (Sargent) has created a strong ~3.5 second lead. #24 (Jeansonne) took 2nd from #9 (Hedge) off T1 of lap 1. Since then the field has settled.
29:16
Maxson has moved his way up to 4th. #7 (JCD) started 10th in the Pro class, and hasn’t had much luck moving from there. He is currently 3 seconds behind 9th.
27:14
Speaking on the Masters class, #88 (Cirone) only has a half second lead over #45 (Blind). #68 (Bellomo) is 5 seconds behind Cirone and so we are watching a battle for 1st and 2nd in Masters.
25:00
The Pro-Am class is already won for #54 (Mulcahy) given no mistakes (which is a difficult thing to do here at Long Beach). He leads 2nd place, #58 (Wetterau) by over 23 seconds.
Maxson is still 4th in the Pro class, he is currently less than a second behind 3rd, Hedge, who is over 1.5 seconds behind 2nd, Jeansonne.
22:44
Contact on #68 (Bellomo) who was spun out. He is now 9.5 seconds behind #88 (1st).
20:41
9th in Pro class #37 (Cook) is on the bumper of #78 (Kleck). Positioning near the bottom of the class is close, but the middle (5th-7th) is even closer. I believe the top 2 are cemented (given no accidents), but Hedge and Maxson are battling it out for 3rd.
18:00
I do not believe Callum Hedge will hold onto his podium spot. I am rooting for him (I know… I shouldn’t be biased… sue me), however Maxson’s aggression is showing strong here.
15:34
Thomas (#96) has dropped 2 spots from 5th to 7th as #40 (Stiak) battled him for 5th and #23 (Bloum) took advantage of lost momentum from both drivers. Hedge has created over .7 seconds of space between Maxson as we are entering our final quarter of the race. Will Maxson make a move as the race reaches an end?
10:48
Announcer curse might play a role for tomorrow, as they just stated it has never rained during the Long Beach Street Circuit.
10:10
Maxson is flashing his lights as he nears the bumper of Hedge. The two are going head to head, it will be interesting to see how this plays out for podium.
9:20
Split is 0.503 for the battle for 3rd between Hedge and Maxson.
8:20
Sargent is here as a one off, Jeansonne is Maxson’s closest competitor when it comes to championship standing. Jeansonne is 2nd currently, so Maxson doesn’t have to worry (at least today) about losing his #1 position on the championship. JCD has dropped to 11th and has cemented his weekend.
4:55
Hedge is doing a fantastic job at creating dirty air for Maxson. Down straights, Hedge is doing great, but through the corners, Maxson is on his bumper. With less than 5 minutes remaining, will Maxson make podium?
2:45
Jeansonne has gotten his split down to 1.694 seconds off of 1st (Sargent).
1:48 – Finish
Maxson is going for 3rd but Hedge defends it beautifully. Maxson is in full-attack mode. Maxson creates contact on Hedge.
We’re into the final lap.
The battle for 3rd is the only battle right now on the race.
Maxson is side by side.
Hedge is defending beautifully. Final corners coming up.
Sargent 1st, Jeansonne 2nd, Hedge 3rd, and Maxson 4th. Maxson almost had Hedge multiple times over the last laps, but Hedge’s defense is top notch.
Looking back on my predictions, JCD wasn’t quite as powerful during race one. However, Maxson and Hedge both fought for podium. Tomorrow’s race two will be interesting… can Hedge continue to defend his podium spot or will he go on the attack towards Jeansonne or even the all-powerful Sargent? We will see tomorrow!
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