Frank Travieso (Champion Porsche Presented by Herbalife/Racers Edge) out-sprinted Carlos Vargas (Team Hotel San Jose) for the victory in the 75-lap event in Downtown Walterboro, S.C.
The fourth night of the USA CRITS Speed Week series proved to be the second time Ilesic and Hanson have pulled off a 1-2 finish in the field sprint. At Saturday’s Athens Twilight Criterium, it was Hanson who led Ilisec to the line after a three-man breakaway stole the podium spots.
Team Type 1 Director Sportif Vassili Davidenko said cooperation and communication among all eight members of the squad is a big reason why Team Type 1 is fourth in the team standings, but only eight points behind the second-placed Team Hotel San Jose. Team Mountain Khakis leads the competition.
“The guys did a great job of covering all the breaks and keeping control of the group for much of the time,” Davidenko said. “We were very close to the win tonight and you can see the guys getting better and better each race.”
After Travieso and Vargas built a maximum 18 seconds’ lead, Team Type 1, OUCH presented by Maxxis, Kelly Benefit Strategies and Fly V Australia chased hard to reel in the pair. But the gap was still more than a dozen seconds with a lap to go.
“I really thought we were going to catch them,” Ilesic said.
Ilesic said he was actually leading out Hanson Wednesday night, but the technical nature of the course prevented Hanson – the reigning U.S. Elite criterium champion – from coming around him in the end.
“We usually talk to each other with 10 minutes to go and see how we’re feeling,” Ilesic said. “If we are both feeling good, I do the lead out for him.”
Hanson is fourth overall in the Speed Week individual standings that is being led by Mark Hekman (Team Mountain Khakis) while Ilesic is sixth.
Ilesic said he is looking forward to Friday night’s series stop, the Spartanburg Regional Criterium in Spartanburg, S.C. It was in this event a year ago that the Slovenian burst onto the scene with the first of three victories in his first season of racing in the United States.
“It’s going to be a fast course as I remember it from last year,” he said. “It should be easier to cover the moves and breaks, though.”
The Team Type 1 women were kept off the podium for the first time in the series Wednesday night but remain second in the team standings behind Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light. Kori Seehafer finished eighth to lead the squad after earning a runner-up finish in Tuesday night’s Beaufort Memorial Criterium.
Photo: Courtesy Team Type 1
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