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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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www.F2000ChampionshipSeries.com Miller Takes Mid-Ohio Win and 2009 F2000 Title
Miller started from pole and set fast lap, gaining every possible point available. “The car was like it has been all year, perfect,” said Miller. “JDC has just done a fantastic job and to end the season with another win is just awesome. Audette got me on the start but I passed him back a few laps later. The championship and win just feel fantastic. It’s still sinking in.” JDC team owner John Church added: “This is a big day for JDC. It’s awesome to end the year like this with an exclamation point. We ran away, set fast lap, started from pole, I couldn’t be happier.” At the drop of the green flag Remy Audette and Chris Miller went side by side, with the Canadian eventually edging American Miller for the lead. A few laps later Miller passed Audette back going into the keyhole at Mid-Ohio and never looked back. “It was a fun race, at the start I was side by side with Miller through madness and took the lead,” Audette, who rounds out the season third in the points, said. “A couple laps later he snuck by me. It seemed like his car had more speed on the straights but we’ll take the second. I have to thank my team for giving me a great car.” Tim Minor rounded out the podium with Alegra teammates Victor Carbone and Fabio Orsolon rounding out the top five. It was Carbone’s best finish in F2000 to date. “It was a tough race, there was no room for error,” said Carbone, who drove past Benjamin Searcy on the opening lap to take the position. “I had to be perfect through the race, I just followed the guys in front of me and didn’t worry about who was behind.” Matthew Inge followed in sixth, only able to make up one spot from his seventh place starting position. Inge ended up second in the standings. “To be completely honest our starting position kind of cost us the race,” commented Inge. “It’s tough to pass here. I was definitely quicker than the guys in front of me but there was no way by. I think if we had some better luck we would have been closer to Miller in the points. It seemed like he had luck go his way all year. I want to thank St. Clair Motorsports for the car they gave me all year as well as my parents for all their support.” Mark Defer, Keith McCrone, Caitlin Johnston and Benjamin Searcy followed in positions seven through ten. Searcy won yesterday’s race and started fourth, but slowly drifted backwards as the race went on. “The car just wasn’t right,” commented the young American immediately after the race. “It came in with about two laps to go and there was nothing I could do at that point. “ Tom Fatur claimed the Masters Class title by just a few points over Tim Minor, who clawed back some serious ground with a second place drive yesterday backed up by a podium finish today. Fatur said: “That was a pretty bad race. We made some changes to the car that made things horrible. We added way too much downforce to the front of the car. I knew Tim (Minor) was going to be at the front so I just sort of held on, trying to get as many points as possible.”
Race 2 Results:
Searcy Takes Race One at Mid-Ohio
“The start was sure interesting,” said Searcy, who has also notched wins at VIR and Lime Rock this year and currently leads the rookie of the year standings by a healthy margin. “Remy (Audette) got a huge jump and got around Chris Miller. I went around the outside of Miller pretty easily. Then, I slotted in behind Remy and held station. He bobbled in the closing stages of the race and I took the lead. Minor got close and tried to get by but I shut the door.” Minor, who set fast lap of the race, added: “I got a great start, and went from seventh to third on the opening lap. The plan was to save my tires as it was evident everyone was going to have their tires go away. I was busy keeping Orsolon behind me and keeping Searcy in sight. I closed the gap to Ben (Searcy) as the laps counted down and the lap after Audette spun I tried Searcy on the outside. He came over to block and I had two wheels on the grass.” Remy Audette spent most of the race in the lead by about a second over Searcy. Audette capitalized on the start to take the lead from Miller going into turn one. “I finally had a great start,” commented Audette. “I was right behind Chris (Miller) coming to the green and he was slow to get on the gas. I just went to the inside and took the lead. From there everything seemed fine but coming into turn 13 the back-end just slid out and I lost it.” Fabio Orsolon followed in fourth by just a few hairs over championship contenders Chris Miller and Matthew Inge.
Matthew Inge spent most of the race in his St. Clair Motorsports Van Diemen either glued to the back of Miller’s diffuser or alongside the JDC VanDiemen, but couldn’t find a way by. “I tried to get past Miller again and again,” commented Inge, who has to hope that Miller has some serious problem's in tomorrow's season finale. “But on the straights he would just disappear. Whether it’s a motor or down force issue, I have no idea.” Victor Carbone finished seventh followed by Dave Weitzenhof, Jerry Szykulski and Tom Fatur. Fatur rounded out the top ten and keeps a healthy Masters Class points lead over Robert Wright, Craig Clawson and a rapidly closing Tim Minor. Race 1 Results:
Minor Wins at Summit Point over Miller and Searcy Summit Point, WV
“I just had a great car, we made a significant change last night and it worked,” said Minor, who sun in race one yesterday while in the lead. “We also saved our extra two tires for the race today, we didn't even run them in qualifying this morning and that worked big time. Once I got past Audette for the lead I never looked back.” JDC's Chris Miller extends his championship lead to 27 points over Matthew Inge, with another 22 back to Remy Audette, with two drops Miller's lead is 34 points over Inge, with another 34 back to Audette. As the green flag flew on the field, Audette went by Miller on the outside going into turn one to take the lead. Tim Minor didn't waste much time either, starting fourth, the veteran got around both Inge and Miller to take second spot by turn four. The first lap wasn't even finished when a full course caution came out for a turn five incident involving Jeff McCusker, Victor Carbone and current Masters Class points leader Tom Fatur. Fatur and McCusker retired while Carbone's Alegra team was able to change a cut rear tire on the #23. Carbone rejoined a lap down. The first attempt at a restart was waived off as the middle of the field was a total mess, on the second attempt, with the field looking much better, Tim Minor pulled alongside Remy Audette on the outside going into turn one and made it stick, taking the lead. Minor pulled a huge gap out while Audette and Miller swapped second place back and forth multiple times. Miller and Audette made contact in turn one, slashing Audette's right rear tire. Audette pitted for repairs while Minor ran away from Miller and Inge, who moved into second and third. “The battle between the three of us for second was nuts,” said points leader Miller. “Eventually Remy (Audette) and I made slight contact and a few corners later it looked like his tire went down. By the time I got past him Minor was just gone.” Audette, who finished 16th, said: “It was a tough race and something like this showcases the ups and downs of the sport. This morning we were so happy qualifying second, and now obviously it is a bit different. Minor passed me on the restart and then when Chris (Miller) and I were battling for second, he hit me going into turn one. I was ahead of him on the outside and went to turn in and we made contact. A few corners later the right rear tire went flat and that ended my race. There were so many laps left, he should have waited for a better opportunity instead of risking it like he did.” Minor's lead stretched to over 10 seconds at one point, while Miller was able to hold second and keep Inge out of striking distance. Benjamin Searcy was able to reel in Inge and sneak past him, to round out the podium behind Tim Minor and Chris Miller. “The car was absolutely great today,” said Searcy, who rebounds after being disqualified for being underweight yesterday. “I had a great battle with Inge, eventually got past him and then pulled out a bit of a gap.” Keith McCrone rounded out the top five for R-Sport. Chris Gumprecht logged his career best finish in sixth with Brent Gilkes, Colin Alexander, Robert Wright and Scott Gesford rounding out the top ten. Jonathan Scarallo was running sixth when a mechanical failure ended his day. “The brakes went,” commented Scarallo. “I went into turn five, which is a hard braking zone and the pedal just went to the floor. If it isn't someone hitting me it seems that something stupid happens, we need to start catching a break.” The series heads to Mid-Ohio on August 13-16 to decide the championship at the season finale. Race Results:
Inge Passes Miller, Wins Race One at Summit Point Summit Point, WV
“This was an absolute team effort,” said Inge in victory lane. “I also have to thank my parents for all their support, the car St. Clair Motorsports prepared was totally awesome. I managed to get by Chris (Miller) going into one and then we caught Minor. He was sliding the car all over the place and eventually spun off. From there I just made sure to keep enough of a gap to make sure Miller couldn't catch the air off my rear wing down the straight.” Miller said: “We are doing exactly what we need to do for the points and Matt (Inge) was just perfect today. He drove a great race and never made a mistake. I just didn't have anything for him at the end.” In the points battle, Inge gains three points back on leader Chris Miller. Per F2000 rules, with the lowest two races dropped, Miller leads fellow American Inge by a slim 23 points in the championship with just three races to go.
At the drop of the green outside pole sitter and 2008 Masters Class champion Tim Minor got around Chris Miller going into turn one. From there Minor stretched a lead to almost two seconds while Miller was busy with Matthew Inge, Inge eventually got by going into turn one and wasted no time in catching Minor. In three laps Minor's almost two second lead was gone. As Inge looked for a way by going into one, Minor lost control of his #88 Van Diemen, spinning. This gave the lead to Inge, who controlled the pace for the race of the race, taking his second win of the season by just a few tenths over Chris Miller. “I just turned into turn one and I don't know,” commented Minor. “I'm not sure if there was dirt on the track or I ran over something but there was a ton of grip and then there was no grip and I spun off and was stranded. The good news was that we didn't damage the car and will be back at the front tomorrow.” Benjamin Searcy came home fifth for Z-Sports, but was disqualified as his #10 Van Diemen failed post race technical-inspection by being just three pounds underweight. Rob Nicholas took his second straight Masters class win, coming home in sixth overall. Nicholas started eighth and was slowly working his way up the field before an incident with Keith McCrone cost them both valuable track position. “I was trying to outbrake McCrone going into turn one and both of us just ran out of race track, I got back going again and just started picking off cars,” Nicholas said. “The car doesn't really come in for five laps or so but then it just takes off.” A mid-race tangle between Jonathan Scarallo, who was running a solid seventh, and the lapped car of Len Amato ended both their days prematurely. Scarallo's Group A teammate, Colin Alexander, also suffered a DNF when his gearbox failed. Alexander explained: “Things were going really well, I was right behind Johnny (Scarallo) in eighth and the coming out of turn one I went to shift into second and there was nothing there, no gears at all. I just pulled the car off into a safe spot but I am really happy with our pace up until that point, it shows we are going to be quick tomorrow.” Race Results:
Lombardi Wins Thrilling Race
Currently, results and points are under review from series officials as multiple teams have lodged protests concerning passing that occurred under yellow flag conditions. There will be a further announcement shortly. “That was a challenging race,” explained Lombardi. “I was slow a bit on the restarts but I had a good car and once I was in the lead, McDonough was so busy trying to hold off Chris Miller that I was able to escape for a bit. Al Guibord Jr had a run on me but I wasn't going to brake until he backed off. We went into those corners as deep as we could go.” “The top cars were so comparable in speed that any one of us could have won that,” Guibord Jr said. “As far as trying to get past Lombardi, I didn't want to take an unnecessary risk and take us both out, the car was amazing, it was basically on rails the entire race.” The race saw one green flag lap to begin with, with 32 cars making it through turn one cleanly , followed by a debris caution for parts scattered in the busstop. Coming to the restart an incident between Tom Fatur, Jonathan Scarallo and Phil Lombardi put Scarallo into the pit-side wall bringing out another caution. “We were three wide on the restart and Lombardi came down on me. To avoid hitting him I managed to make contact with Tom Fatur, putting me into the wall at the same time,” Scarallo said. “At the same time, coming to that restart it looked like Chris Miller was playing all sorts of games accelerating and then slowing down.” Tom Fatur shared his view of the crash: “It looked like Lombardi didn't get a good start and he came down on Jonathan (Scarallo), who clipped me, bending my steering. I just drove a few more corners with the steering wheel the wrong way and then just parked it.” Caitlin Johnston survived Scarallo's incident to come home 14th, and had an upfront view of the incident. “That was totally chaotic,” said Johnston post-race. “Scarallo's wing flew off, hit mine, damaging it and then bounced into the cockpit, I had to put my arm up to keep it from hitting my helmet.” At the same time Matt McDonough made what many are calling a bonsai move down the inside, going from fifth to first. McDonough's move is in question currently as the track may have been yellow. When the race went green again Lombardi got past McDonough, in the Piper chassis, who had his hands full with Friday's winner Chris Miller and his JDC MotorSports Van Diemen. The two eventually touched, putting McDonough into the tires and slicing the left-rear tire on Miller's car. A full course caution came thrown moments later for Mark Defer, who put his race car into the tire barrier coming onto the front straight, sustaining heavy damage. Defer commented: “I went over the rumbled strips a bit too much and the front nose came off, I had the shock cover in my face and the front nose wedged itself under the car, sending me into the tire barrier.” JDC was able to change tires for Miller under yellow and when the green dropped with two laps to go, Miller went from 24th to 12th. Miller keeps the points lead over Inge and Audette Results pending, Miller leads the points by a single point over Remy Audette, with another 13 back to Matthew Inge. While Miller was dicing through the field pole-sitter Matthew Inge was able to outbrake Guibord Jr going into turn one for second place. Rob Nicholas for K-Fast Autosport came home Masters Class victor, fifth overall. Benjamin Searcy, Fabio Orsolon, Chris Gumprect, Craig Clawson and Charles Finelli rounded out the top ten. Fabio Orsolon was perhaps one of the biggest stories of the day, wheeling his Alegra Motorsports #26 home seventh after starting 31st. “That race was a total all out fight, “ Orsolon said. “We had really good luck with all the yellows as they bunched up the field.” Unofficial Results:
F2000: Chris Miller Takes Third Victory at the Glen
“It was a great race, and for the championship it is even more important given where the other guys finished,” said Miller in post race tech inspection. “I have to thank Miller Milling, JDC and John Church for all their support. Remy (Audette) got close to me on a few restarts but was busy trying to keep Matt (McDonough) behind him so I was able to stretch my lead.” Miller takes over the points lead over Audette and Inge, who falls considerably back to third. Inge was running in the top three until an incident with Audette cost him his front wing and he went a lap down as St. Clair Motorsports raced to repair the car. “I got run over by Audette on the back straight,” commented Inge. “He came down on me; I don't think he even knew I was there.” Just three laps in the race went yellow as a safety crews had to retrieve a stranded Chris Gumprecht. The track didn't stay green for long following that as a multiple car incident on the back straight triggered by John Dole losing his brakes needed some significant cleanup. “There were cars everywhere,” commented Colin Alexander, who was an unfortunate participant in the multiple car incident. “Cars were into the tires, Dole was airborne, and I went into the busstop and just got hit.” At the second restart, Miller was able to escape as Matt McDonough, driving the Piper chassis and Remy Audette contested second place as they traded it back and forth multiple times. On lap 10 McDonough spun in turn nine, with nowhere to go Audette clipped him, ripping off his front wing and bending his steering. “Matt (McDonough) spun in front of me I had nowhere to go. I tried not to hit him but clipped him with the front wing,” said Audette, who ended up finishing the lap without a front wing and bent steering for third place points. Al Guibord, Jr. avoided the stranded Piper but Camadella and Scarallo weren't far behind and with nowhere to go, Scarallo hit the #11 of McDonough, bringing out the red flag and ending the race due to the course blockage. Jonathan Scarallo shared his view of the incident: “Matt (McDonough) just spun in front of us and I was all over Camadella. There were no yellow flags or anything and I had nowhere to go.”
Al Guibord, Jr. came home in fourth position. “That was a crazy race, all of us from second to fifth place were dicing, we were probably in a different position every lap,” commented Guibord, Jr. Chris Camadella was another recipient of the incidents and took the Masters Class victory, rounding out the top five. Masters Class drivers Keith McCrone, Jeff McCusker, Bob Wright, Tom Fatur and Dwight Rider were rewarded for staying out of trouble, rounding out the top ten behind the lead group. Benjamin Searcy was not able to make the start of the race as heavy damage from a qualifying incident could not be repaired in time. Qualifying for race two at Watkins Glen gets underway tomorrow, Saturday, July 4th, at 11:30, with the second race of the weekend following on Sunday around 11:00. Stay tuned to www.F2000ChampionshipSeries.com for the latest. Results:
F2000: Matthew Inge Wins At Mosport
Matthew Inge passed Chris Miller on the outside going into turn eight with two laps to go at Mosport and held on to take his first F2000 win. Inge, driving for St. Clair Motorsports, narrowly missed out on a win at VIR and finished second in yesterday's race and has been a front-runner all season. “I passed Chris (Miller) with two laps to go,” said the American, who had never seen Mosport until Friday morning and moves into the points lead. "From there I just put m head down and told myself there was no way Chris was getting by. I was waiting for him to make a mistake the entire race but he never did." Miller, driving for JDC MotorSports, takes home three extra points for starting on pole and won yesterday's race. “I knew he was just waiting to make his move,” commented Miller.”I'll take second, it was a good weekend for us and the team and a very good race today, Inge made a very good move on the outside going into eight.” Brazilian rookie Fabio Orsolon logged his second straight third place finish for Alegra Motorsports with Audette pressuring him almost the entire race. “Remy (Audette) was all over me,” said Orsolon. “It's good to be on the podium again and I have to take Alegra for the good car they gave me.” Opening lap contact between Dave Weitzenhof and Colin Alexander saw both competitors eliminated, meanwhile Jonathan Scarallo spun due to contact with Caitlin Johnston and stalled coming onto the pit-straight, bringing out a full course caution.
Benjamin Searcy, Bobby Caldwell, Tom Fatur, Keith McCrone and Robert Wright followed in positions six-ten. As the race developed, Miller and Inge left Orsolon and the rest of the field behind, with Inge eventually getting past Miller for the win and setting fast lap of the race on the way. Tom Fatur wins the Masters class, coming home in eighth position. “I saw Weitzenhof go off” said Fatur. “After that I knew I had to go for it.” Mikhail Goikberg, in just his second ever F2000 start, finished an impressive 12th after starting 23th. Local favorite Caitlin Johnston, who didn't race yesterday due to a large shunt during qualifying, was forced to retire from today's race with front wing damage while running in eighth. With the season half complete, the championship points battling is turning into a three-horse race. Matthew Inge leads the points coming off his first win by just seven markers over Chris Miller and Remy Audette, who are tied for second.
F2000: Miller Wins Race One At Mosport
“I passed Audette on the start going into one,” said Miller, who moves into second in the points, tied with Inge. “I knew the car would be good early and we had to get a gap. I knew Inge was coming at the end but our lead was so big he wasn't a problem. Thanks to JDC and Miller Milling for all their support.” Matthew Inge managed to get around Audette halfway through the race going into turn eight, and then clocked fastest lap of the race as he cut Miller's lead by two seconds in just three laps and finished just tenths behind his fellow American. “I got around Audette going into turn eight,” explained Inge, who drives for St. Clair Motorsports. “We were side by side and I had the line so there was nothing he could do. From then I just put my head down and tried to catch Chris (Miler). If we had a couple more laps we would have had him. I think everyone is going to have the radar gun on us tomorrow.”
Orsolon said : “I was at 100% the entire race. The leaders were flying and I was able to get by some cars, it was a good run. I have to thank my team, Alegra Motorsports, for giving me a good car.” Audette held on for fourth with Benjamin Searcy fifth. Mikhail Goikberg followed in sixth place in his first ever F2000 race, driving for Brian Graham Racing. Victor Carbone, Fabio Orsolon's teammate, started tenth and finished seventh. Carbone commented, “It was a tough race with lots of battling on track. I had some understeer developing in the car near the end but I was able to hang on.” Alegra Motorsports F2000 crew chief Tony Ditto was impressed with both his drivers. “I'm extremely happy,” said Ditto. “Both guys stepped up their game. We knew they were better compared with how they qualified but they proved it. It's the first time on the podium for me as a crew chief and with Fabio third and Victor seventh, we are very happy today."
The championship battle is heating up. Audette's points lead is down to 11 points over Inge, who gets two points for fast lap, and Miller, who both have 195 points compared to Audette's 206. Searcy sits another 31 points back in fourth. Fabio Orsolon and Tom Fatur are tied for sixth another 68 points back. Caitlin Johnston sits eighth, another 14 points back with Group A teammates, Jonathan Scarallo and Colin Alexander rounding out the top ten. Caitlin Johnston did not make the start as damage from her hard crash in turn five during morning qualifying could not be repaired in time. The Z-Sports team is hoping to have the car ready for tomorrow's 9am qualifying session.
F2000: Audette Goes Flag-to-Flag at Lime Rock
Saturday's winner, rookie Benjamin Searcy started on the outside of the
front row but missed a shift early that allowed fellow American Chris
Miller to get around him. At this point Audette took off on the field
stretching his lead to over four seconds. A blanket covered the rest of
the top five with Miller, Searcy, Inge and Orsolon running nose to tail,
putting on a show for the fans on the hillside. Going into Mosport, Remy Audette leads the championship standings by 18 points over Matthew Inge. Chris Miller sits third in points, just six points being Inge. Searcy is fourth, another 12 points back. Al Guibord Jr's consistent finishes put him fifth in the standings, 31 points behind Searcy while Searcy's Z-Sports teammate, Caitlin Johnston, with her three straight top ten finishes, sits sixth in the points, another 18 points back from Guibord Jr. Race Results:
Pos PIC No. Name Class Laps Total Tm Diff
American Rookie Searcy Dominates at Lime Rock
“The car was just great,” said Searcy in victory circle. “I got nervous with the yellow and the restart and that's when Chris Miller got alongside me. He didn't get by and from there I just checked out on the rest of the field.” Searcy's Z-Sports team owner, Ron Boltik commented, “We were doing the rain dance right before the start of the race because we knew Ben could dominate in the rain. Today we proved he could do it in the dry too.” Searcy and Miller split the victories in the doubleheader at VIR last month. Chris Miller and his JDC Motorsports team had to settle for a distant second. “I didn't have the pace to stick with Searcy. Congratulations to him and Z-Sports. It was a good race though and we got some good points. We're going to make some changes on the car and we should be in a good position to put it on pole Monday,” commented Miller. Matthew Inge made it an all American podium, a true rarity in open wheel racing. Inge started fourth and spent most of the race behind championship points leader Remy Audette. With four laps to go Audette got balked by the slower car of Chris Gumprecht on the downhill and had to get on the brakes. Inge was able to get alongside in the St. Clair Motorsports Van Diemen and pass Audette going into turn one on the inside. “The race went really well,” explained Inge, who earns two championship bonus points for setting fast lap. “The start went well and it was so slick on the first few laps, cars were sliding all over the place. I was just sort of following Remy (Audette) but couldn't do anything until slower traffic got in his way.” Audette had to settle for fourth but continues to lead the points standings by just two points over Matthew Inge. John Dole rounded out the top five and was the first of the Masters class drivers.
Guibord said: “I had a horrible start and it's very difficult to pass here. I didn't want to take a big risk and it took me a while to get past Belardi, when I did I just started picking off cars one by one, it was a great run.” Jonathan Scarallo finished seventh and spent most of the race into the top five until a soft brake pedal cost him two positions in the closing laps. Scarallo, the 2008 Bertil Roos champion, finished 11th in round two at VIR and is picking up speed as he comes to grips with the F2000 car. Brian Belardi, Chris Camadella and Caitlin Johnston rounded out the top ten. Johnston, Searcy's Z-Sports teammate started in 13th and fell back to 17th on a restart early in the race. She battled her way back to log her second straight top ten finish.
Tom Fatur, Friday's fast man, started in fifth for today's race but spun off during the opening laps causing the yellow flag and never recovered, finishing 19th.
DNF Jeff McCusker/M F2 7 10:59.251 18 Laps DNF Colin Alexander F2 0 0.833 25 Laps 7 Laps
F2000: Miller Wins Action Packed Race by a Tenth at VIR
Audette pulled a gap to more than three seconds while Miller and Inge had to work their way around Tim Minor who had drafted his way into second on the opening lap. Then Audette was balked by lapped traffic going into turn 13 halfway through the race and Miller pounced, getting by him on the entrance to the front straight. A few corners later Audette made a mistake and went off the track at Oak Tree, allowing Matthew Inge to move into second. Inge wasted no time in catching Miller, posting the fastest lap of the race at 1:55.440. The American duo pulled away from Remy Audette at a pace of almost a second a lap. Inge caught Miller and pulled alongside him multiple times in the closing laps but couldn't get past, allowing Miller to take the win by just .126 seconds. “The start was not as planned,” said Miller in victory circle. “I got drafted by a couple guys at the start but I was able to get around Minor and then Audette. Remy (Audette) had to check up due to a lapped car ad I took advantage. Inge and I had a great race at the end.” Matthew Inge commented, “Wow. It was a hard fought race. I fell to fourth at the start but I kept working. The car just got better and better. Audette went off at Oak Tree and I got around him. Chris Miller and I had a great race, I got alongside him a few times but he had the line into the corner and I couldn't get by.”
2008 Masters class champion Tim Minor came home in fourth overall and was the first of the Masters class entrants, running second for a few laps at the start of the race. “I could have taken the lead at one point,” said Minor. “I dropped back to third and then the car developed a huge high speed understeer and I lost a lot of time. Remy (Audette) went off at Oak Tree and I almost hit him. I did all I could to avoid running into him. It was a good race and I'm happy with fourth.” Jesse Yorio rounded out the top five in his Piper chassis. He was followed by Guibord Jr., Lombardi, Szykulski, Alexander and Johnston.
Caldwell had contact with the Alegra Motorsports car of Victor Carbone, who was forced to pull off the track in the first corner. His teammate Fabio Orsolon worked his way up to fifth before a broken axle ended his race. Group A Racing finished their first F2000 race with Colin Alexander coming home in ninth with teammate Jonathan Scarallo placing 16th. “I'm still getting used to my new gearbox,” said Alexander, who didn't even start yesterday's race when a broken gearbox left him stranded on the grid. “Driving wise everything went real well. We were pulling multiple car lengths on people in the esses. I had a great race and an overall blast dicing with Caitlin for ninth.” Caitlin Johnston came home tenth in her Z-Sports Van Diemen after finishing 12th in yesterday's race.”It was great, I ran my fastest lap of the weekend during the race,” said Johnston. “The start was nuts, I was caught right behind the incident. There were cars careening everywhere that I had to dodge.” Johnston's Z-Sports teammate, Benjamin Searcy, who won yesterday's wet-dry race by fifteen seconds over Audette, suffered gearbox problems that caused a spin stranding him off the track. USF1's Ken Anderson was on hand to congratulate the top three finishers on the podium during the victory celebration. Full Race Results pics Janice Eakin
F2000: Rookie Searcy Wins Season Opener in Wet-Dry Conditions
Benjamin Searcy drove his Z-Sports Midwest Van Diemen into the lead in the wet and never looked back as the track dried out to take the victory in Friday's opening round of the 2009 F2000 Championship Series. The rain started falling just twenty minutes before the scheduled start time, forcing teams to switch to rain tires and wet setups at the last second. Searcy's Z-Sports team put him on the grid on rain tires. At the drop of the green the American was able to quickly get around Jesse Yorio who started the race on slicks. Searcy then quickly moved around Matthew Inge and Remy Audette, who had already been passed on the opening lap by Chris Miller for the lead. Searcy didn't wait long and got past Miller in turn 13, and took off. He took the win over Audette by some 15 seconds, at times lapping two seconds a lap quicker than anyone else. “One race one win, hopefully we can continue,” said Searcy. “The car was unbelievable, we made some wing changes, it was just great in the rain. I got around a few cars and then passed Miller for the lead up in turn 13 and went for it.” Z-Sports team owner Ron Boltik commented , “I am over the moon. There was nothing special about this car and Benjamin was able to lap two seconds a lap faster than anyone. It's all Benjamin, I'm proud of him and he entire Z-Sports team.”
GTP's Phil Lombardi was able to overcome the challenging conditions and a practice crash yesterday to come home in third position. Lombardi commented, “It's been a trying two years and to finish on the podium here is just awesome. I've never driven on these rain tires. GTP did an amazing job putting the car back together. During the race people were making mistakes which opened the door for me. I passed Inge for third and then he tried to come back at me going into the rollercoaster and I just out braked him. I'll take this podium.” Tom Fatur was the first of the Masters class drivers coming home in fourth overall after losing a Zetec morning in yesterday's test sessions and having to switch to a spare engine, starting in 21st, “We didn't need the horsepower for the rain,” commented Fatur. “GTP did a super job on the setup changes right before the start. There were quite a lot of slow guys on the track and I was able to take advantage. I think I went from 21st to 12th on the opening lap and was able to pick off a car a lap after that.” Matthew Inge rounded out the top five and at one point was challenging Chris Miller for third place when they got together in turn five to avoid a spinning Jonathan Scarallo. Inge commented, “It was a very slick track out there. I couldn't see anything. There was a wall of water. There were cars off everywhere. A car spun in front of Chris [Miller] and I. We both checked up, got back on the gas and he checked up again and I had nowhere to go.” JDC Motorsports driver Chris Miller ended up in 18th spot after posting fast time yesterday and qualifying second for today's race. “There was a car spinning,” explained Miller. “I slowed down and the car behind me just hit me. “ Tim Minor, Jeff McCusker, Robert Wright, Al Guibord Jr., and Dave Weitzenhof rounded out the top ten as series veterans and Masters class drivers excelled in the challenging conditions. Tim Minor, the 2008 Masters class champion, completed the entire race on his Hoosier slicks. “My rain tires were even on backwards. I couldn't see the front nose of my own car during the first lap, it was insane, a wall of water,” said Guibord Jr. “It was survival of the fittest today.” Series newcomers Alegra Motorsports and Group A Racing did not have any of their cars finish the race. Both teams rolled the dice with the changing weather situation, sending one car out on rain tires and the other on slicks. Alegra's Fabio Orsolon spun in the esses to end his day and teammate Victor Carbone, who started the race on slicks, went off in the first turn on the opening lap, “The race was bad,” said Carbone. “I had the dry tires on. Approaching the first turn I went to brake and turned and nothing happened. I went off and couldn't get the car going again.” Group A Racing's day didn't go any better. Apparent gearbox problems stranded Colin Alexander on the grid and Jonathan Scarallo spun off in turn five on his dry weather tires. “It was unfortunate. Colin got taken out before he even started. We rolled the dice with Jonathan and sent him out on slicks. He had a problem with the gearbox which ended up causing his spin. I'm thrilled about his car control in the wet on dry tires, it was amazing. Both boys did really well, this looks much better on the inside than on the outside,” commented team owner Joe Scarallo. Race winner Searcy's teammate Caitlin Johnston came home in 18th and had the fifth fastest race lap. “The race was good. It was a little wet at first and I couldn't see anything at the start. It took a few laps to get used to the track in the wet but after that I was able to slowly pick up the pace,” said the Canadian rookie. Chris Gumprecht also completed the entire race on slick tires, bringing his #97 CG Racing Van Diemen/Zetec home in 20th, five laps down. Results - Race 1
pics Janice Eakin
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Benjamin
Searcy and Z-Sports took their third win of the F2000 season at
Mid-Ohio, Searcy held second spot for most of the race before a late
race spin by leader Remy Audette gave him the lead and ultimately the
victory. Tim Minor finished second, coming off a win at Summit Point.
Audette recovered to finish third followed by Alegra’s Fabio Orsolon and
championship points leader Chris Miller in an all green flag race.
2008
Masters Class champion Tim Minor passed three cars en route to winning
round ten of the F2000 season at Summit Point. Minor sneaked past
championship contenders Matthew Inge and Chris Miller on the start and
then took leader Remy Audette on the outside going into turn one on a
restart to take the lead. From there Minor set fastest lap, winning by a
huge 11 second margin over Chris Miller and Benjamin Searcy.
On
a beautiful day in West Virginia, Matthew Inge passed Chris Miller and
inherited the lead when Tim Minor spun to notch his second win of the
season for St. Clair Motorsports and gained back a few valuable points
on championship leader Chris Miller who finished second. Miller started
from pole and gained bonus points for fastest race lap. Fabio Orsolon
finished third with Remy Audette, hanging on with a broken differential
and Victor Carbone rounding out the top five. 
Fabio
Orsolon bags his third podium finish of the season as Alegra Motorsports
continues to pick up the pace, teammate Victor Carbone came home in
fifth. “We are coming,” Orsolon said. “The start was a little nuts and
going into turn one I braked as late as I could, getting by at least one
car. From there we just sort of followed the lead pack and near the end
of the race the car developed some crazy understeer, so I was just
hanging on.”
Phil
Lombardi capitalized on a crazy F2000 race and kept his GTP Motorsports
Van Diemen out of trouble to take the win at Watkins Glen. Lombardi
started sixth and carefully worked his way through the field avoiding
trouble, and passed 2006 champion Matt McDonough with a few laps to go.
With a green-white-checkered restart, Al Guibord Jr. got alongside
Lombardi going into turn one but couldn't make it stick. Matthew Inge
came home in second inches in front of Guibord Jr, who set the fastest
race lap.
Chris
Miller made it the perfect day by setting fast lap and cruising to his
third win of the season at Watkins Glen for JDC MotorSports. The race
that saw multiple caution flags ended three laps early under red flag
conditions, with Phil Lombardi finishing second just inches ahead of
Remy Audette, who was missing a front wing.
Phil
Lombardi capitalized from the incident and came home in second. “That
was an eventful race,” Lombardi said. “It was hard to get into a rhythm
with all those cautions. I appreciate Remy (Audette) giving me so much
room when we were running side by side. I knew he had lost his wing and
from there it was just a drag race down the straight. We had a fourth or
fifth place car and came home second; it's good to see some luck go my
way.”
Coming to the restart green Fabio Orsolon checked up, causing
Remy Audette to drive straight into Orsolon's gearbox. Both cars were
fine but Audette was forced to hold off a very hard charging Victor
Carbone for the rest of the race. Audette finished fourth with Carbone
bettering his best ever F2000 finish to round out the top five in race
two at Mosport.
Chris
Miller got around Remy Audette on the start and never looked back,
winning the fifth race of the 2009 F2000 season and his second of the
year. As the race developed, Matthew Inge moved into second and cut
Miller's lead to virtually nothing in a matter of laps, but Miller was
able to hang on by just a couple tenths at the end to take the first
race at Mosport.
Fabio
Orsolon (right) recorded his best ever F2000 finish, coming home
in third. The rookie started sixth and managed to get by a few cars and
then get around Audette. 
Seven
time SCCA National Champion Dave Weitzenhof (left)wheeled his
Citation chassis home in tenth, moving up four spots from his starting
position, to win the Masters division. 
Canadian
Remy Audette led all 32 laps from pole winning round four of the F2000
Championship Season at Lime Rock Park. Audette, driving the #21
Dimension Doors/Novatech Audette Racing entry broke the standing track
record during morning qualifying and simply took off on the field from
the drop of the green. It was Audette's first F2000 win.
American
rookie Benjamin Searcy took his second win of the 2009 F2000 season on
Saturday at Lime Rock Park. Searcy started from the pole position and
led all 25 laps, only having to fend off one challenge from fellow
American Chris Miller, going into turn one on a restart Miller got
inside Searcy but couldn't quite pull off the move. Searcy then took
off, lapping in the mid 50.5 second range, faster than his qualifying
times.
Finishing
sixth was Al Guibord Jr(right)., having starting ninth Guibord
put on a show for the packed hillsides of Lime Rock Park. Guibord spent
lap after lap trying to get by Brian Belardi, diving inside him going
into turn one multiple times. Eventually Guibord sneaked by Belardi and
left him behind, moving up to sixth by the end of the race. 
Fabio
Orsolon (left) was the lone Alegra Motorports car in the field,
running in the top ten most of the day but eventually finishing 11th ,
as the car developed understeer during the 25-lap race. Orsolon's
teammate Victor Carbone never even saw the green flag as the starter on
the Zetec motor the Alegra team spent the afternoon hustling to install
failed on the grid. 
Chris Miller got around Remy Audette
during round two of the 2009 F2000 Series and went on to take the flag
by just a tenth of a second over Matthew Inge in a highly competitive
race at VIR. At the drop of the green it was all Canadian Remy Audette
as he was able to get by Matthew Inge for second and then drafted past
Chris Miller on the back straight and took the lead. 
Audette, who took the lead early and
lowered the track record in yesterday's qualifying session had to settle
for third place. “The start was very good. I passed Matt (Inge) on the
front straight and then I got past Chris (Miller) at the end of the back
straight,” explained Audette. “There were two lapped cars a few laps
later. I got past one and the second looked like he was giving me room
and all of a sudden he slammed the door on me. I jumped a curb and Chris
got by me. I then made a mistake at Oak Tree and Matt got past.” 
A bottleneck at the drop of the green
caused a minor incident for the 28-car field on the front straight in
the middle of the field putting Bobby Caldwell a few laps down with a
broken wing. “I didn't see anything and then there was just a shock
cover in my face. I hit one of the Alegra cars,” commented Caldwell. 
Remy
Audette, who broke the track record in morning qualifying and started
from pole, came home second in the #21 Audette racing Van Diemen. “Rain
is always fun,” said Audette. “We made a mistake on the setup. The
weather was tricky with the changing conditions. There was no good line
on the track so I just kept up the pace. The start of the race was very
fun in the wet.”