Vtec Club Rd.3 2021 Recap

Vtec Club’s Autumn Speed Festival hosted on October 1st, 2021 at Big Willow, Willow Springs International Raceway

Words: Sean Lucas // Photos: @z3ppelin

As the late Summer heat begins to fade, and temperatures shift to more favorable digits, VTEC Club’s competition ready drivers return to the circuit for Round 3 of the all-Honda series hosted at Big Willow, the fastest course at Willow Springs International Raceway.

Built for high speed, Big Willow is known for issuing drivers a test of both skill and confidence.  The circuit’s layout is a mix of mid to high speed turns that crescendo at the last sector; turn 8, a high-speed right hander that demands commitment, and turn 9, the decreasing radius right that leads into the front straight.  Two turns that can make or break a lap time and define the flow of the circuit.

It was the perfect venue for VTEC Club’s community of eager drivers to return to the track.

As the sun began to crest over the iconic John Hartman Garage, the still desert air was soon overcome with the enthusiastic sound of exhaust tones and the chatter of competitors. The pits were abuzz with talk of off-season upgrades, expected lap times, and the typical communal conversations about automotive life.

Registration was smooth and quick, giving drivers and their mechanics time to prep for the start of the first session.  It wasn’t long before Race Control called for the pre-grid of the Advanced run group to kick off the day – and what a day it was.

All eyes were on the green flag as it was waved down to start the first session.  The Group A drivers, leading the advanced run group, hit the ground running.

Group A

The action was plenty, and it was swift with Jose Mejia and his FK8 putting down a blistering 1’26.860 on his first hot lap of the day.  Given that it was his first time driving the Type-R on this course, knocking on the door of the record is very impressive.  Unfortunately, playing it safe in an over-take situation, Jose made the split second decision to go off track to avoid an incident that ended up damaging the car enough to be out for the day.  Despite only putting down one good lap, it was still enough to walk away with the Group A win and fastest lap of the day by nearly 4 seconds.

“I was very impressed with the potential the FK8 has at Big Willow. With just 2 laps in and with some traffic on the second lap I was able to achieve the goal I had set for the day. A lot was left on the table. Aside from the incident I had a great time. Nothing beats the friendship we have all developed at VTEC Club.” – Jose Mejia

John Cruz, driving his new 8th gen Civic with recently equipped supercharger was able to grab second place in Group A with a 1’33.504.  Some slight mechanical issues with the new build left him unable to improve on the day.

Third place was secured by Mario Mojica in his turbocharged Honda Fit with a time of 1’39.807.

Group A2

The time gaps that were present in Group A started getting much narrower in the closer matched Group A2.  17 cars made up the field for this class, and the podium finishers were all within sub 2 seconds of one another.  Sky Chan and his S2000 came out on top with an impressive 1’30.664, good for first place in his class and a new personal best.

“It was great to run with all the other Honda drivers and set PB together. Definitely will be back and nail down more PB.” – Sky Chan

Second place went to long time VTEC Club competitor and friend of the show Bruce Simpson with a 1’32.749. While Bruce may have gotten the second-place trophy, he scored major paddock points with the other drivers and organizers with his S2000’s new cleaner look.

It’s been refreshing to see aesthetics start playing a key role in this series, as drivers not only look to improve on their lap times, but the car’s overall appearance as well.

Right on Bruce’s tail in third place was Jay Cabanzo in his K powered MRS with a best time of 1’34.074.  Combining the Toyota chassis with Honda’s unbeatable powerplant has proven to be a formidable opponent in the series.

Group N

The battles continued to get closer in Group N with some of the series’ most seasoned drivers.  Resident driver and instructor AJ Jaquias, taking advantage of the great early morning weather in session 1, was able to pilot his S2000 to first place and reset the record with a blistering 1’31.769.

“Round 3 had exceptional weather in the morning which allowed me to lay down a solid hot lap. I can’t help but wonder if it had stayed cooler in the later sessions if I could have gone faster. Guess it will have to wait till the next Big Willow event. Congrats to all the other podium finishers and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Round 4.” – Alan ‘AJ’ Jaquias

James Snell, also in a S2000, wasn’t too far off with a 1’32.844; good enough for second place.

Jakob Lim in his EG took third and was able to secure the only front wheel drive podium finish in the class with a 1’35.275.

Group N1

Group N1, a class that is dominated by FF cars, saw a diversified field with 23 competitors battling it out on the 9-turn circuit.  Dustin Nocum, Group N1 Round 2 winner, continued his class domination during his second VTEC Club outing.  A 1’33.280 was good enough for first place in the class – also worth noting it would have gained him podium in every other run group above N1 as well.  His great driving and finely tuned EM1 is proving to be a formidable opponent for N1 class.

Mark Duffy piloted his EG to second place with a 1’34.851, another great lap time for N1.

Rounding out the podium in 3rd place was Marck Tejada, this time behind the wheel of a B16 powered EK sedan.  His first time driving Big Willow in the new build garnered him a 1’35.139 and a good baseline for the new car.

Group N2

Year after year, the N2 Class drivers produce some of the most intense friendly rivalries on track, often with laps within tenths of a second from one another.  Acting as a feeder series to the other, faster classes, the N2 championships have repeatedly come down to purely driver skill as reliance on power or chassis tuning is dramatically decreased due to class restrictions.  The return to Big Willow was no different this round and our top 3 finishers were left within less than a second between each other; in 3 different chassis’ to boot.

Local race turned Honda featured celebrity, Daniel Fuentes, in his popular Midori EK, now Battlecraft hood equipped, managed to take top spot with a 1’34.235 across the line. 

“It was a super fun day! N2 was definitely one for the books since we were all battling on track on the same session together and racing with friends.” – Daniel Fuentes

Cory Tsan and his EG were a mere 6 tenths off of the first place time with a 1’34.889, showing just how close the N2 class gets.

Ken ‘Baja Blast’ Keo, in his pursuit of taking the N2 championship, was able to grab the 3rd place podium and some key championship points with a best time of 1’35.639.

“That N2 party tho! Definitely the most fun & intense battle I’ve had on track.  I’m excited for what’s to come in Round 4; will be working to extract everything out of the car that I can in order to sub 2 at Buttonwillow.” – Ken Blast

With Round 3 wrapped up, we look to Round 4 this December 3rd at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.  A driver favorite course, and one that carries some heavy competition for VTEC Club. 

Shout out to our awesome sponsors for making Vtec Club possible - Koyorad, Eneos Motor Oil, Nissin Performance Brakes, Kaaz, Hybrid Racing, Swift Springs, RCompound USA, BattleCraft, and RS Future!

And thank you to our drivers and fans for being a part of this community, and we’ll see you in December!