PSCNA: Anna Cecchi regains championship lead with victory at VIR
- LIAM REDFORD
- 55 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Anna Cecchi regained her Cayman Pro/Am class championship lead with a superb weekend at Virginia International Raceway where the Charlie Hayes Racing driver scored her third victory of the season.
Anna Cecchi regained her Cayman Pro/Am class championship lead with a superb weekend at Virginia International Raceway where the Charlie Hayes Racing driver scored her third victory of the season.
Now into the second half of the campaign, Cecchi was seeking to reclaim her championship lead from rival Keith Grant after a challenging middle portion of the season. After beginning the year with four straight podium finishes, including a double victory at Sebring International Raceway, Cecchi arrived at Virginia International Raceway four points behind Grant in the Cayman Pro/Am class standings. Seizing the initiative with two victories in mixed conditions at Circuit of the Americas, Grant was now the driver to chase entering the final three rounds of the season.
Nonetheless, Cecchi was high on confidence arriving at Virginia International Raceway after a superb performance at the technical circuit last season. Securing her maiden pole position by a margin of almost half a second, Cecchi claimed two podium finishes while consistently battling at the front of the field. Therefore, the Charlie Hayes Racing driver was looking to draw upon this past experience to reassert herself in the overall standings.
On-track action began on Thursday as the drivers took part in three, pre-event test sessions. Over the course of the day, Cecchi completed 38 laps with her quickest time of a 1:54.552 coming in the morning session.
The first official free practice session took place on Friday morning with Cecchi making an excellent start to the event. Topping the times both overall and in the Cayman Pro/Am class, Cecchi’s fastest lap of a 1:55.686 was almost two tenths of a second quicker than Ford Koch and three quarters of a second clear of championship rival Keith Grant.
Friday’s action concluded with the second free practice session which was the final running prior to qualifying. Cecchi completed 15 laps during the 40-minutes and ended the day with the second fastest time in the Cayman Pro/Am class. Setting a quickest lap of a 1:55.902, Cecchi again finished the session ahead of championship rival Grant.
Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning and with a new set of tyres at each driver’s disposal, the improvements were significant. Cecchi immediately went to the top of the board on her first flying lap, while her speed through the final sector was particularly impressive.
Cecchi held top spot until Kellymoss racer Ford Koch went faster as he set a new benchmark of a 1:52.373. Cecchi pitted midway through the session before attempting one final flying lap, while ensuring she did not take too much life out of her tyres. Finishing the session in second position overall, also second in the Cayman Pro/Am class, Cecchi’s quickest time of a 1:52.964 saw her claim the runner-up spot by a margin of over half a second over Grant.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Cecchi lining up from the outside of the front row. As the drivers accelerated towards the first turn, Cecchi maintained second position while contact between Cody Knight and Todd Ruturra saw both Cayman Pro/Am class drivers delayed.
At the end of lap one, Cecchi held the runner-up position as she remained within a second of race leader Ford Koch. With Koch only running a partial schedule, it was not crucial for Cecchi to pass the Kellymoss racer with her championship aspirations in mind. Nonetheless, it was a good start for the Charlie Hayes Racing driver who set the overall fastest middle sector on lap two.
Despite Koch beginning to edge away on lap three, Cecchi was substantially extending her margin to Grant with her speed through the middle sector especially strong compared to her title rival. On lap four, Cecchi was one and a half seconds faster than Grant as she built a comfortable margin over the third-placed driver.
After Koch set the overall fastest lap of the race on lap six, Cecchi responded by lapping quicker than the Kellymoss racer on the next tour. With the race settling into a rhythm as the halfway point approached, Cecchi continued to extend her advantage over Grant with her pace remaining both fast and consistent.
On lap 10, Cecchi’s margin had exceeded ten seconds while Koch held a four second lead ahead of the Charlie Hayes Racing driver. Tyre degradation was extremely high at Virginia International Raceway with the leading group lapping around five seconds slower than their respective qualifying benchmarks.
After a small mistake on lap 15, Cecchi settled back into her rhythm until the race entered a full course yellow period with two minutes remaining after Dominique Lequeux went off the circuit. The race ended behind the safety car with Cecchi taking the chequered flag in second position, therefore reclaiming the championship lead from Grant.
Race two at Virginia International Raceway took place on Sunday morning with Cecchi lining up from pole position. Although Koch had earned top spot via his second fastest time from Saturday’s qualifying session, the Kellymoss driver elected to start from the rear of the field. As the lights went out, Cecchi got a superb jump at the head of the field and quickly pulled clear of Grant.
At the conclusion of lap one, Cecchi’s lead over Grant had extended to almost two seconds while Koch had made limited progress from 13th on the grid. On lap two, Cecchi set a new overall fastest lap with her time of a 1:54.388 reflecting the cooler track temperature compared to the previous day. By the conclusion of lap four, Cecchi’s advantage over Grant was over four seconds as the Charlie Hayes Racing driver continued her fast start.
Now almost 15 seconds clear of Koch, Cecchi was focusing on running quick and consistent lap times at the head of the field. Despite a new fastest lap from Koch on lap six, he was still losing time in the traffic and good avoidance was required by the Kellymoss driver after Lequeux spun. It was a busy race among the Cayman Masters drivers with multiple spins throughout the field, and fortunately for Cecchi, none resulted in a full course yellow period.
On lap nine, Koch was now into third position overall while Cecchi was continuing to pull clear of Grant. By lap 13, Cecchi’s margin over her championship rival was over ten seconds with Grant now coming under attack from Koch. Two laps later, Koch made his move and this was beneficial for Cecchi with the Kellymoss racer only running a partial schedule and therefore not in the championship fight.
Although Koch continued to edge closer in the final stages, Cecchi’s flawless lights-to-flag victory was assured as she claimed her third victory of the season. Finishing over 16 seconds ahead of Grant, Cecchi reasserted her authority in the Cayman Pro/Am class championship with a superb weekend at Virginia International Raceway.
It was an important pair of races for Cecchi who showed excellent speed in both qualifying and the pair of races. Now with a small lead in the standings over Grant, Cecchi will be looking to extend her margin when Porsche Sprint Challenge North America returns at Road America on the weekend of August 15th/16th.