Maxson and Reger make a 1-2 for Copeland Motorsports

Copeland Motorsports teammates Tyler Maxson and Nikko Reger dominated the TC America season’s opening race at the Circuit of the Americas. At the wheel of their Hyundai Veloster N cars, they filled the first two positions, relegating the FCP Euro duo of Nate Vincent and reigning champion Michael Hurczyn to third and fourth.
Maxson made a better start than pole sitter Reger and took the lead, while Victor González’s Honda Civic and Roy Block’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta made contact during the opening lap and spun. Block retired with a broken suspension, while González pitted twice for repairs and changing the rear left wheel; he then rejoined although his car was visibly unbalanced.
The safety car was deployed on laps 4 and 5, to recover a car of the TCA class that had stopped on the track; when racing resumed, Reger tried to put the pressure on Maxson. However, he never got close enough to attempt an overtaking move, and in the second half of the race Maxson was able to create a small gap, while the Volkswagen Golf cars of Vincent and Hurczyn cruised in third and fourth positions a few second behind.

“It was a great team effort,” said Maxson. “We knew from the Qualifying results that we had the pace to win and managed to deliver a 1-2 finish for the team.”

Race 2 will go underway tomorrow at 11:15 local time (18:15 CET); live streaming will be available at www.tcr-series.com.

Race 1
1. Tyler Maxson (Copeland Motorsports, Hyundai Veloster N), 17 laps
2. Nikko Reger (Copeland Motorsports, Hyundai Veloster N), 2.746
3. Nate Vincent (FCP Euro, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 11.137
4. Michael Hurczyn (FCP Euro, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 15.524
5. Scott Smithson (DXDT Racing, Honda Civic Type R), 40.911

Championship points
1. Maxson 25 pts; 2. Reger 18; 3. Vincent 15

Picture: Copeland Motorsports