Under cloudy and threatening skies, the Slingshot Racing Cup kicked off its 2018 season this week with a sensational couple of races at Gimli Motorsport Park.
A great race long fight for the lead in Race 2 between professional race car driver, David Richert, and 2017 Slingshot Racing Cup Participant Champion, Myles Kraut, culminated with a last lap pass by Richert for the win. Both Kraut, who won Race 1, and Richert leave the season opening event in a tie for 1st overall in the championship.
The Slingshot Racing Cup is a collaboration between S.A.R. Sport & Recreation in Steinbach and Richert Racing. It is the only championship in the world to feature Polaris’ unique 3-wheeled roadster called the Slingshot.
After a dry weather morning of driver training for new participants, practice, and qualifying, the skies opened up over lunch with a deluge of rain. The rain subsided prior to the start of proceedings in the afternoon, however, drivers were faced with the challenge of having to compete on a wet, and always changing, track throughout the afternoon.
Race 1 saw Kraut jump out to an early lead with returning driver Darren Miller and newcomers, Stan Higgins and Shannon Friesen, dueling it out closely behind. With Richert making his way up from the back of the field, Kraut was able to fend off the challenge and clinch victory for Race 1.
With Race 2 set to be an adventure on an ever-drying track, it turned into a wild affair as Kraut and Richert raced wheel to wheel at the front of the field. The race was finally decided with a last lap overtake by Richert to seal the victory followed closely by Kraut in 2nd and Miller rounding out the podium in 3rd.
“Both our new and returning drivers faced a challenging situation with the extremely wet race surface, but I was extremely impressed with how well they, and the Slingshot itself, were able to handle the difficult conditions,” said David Richert. “It was another really fun day at the race track and I’m already looking forward to the next one soon.”
Rounds 3 and 4 of the Slingshot Racing Cup will take place at Gimli Motorsport Park on June 20th.
