Wald’s last-round victory is among the highlights of Saturday’s Fall Historicks tournament

Another day of great weather provided the perfect setting for intense and competitive racing Saturday at the Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Fall Historicks, where five more special race winners took the top step of victory lane at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Clear and sunny skies returned to Road Atlanta for the second straight day, but Friday’s cooler temperatures gave way to Saturday’s higher 80s and even hotter competition at the 2.54-mile Georgia road course.

The featured Can-Am Mini Challenge Ed Spreen Cup race of the day lived up to its pre-race hype with a thrilling finish that was only decided on the last lap. Three different drivers led at least once in the final lap and a half of the sprint race, with Greg Wald winning in his No. 88 1964 Morris Cooper S.

Both Wald and runner-up Evan Gaston in their #44 1964 Austin Mini GT5 trailed race leader Andrew Nelson with less than two laps to go. Bypassing No. 11 Nelson’s 1965 Fortech Mini before the white flag, Gaston made a move on Waldo to take the lead on the final lap of the race, setting up a pass on the uphill climb out of Turn 1 and on the fast roads of the Road Atlanta section.

Gaston’s bobble later in the lap gave Wald the lead for the second and final time, and he crossed the finish line with a 2.468-second advantage.

Third place duly went to the Spreen Racing (TSR) 1966 #12 Austin Cooper of Chris Kearney, who took advantage of a Nelson problem on the final lap to steal the final podium spot. Kearney drove the same TSR Mini driven by Ed Sprin in the 1970 SCCA C Sedan National Championship at Road Atlanta.

Another showpiece race on Saturday was the one-hour BRM Chronographes Endurance Challenge for Historic, Prototype and GT Modern (GTM) competitors.

The race battle was for the overall honors and the top three prototypes between a trio of familiar teams and drivers who had raced and won HSR events.

The victory was secured by Matador Motorsports ex-ESM Tequila Patron 2016 No. 22 Ligier Nissan OR05 of Piers Marshall and Eric Foss winning the BRM race at Michelin Raceway for the third time since 2020.

Second place went to the Olthoff Racing 2007 #25 Oreca FLM09 with Larry Huang and John Edwards, while Travis Engen took third solo in his equally aging GMT Racing 2005 #2 Audi R8 LMP.

Alejandro Pimentel won BRM GTM in his #57 2018 Porsche 991 GT3, but a pair of fast Porsche Cayman GT4 rivals kept the pressure on to the finish line.

Second place in GTM went to brothers Paul Denton and Steve Denton in their #540 Denton Carden Racing-prepared 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4. Drew Ewing and Chris Ferraro finished third on the Porsche GTM podium in their Fandango Racing 2016 #13 Porsche Cayman GT4.

Additional winners for Saturday’s race included Kenneth Greenberg, who won the BRM Historic class in his #836 Air Power Racing-prepared 1996 Porsche 993 RSR, and HSR Classic RS Cup winner Mike Bantz in his #13 Heritage Motorsports 1974 Porsche 911 RSR.

Sunday’s schedule for HSR’s fall history starts early with the one-hour BRM Chronographes Endurance Challenge for the Vintage and GT Classic (GTC) classes at 8:10 a.m. EDT. Sunday will also feature the second and final WeatherTech Sprint races for all Run Groups and will conclude with the final Can-Am Mini Challenge race at 2:35 PM EDT.

Tickets for the HSR Fall Historics can be purchased at the Michelin Raceway Ticket and Credential Building, located just outside the main track entrance.

Characteristic:

• The Ed Sprin Cup Memorial Race pays tribute to its namesake, who was a pioneer and legendary figure in the North American mini-racing community. The Mini that Kearney finished third in Saturday’s show was the same car that Spren, who died in 2010, bought in England in 1967 and brought to North America. The car was built for competition from a new Austin Cooper S in 1966 and operated exclusively as a racing car for over 55 years. The landmark victory was Spreen’s 1970 Runoffs triumph, which organizers of the popular Can-Am Mini Challenge planned to celebrate with an Ed Spreen Cup race on the 50th anniversary of the win in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed those plans until this weekend, which also includes the Can-Am Mini Challenge final sprint, to bring down the curtain on this year’s HSR fall history on Sunday.

• Foss and Edwards aren’t the only professional driver/trainers competing in this weekend’s HSR Fall Historicks. Local resident and Corvette Racing legend Johnny O’Connell has been driving a two-man guest so far this weekend in the Cadillac CTS/VR owned by former GT World Challenge 2011 No. 3 Bill Heifner. O’Connell backed up his victory in Friday’s Stoner Car race Care Global GT to victory in today’s WeatherTech Sprint race in the #3 Cadillac he competed in. Newly crowned Pirelli GT4 America co-champion Eric Filgueiras is also competing this weekend alongside Angus Russell in his #15 Ligier JS/P3 LMP3 2016 car prepared by Amalfi Racing.