It was a dominant performance for Copeland Motorsports during the opening round of the Toyota GR Cup North America series with two wins, two pole positions, four podium results, and ten top-ten finishes over at the famed Sonoma Raceway. Leaving the weekend with the Team and Drivers Championship point lead, Copeland Motorsports, the defending series champions, is proving that they are the team to beat.
With five drivers in the Copeland Motorsports program, three occupied the top-three positions after qualifying with Westin Workman pipping Gresham Wagner late in the session as they secured front-row starting spots while Jaxon Bell slotted into the third position. Mia Lovell was the highest qualifying female in the field pushing her #57 entry to seventh on the grid as Adam Brickley put all five drivers in the top-ten of the 29-car field in the ninth position.
With momentum on their side, the first race of the season was all Copeland Motorsports. Leading every lap of the race, the Copeland Motorsports duo of Workman and Wagner kept the rest of the field at bay with Wagner taking the win by 3.276 over his teammate. Bell put a trio of team drivers in the top-five in the fifth position with Lovell in sixth as both the fastest female and the highest-placing female competitor. Showing their speed and flexing their muscles, the Copeland Motorsports quintet was once again all in the top-ten, with Brickley crossing the line P7 putting five team drivers in the top-seven.
Back to the track Sunday for race two qualifying and it was much of the same from the day prior. Westin Workman was able to claim the fastest lap honors for the second time in two days while teammate Gresham Wagner was second on the charts to complete the all-Copeland Motorsports front row. Jaxon Bell and Mia Lovell earned P5 and P6 starting positions to lockout row three as Adam Brickley was ninth quickest to put all five Copeland Motorsports drivers in the top-ten once again.
Workman led race two early with Wagner locked to his rear bumper with Bell, Lovell, and Brickley in fifth through seventh respectively. After a short caution for an incident involving another competitor, it was back to green flag racing as Workman and Wagner continued their fight up front. Lovell had an off-course excursion and fell to 11th as Jaxon Bell moved forward to third and Brickley to sixth. Workman and Wagner continued to battle up front, making contact as they swapped the lead briefly before Workman assumed the position with 17 minutes remaining. Wagner made several attempts to get by Workman and made it stick with three minutes to go as he looked to earn his second win of the weekend and the season. Wagner took the white flag ahead of the four-car trail with Workman just behind in second and defended perfectly to take the win with Workman second, Bell fifth, Brickley in sixth and Lovell in tenth to put all five Copeland Motorsports drivers in the top-ten for the second race in a row.
“What a weekend as we proved we are the team to beat,” explained Dean Copeland. “Two pole positions, two wins, four of a possible six podiums and the point lead in both the Team and Drivers Championship. Already looking forward to the next one.”
Next up for Copeland Motorsports and the Toyota GR Cup North America series will be a trip to the bumpy Sebring International Raceway over the May 3-5 weekend.
Photo Credit: Conejo Motorsport