There’ll be something new at Mad Mike’s Summer Bash when the second round of the all-new Fast and Furious race format joins the party. It’s the brainchild of Tony Quinn, and is billed as the 20/20 Cricket of motor sport as the goal of Fast and Furious racing is to deliver short, action-packed races which give spectators and drivers alike more bang for their buck.
The 3×3 format will see cars line up on the grid for the race start as usual. The twist is that after three laps, the cars will come together behind a safety car for a rolling restart, and another three-lap sprint to the finish line. The action will be fast paced, exciting, and ensure that essentially all the best parts of a traditional race will be condensed into six laps, in an event which is open to all comers.
This year will see two rounds, the first being at the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 from October 28–29, with the decider at Mad Mike’s Summer Bash.
Each round will feature four Fast and Furious 3×3 races, with the quickest qualifiers starting at the front of the field in race one. A reverse grid will determine the starting order in races two and four, while the driver’s combined times will decide who starts on pole for race three. Competitors will score points based on where they finish in each of the four races.
The format is open to all level of car and competitor, and some big names have already thrown their hat into the ring, including Mike Eady of Track Time Driver Training, an accomplished racer and the man who has done more laps of Hamptons than any other. “My car sits in a garage most of the time, and only gets used a couple of times a year, so Fast and Furious racing is a great chance to dust off the cobwebs and be part of a major motor sport event,” he says. Mike will run his factory-built FD2 Type R Civic, “I’m not expecting to be at the front of the field, especially if I’m up against Porsches or Ferraris or V8s, but I’m hoping to do well in my class, and I think it’s going to be a great event.”