Apex Season 5 champions decided

The fifth season of the Scottsdale Ferrari - Apex Challenge series is officially in the books. Multiple championships came down to the last race weekend with intense battles and the new challenge of competing on the four-plus mile combined circuit configuration.

First up is Jace Bacon, the Radical Gold champion. Notably it was Bacon’s first racing championship in three years of competing at Apex Motor Club, and in Radical Cup North American and USF2000. He dethroned four-time champion Chris McMurry for the first time since the club opened, finishing with a 10 point advantage. McMurry took the final race by 0.3 over Bacon, but it was Bacon who delivered a more consistent result across the season, notching three wins and four poles.

"This is the first year were I felt really competitive and felt like I had the pace to compete with the best," said Bacon. "They definitely put me through the works. A lot of emotions through the season. Was really happy to put it together at the end and come out on top."

The Radical Silver champion is Ryan Fisher. An experienced driver but new to Radical racing, Fisher scored six wins across the eight race season for a dominating result that will see him move – by regulation – into the gold class next season. Fisher crashed out of the final race, which opened the door for rookie Jason Dyer to take his first ever racing victory. Combined with four second place finishes, Dyer is the odds-on favorite for the silver class championship next season.

"The success has really been about being a sponge and learning from people who have been doing it a long time," said Fisher. "I started racing in October and I'm super-glad I've been able to get some pace in the car and win the Apex Challenge Series."

The other hotly contested championship at Apex Motor Club is the MX-5 Cup, which saw a total of 16 competitors scoring points during the season. To give you an idea of how tight the racing has been, Joey Rainey picked up his first MX5 Cup win of the season and in doing so won the championship that witnessed five different race winners. Slater Colby won two of the final three races and goes into next season as a top contender alongside his two brothers Stone and Niko, as well as Lucas Barnett who finished second in the points this season.

"The experience has been fantastic, going out and competing against some really good drivers this year," said Rainey. "The MX5 Cup was a lot tougher in the second half with the Colbys racing. This was really the most fun racing because we had a really solid MX5 group."

Rainey also took the GT4 championship, marking his 4th championship at the club which is tied with McMurry for the highest number of overall championship wins. However, it was John Mollenkopf who won race 8 and picked up his third GT4 class win over the last three seasons. Matt Williams finished third in the race and also in the GT4 season standings, with Joe Rainey second.

In the Time Attack championship, Jordan Sawalqah came into the final weekend already crowned champion. He finished 2 points ahead of race 8 winner and two-time Time Attack champion Jeff Konig. It was Sawalqah’s first racing championship and afterwards he talked about his future plans and the role Time Attack has played in his driving development.

"I'm super stoked to be champion of time attack. Time attack has been a great entry into motorsport. I've done time attack for three years now and I think going forward I'd like to get into GT4 or Miata Cup,' said Sawalqah.

Across the other classes this season, your top points-getters were Chris Hanson in GT3 and Richard Kinsey in GTX, both drivers competing in their first season of a racing championship.

While the dust has settled on the season, the dust is far from settling at Apex thanks to the announcement of a $30 million investment by RJT Capital, a longtime supporter and investor since Apex’s inception. The investment will significantly accelerate the development of its world-class facilities and enhance its member experience, including several key improvements, like the construction of a premium clubhouse and 48 additional private garage condominiums. Construction is underway already.

Radical Gold

159 - Jace Bacon

149 - Chris McMurry

85 - Andy Voelkel

85 - Lucky Ludwig

83 - Jason Plotke

Radical Silver

171 - Ryan Fisher

135 - Jason Dyer

123 - Evan Wolf

106 - Carl Fredrickson

63 - Niko Kourouglos

GT3

81 - Chris Hanson

77 - Brannan Hankins

60 - Ralf Ludwig

49 - Jordan Darling

20 - Matt Crandall

GT4

169 - Joey Rainey

133 - Joe Rainey

100 - Matt Williams

83 - Matt Crandall

76 - Scott Dehlendorf

Mazda Miata

128 - Joey Rainey

116 - Lucas Barnett

96 - Tom Tait

89 - Joe Rainey

88 - Slater Colby

Time Attack Street Car

140 - Jordan Sawalqah

138 - Jeff Koning

119 - Star Sawalqah

85 - George Leon

69 - Bret Voelkel

GTX

69 - Richard Kinsey

56 - Ernie Spada

36 - Doug Perry

Time Attack Race Car

125 - Joe Cattaneo

25 - Jeff Koning

20 - Rich Gramlich