Radical Cup Ready for Battle at Barber

With the first round of the Blue Marble Radical Cup North America program done and dusted more than one month ago, teams and competitors are set to go again this weekend in Leeds, Alabama.

Ready to tackle the 2.38-mile, 16-turn Barber Motorsports Park, early season winners and class points leaders Jon Field, Danny Dyszelski, and Seth Bacon will look to continue their success while drivers who faltered in New Orleans will look to battle back at Barber.

“It is our first event of four alongside the NTT IndyCar Series and in doing so, our competitors will be on display for big crowds and high-profile team owners,” explained Radical Global Motorsport Director Tom Drewer.

“With 27 cars on the entry list this weekend, we have seen an influx of fresh and young blood into the series, but as always the more experienced drivers– some of whom have raced Radicals at country clubs for years– will be tough to beat.”

That includes former title winners Alan Miller (ONE Motorsports), who hails from Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club, and Louis Schriber (RYNO Racing) from Autobahn Country Club.

Both are eager to eat into the Platinum class points lead of former American LeMans Series champ Jon Field, who was just a mandatory pitstop misstep away from a clean sweep at NOLA.

However, reigning class champion Steve Jenks (Group-A Racing) returns this weekend and should immediately fight for victories, while Alain Derzie (ONE Motorsports) and ESSES Racing teammates Scott Wagner and Wayne Williams can’t be ruled out either.

All seven Platinum drivers will be piloting Radical’s 425bhp turbocharged SR10 machines, with Schriber in the latest XXR variant.

PRO 1500 will see the largest class on the grid. One Motorsport’s Gregg Gorski has over twice the life experience of his main championship rivals, and after scoring three podiums at NOLA, he is determined to knock triple race winner Danny Dyszelski (WISKO Racing) off the top step of the podium.

The task will be made even harder given a host of young guns are looking to do the same thing, including F3 rising star Nick Persing (Cameron Racing), Radical Brand Ambassador Aurora Straus (ONE Motorsports), and 2022 Pro 1340 National Champion Austin Riley (Racing With Autism) who scored a victory last year at Barber Motorsports Park.

Fellow Canadian Robert Soroka (RySpec) is another to keep an eye on, as is 2021 Pro 1340 champ and perennial front-runner Mike Anzaldi, while Nick Pearson returns to the series to attempt a PRO 1500 podium in what could be his final race before he embarks on his college football career.

Group-A Racing will again field Jack Yang and Reid Stewart, while David Alban and Richard Durocher will join Dyszelski in the WISKO Racing stable, and Arul Venkatesh will make his 2023 debut with Radical Northwest/Cameron Racing.

Of the 13 drivers in the Pro 1500 ranks, two – Anzaldi and Persing – will pilot the new SR3 XXR models.

The PRO 1340 division has also seen a major jump in entries. Bijoy Garg (Team Stradale) adds Radical Cup to his 2023 outings in Asian Le Mans, USF Pro 2000, and the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge while reigning Canadian F1600 Champion Jake Cowden (RySpec Racing) makes his series debut this weekend and is confirmed for the rest of the season.

Huw Leahy (TWOth Autosport) and Ben Blander (Team Stradale) are another two additions for Barber. However, all will have their work cut out with father and son Seth and Jace Bacon (CROWN with Apex), and Ken Savage (G-Tech Motorsport) each having taken a win during the first round.

Blue Marble Radical Cup competitors will hit the track Thursday for a pair of extended practice sessions before qualifying and three wheel-to-wheel races that will take place Friday and Saturday.