The right tires made all the difference for Bill Okell of Saanich at the Sports Car Club of America national championships at Sonoma Raceway in California last weekend.

The 64-year-old driver raced an Austin Healey to a fifth-place finish in SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 GT Light class race, zooming through the largely American field after qualifying in 15th spot. The results was OkellB次元官网网址檚 best ever in several trips to the nationals.

For improving his position during the race, Okell earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award, given to the driver who moves up the most places from start to finish.

RELATED:

RELATED:

A mistake during qualifying saw him driving with an older set of tires that slowed down his lap times, Okell said. Team owner Joe Hufaker advised his driver last Thursday (Oct. 18) to go buy a new set of tires and the result was roughly four seconds per lap improvement come race time.

B次元官网网址淥verall it was a really good week,B次元官网网址� he said back home in Saanich. B次元官网网址淚 think we kind of went from a CB次元官网网址� earlier in the week to a B+ after the races.B次元官网网址�

Okell also drove the Austin in SundayB次元官网网址檚 F Production class race, for which he had also qualified 15th. There he finished 10th, hampered by a transmission problem that saw the car locked in second gear. Had that not happened, Okell said he would likely have moved up to about seventh spot.

His results made him the second-highest finishing Canadian among 15 or so drivers at the meet.

ItB次元官网网址檒l be 2021 before the nationals come back to the West Coast, so Okell expects he may not return until then.

c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
Like us on and follow us on