John George in the FFR #48 car at the 2012 NASA Nationals. Image: Factory Five

A weekend of near-perfect racing weather allowed Factory Five Challenge racers to lay down some very impressive numbers during the Virginia International Raceway March Madness races, the opening events for the 2015 NASA season.

Setting the tone for the rest of weekend on Friday morning, Factory Five driver John George managed to qualify on pole for the three-hour enduro. Faced with stiff competition from Ratchet Head Racing, who were running 2 BMW ES cars and gunning for the overall win, a consistent pace and well-timed pitting that included hourly stops for 15 gallons of fuel allowed George to fend off the competition and take not only the EO class win but the race overall as well.

Saturday saw George secure pole again in qualifying. Although a fierce battle for the lead ensued with 2011 NASA National Championship winner Paul Kaiser, engine failure would force Kaiser to retire from the race, allowing George to bag another race win.

On Sunday, George put together a hat trick when he qualified on pole yet again, but this time he did so in grand fashion, setting a record lap time for Challenge Series cars at VIR with a 2:05.265 – very impressive numbers for a 345 horsepower Challenge Series car.

The Factory Five Challenge series will be back at Virginia International Raceway on the weekend of May 1st along with the rest of the NASA Mid-Atlantic region competitors, giving FFR drivers more time to dial in their setups and prepare for the NASA Nationals at VIR, which will take place on the weekend of September 4th.