The Grid.co.uk    the national & club motor racing website - est1998          

  ^News

Formula TR 2000 Final Standings -- R20/20:

1st Goshen (739) - CHAMPION,

 2nd Knudsen (713),

3rd Martinez Jr. (652), 4th KENNEY (648),

 5th Franck (614)

About Formula TR Formula TR (Tatuus Renault) provides a development series for young drivers progressing from karting into professional formula car racing as early as age 14. The series was established in 2002 and features both 1600cc and 2000cc carbon fiber open wheel chassis built by Tatuus and powered by Renault. The series consists of 20 races conducted over 10 weekends at tracks throughout the western US. Visit www.FormulaTR.com for more information.

Formula TR Pro Series

2000 & 1600 Series

Hard Charging Kenney Wraps Season with Podium

Liam Kenney concluded his rookie season in the Formula TR Pro Series 2000 Championship with his 12th podium finish of the year claiming second place in Round 20 at California's Buttonwillow Raceway Park on Saturday, 10th November.

Kenney arrived at Buttonwillow looking to cement third overall in the final standings having recovered from a slow start to the season, where he sat last after the opening rounds in March, but a brace of victories from Position One Motorsport’s Luis Martinez Jr. in Rounds 19 and 20 allowed the Californian to leapfrog Kenney in the points despite another solid weekend from the Virginia teenager.

Finishing just his second season of open-wheel racing fourth overall, Kenney's on-track accomplishments, which included three wins behind the wheel of his self-run #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports entry, were again recognized as he picked up the 'Gatorz Hard Charger' award at the end of season banquet. Kenney becomes the first back-to-back recipient of the award having lifted the same accolade a year earlier having contested the Formula TR Pro Series 1600 Championship in 2006, where he again finished fourth overall in his rookie season.

Already a winner at Buttonwillow Park this season, Kenney, one of just four drivers to win races this season, felt confident on his return to the track but when Round 19's qualifying session was cut short his best time, a 1m46.634s, was only good for fourth on the grid with Champion-elect Billy Goshen capturing pole ahead of Martinez Jr.

The race itself proved to be a fairly static affair with Kenney holding on to fourth ahead of series veteran John Knudsen. While successfully tailing the top-three leaders, Liam's chances of progress were thwarted by multiple full-course cautions triggered by events in the 1600 class. With the race actually ending under yellows, Kenney's fourth place finish translated into a fourth place starting slot for Round 20 later in the day -- the season finale. At the head of the pack Martinez Jr. celebrated his second win of the season ahead of Goshen in second and Christian Franck in third.

A great start by Liam in Round 20 was almost jeopardized before the first corner as he found himself sandwiched between Goshen and Franck on the sprint to the turn. Skillful driving allowed Kenney to take Goshen for third and he wasted little time in filling Franck's mirrors as they battled for second. Succumbing to Liam's pressure tactics, a slight wobble from Franck allowed his rival to slip by for second and Kenney duly set his sights on Martinez Jr. ahead. While he closed the gap, the 12 lap race proved too short for Liam to make a difference and he took the checkered in second place, his 12th top-three of the season, with John Knudsen rounding off the podium celebrations.

"I drove hard to finish second in the final race as I wanted to end the year on a high," reflected Kenney. "It's a little disappointing to drop to fourth overall in the standings but considering this was a one-year deal to run a team ourselves we certainly can't complain about the season we've had, especially since we were last to begin with. I can't thank everyone involved in the team enough, they all did a fantastic job and we exceeded all our goals, we won races, fought hard -- it's been great!"

Liam Kenney enjoys backing from Network Solutions, Mobil 1, Piloti Shoes, Mothers Waxes and Polishes, OG Racing and Ristorante Zeffirelli.

Kenney Battles to Miller Podium

Liam Kenney returned to Miller Motorsports Park last weekend, Friday 14th -- Saturday 15th September, and duly added his third straight podium at the Utah track with a third place finish in Round 15 of the 2007 Formula TR Pro Series 2000 Championship followed by a fifth place effort in Round 16 the next day.

With just four rounds remaining this season, split between double-header events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nevada in October and Buttonwillow Raceway, California in November, Kenney's latest podium finish, his tenth of the year, keeps him third overall in the Driver Standings behind fellow race-winners, Billy Goshen and John Knudsen.

Kenney, who earlier in the season wracked up back-to-back second place finishes at Miller Motorsports Park, was back on form at the weekend piloting the #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports entry after a month-long lay-off between race weekends. The 15-year-old rookie needn't have worried about blowing the cob-webs off as he launched straight into two qualifying sessions on Friday collecting a brace of third place starts, his fifth and sixth consecutive top-three grid slots.

Round 15 on Friday afternoon failed to go Liam's way at the start as he made a sluggish getaway along with pole-winner Billy Goshen. The two young chargers dropped down the field to fifth and sixth but it wasn't long before they showed their class battling it out amongst the opposition. While John Knudsen used all his experience in the class to hold the lead, Kenney doggedly picked his way back up to second initially defending his position from Goshen shadowing behind.

Despite a valiant effort to hold off his rival, Goshen's car's improved and more recent aerodynamic body kit, allowed due to a mid-season rule change, proved to be advantageous on Miller's long, high-speed straights. Kenney ultimately surrendered second to Goshen who subsequently went on to snatch the victory from Knudsen -- the race cut short due to time restraints. While unable to match the pace of the two leading cars, Liam comfortably secured third for a fifth straight podium finish and his third of the season at Miller.

Saturday's Round 16 would see Liam make the most of a first lap full-course caution, the class rookie seizing an early lead at the subsequent re-start. While he enjoyed some lead laps Kenney's luck wasn't to hold out and with some suspected engine-related issues his pace tailed off and he tumbled down to fifth at the checkered. John Knudsen picked up his first win since Round 7 leading home Christian Franck in second and series leader Billy Goshen in third.

"Well it's always good to lead laps," stated Kenney afterwards. "It's a shame they didn't translate into a win but I'm happy with the earlier podium and I'm still sitting third in the title chase. We're off to Las Vegas next and that's an important race for me given I was raised there and have family in Nevada. I'm totally committed to trying to win there this season and can't wait for next month's race meeting."

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nevada hosts Rounds 17 and 18 of the 2007 Formula TR Pro Series 2000 Championship, Saturday 13th -- Sunday 14th October 2007 -- www.formulatr.com

Formula TR PRO Series – Rounds 11 & 12

The Formula TR PRO Series visited Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah for Rounds 11 and 12 of its 20 round 2007 1600 and 2000 Championships on July 13 and 14 supporting the NASCAR Grand National West Series. The championships in both the FR1600’s and FR2000’s were close with the potential for changes in the standings very real coming into these two rounds for the series.   Every driver and team are focused on the series championships and are positioning themselves now before the first of three double points events coming up next at Willow Springs in August.

Thursday July 12 was a promoter’s test day and all 15 Formula TR PRO Series entrants took advantage of the opportunity to test and tune on the 3.06 mile outside loop course being used for the event.  Many discovered how fickle the weather around the Great Salt Lake can be when they headed onto the track for a test session. The skies opened up and a deluge fell on the track, forcing everyone into the pits for rain tires, if they had them! The teams were now forewarned to be ready for anything.

The #50 FR2000, Knudsen Racing entry of Jeremy Braun arrived with a fresh paint scheme of yellow and black making it  very distinguishable on the track.  The #7 FR2000, Knudsen Racing entry of John Knudsen showed up with the Formula Renault 2007 update kit and a fresh paint job too.  The 2007 update kit for the FR2000’s features a completely new set of body panels and undertray along with a new nose and rear wing end plates  based upon the ones used on the Renault F1 cars.  When the new parts are used Formula TR PRO Series imposes a weight penalty to equalize the FR2000 entries.

This was also the first weekend of the new, cost reducing change for the FR1600’s, limiting them to just one set of new tyres for all qualifying sessions and races at each event.  Everyone was keen to see how this would effect lap times and overall competitiveness in the FR1600 Championship.   

Chris Keller joined the FR1600 championship in the #85 JP Motorsports entry after successfully completing his licensing evaluation at Buttonwillow Raceway during the previous event.   

The bad luck story of the weekend belonged to the #3 FR2000, Position One Motorsports entry of Luis Martinez Jr.  In an early testing session on Thursday the car suffered a catastrophic engine failure, something quite unusual in these normally very reliable race cars.  The Position One Motorsports team had a complete spare car and proceeded to transplant the engine from the spare into the #3 car, a task that was completed by the end of  the day.  

Friday morning, on the first lap of practice,   Martinez Jr. car  got away from him and clipped a tyre barrier; again another rare incident as the track has abundant runoff areasr.  The damage was repaired for qualifying, however this time Martinez Jr suffered a tyre failure.  The series has specific rules regarding replacing tyres, and  these rules were not followed costing Martinez Jr his qualifying times relegating him to the back of the field in Round 11.  Sadly for  Martinez Jr. as he entered the front straight heading for the white flag indicating the beginning of the last lap in Round 12 he suffered another tyre failure ending his race one lap early.    Tyres were the Achilles heel of the weekend with 5 cars suffering  failures throughout the event.     

Round 11  Qualifying revealed how competitive and consistent the cars were with less than 5/100’s separating the top two FR1600’s, Joshua Goshen, #83 Goshen Motorsports, 2:01.256; Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports, 2:01.264.  Close behind came  Kristin Braun, #70 Kimball Williams Racing, 2:02.301; Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing, 2:02.133 and newcomer Chris Keller, #85 JP Motorsports with a respectable 2:03.801. Thirteen year old Joshua Goshen took his first pole in his open wheel racing career by 8/1000’s of a second and collected a point for securing the pole for the FR1600’s.

The FR2000’s were equally competitive with the first three qualifiers within 6/10’s, Bill Goshen, #82 Goshen Racing, 1:51.404; John Knudsen, #7 Knudsen Racing, 1:51.578; Liam Kenney, #95 Liam Kenney Racing, 1:52.170.  The other FR2000 competitors were tight as well with Luis Martinez Jr., #3 Position One Motorsports, 1:55.150;  Christian Franck, #16 Knudsen Racing, 1:55.205; Paul Mashoff, #00 Paladin Motorsports, 1:56.282; Dino Bruno, #33 Team Bruno, 1:56.524; Kerry Lynch, #6 Knudsen Racing, 1:56691; Jim Booth, #5 Knudesn Racing, 1:56.806; and Jeremy Braun, #50 Goshen Racing posting no time due to a failed fuel pump on the out lap of qualifying. Grid changes due to tyre rules moved FR1600 competitor Kristin Braun  as well as FR2000's Luis Martinez Jr. to the rear of the grid for the race.

The beginning of the Round 11 race was remarkable, as the cars were leaving the pit lane for the formation lap a FR2000 slowed and the cars immediately following slowed in response causing the classic ‘concertina’ effect that resulted in Paul Mashoff, #00 Paladin Racing, hitting Christian Franck, #16 Knudsen Racing, hard on the gearbox.  Christian’s car suffered no damage but the front wings and nose of  Mashoff’s car were severely damaged and he was unable to complete the formation lap.  

The start was clean with the cars going three wide into the first turn at the end of the front straight.  In the FR2000’s John Knudsen,  starting from the second  suffered another tyre failure on the first lap forcing a pit stop.  Bill Goshen maintained his position at the front of the field at the end of the first lap while Jeremy Braun moved up five places and Bruno  three positions. Martinez Jr. meanwhile had made up a couple of places at the rear.

At the end of the third lap the positions were pretty much sorted out for the race with Bill Goshen solidly in first, Kenney in second and Jeremy Braun advancing one more position to third, Franck in fourth, Martinez Jr. moving up to fifth, Bruno in sixth and charging from his unscheduled pit stop,Knudsen made it to seventh position to collect valuable points to retain his lead in the championship.Jim Booth and Kerry Lynch finished eighth and ninth respectively.   Knudsen  set fast race lap, collecting another championship point.

In the 1600 battle, Ryan Booth jumped to the head of the FR1600’s from his fourth place grid position with an outstanding start and Kristin Braun moved to past Keller to fourth.  Lap two saw Joshua Goshen passed Pena to take second position and in lap three Kristin Braun moved past Pena for third before the latter re-claimed the position on lap 5.  

The next three laps were the classic “wait for someone to make a mistake’ scenario and it happened on lap 10 with Ryan Booth spinning and dropping to fourth place and then Keller headed for the pits when his shift cable broke.  When the checkered came out, Joshua Goshen had a sweep with the pole and his premier first place and set fast race lap.   Pena finished second, Kristin Braun third and Ryan Booth fourth and Keller fifth. At the end of Round 11 the brothers Goshen stood on the top step of their respective podiums making this the high point of the weekend for many.

Round 12  Competitive and consistency amplified in Round 12.    The FR1600’s were again close with Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports, on pole with a  2:00.922 followed by Joshua Goshen, #83 Goshen Racing, 2:01.597; Chris Keller, JP Motorsports, 2:02.143; Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing, 2:02.209; and Kristin Braun, #70 Kimball Williams Racing, 2:02.543.    

Post qualifying scrutineering found Chris Keller’s FR1600 1 pound under the minimum weight allowed by the Formula TR  and he was moved to the back of the grid as a result. FR2000 qualifying saw laps being turned within tenths showing that consistency was building as the drivers increased their familiarity with the track.  John Knudsen, #7 Knudsen Racing, captured pole and the precious point with a lap at 1:51.632; Liam Kenney, #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports, was second quickest with a lap at 1:51.821 while Bill Goshen, #82 Goshen Racing, was third  on1:51.831.  The top three separated by less than 2/10’s of a second.  Next was Jeremy Braun, #50 Goshen Racing, fourth with a 1:52.313; Luis Martinez Jr., #3 Position One Motorsports, fifth, 1:52.978; Christian Franck, #16 Knudesn Racing, sixth, 1:53.067; Dino Bruno, #33 Team Bruno, seventh, 1:54.469; Kerry Lynch, #6 Knudsen Racing, eighth, 1:55.892; Jim Booth, #5 Knudsen Racing, ninth, 1:56.261; Paul Mashoff, #00 Paladin Motorsports, tenth, 1:56.917.

The start had none of the drama of the previous round with the green flag waving on the first pass past the starter stand. Again the field moved though the fast first turn three, perhaps four wide but without contact.  The only spin was Paul Mashoff, FR2000 #00, who rejoined the race after all cars had passed.

The FR2000’s made the first pass by the finish line with Jeremy Braun, Martinez Jr., Lynch and Jim Booth each moving up on position and Mashoff in the pits with a tyre failure.  Into thesecond lap  and Jeremy Braun moved up another position as did Bruno.  On lap 3 Jeremy Braun spun and fell to the back of the FR2000 field to start  his climb back through the field to regain positions and points.  

The first three cars proceeded to run the next several laps only a few car lengths apart, at times inches apart.  Using the draft Bill Goshen passed Knudsen at the end of the  long front straight to take first place and hold on to it to the flaghe also took the extra point for fastest lap.  Kenney was also able to pass Knudsen on the next lap to secure second place while Knudsen was able to hang on to third place.  

Christian Franck crossed the finish line in fourth followed by Jeremy Braun who climbed back from his spin to last to finish fifth; Bruno crossed the line in sixth; Lynch was next in seventh; Jim Booth came in eighth; Paul Mashoff recovered from his tyre problems to finish ninth; and as already mentioned poor Martinez Jr. suffered his second puncture on the penultimate lap to finish tenth.

The FR1600 race opened with Pena taking the lead and Kristin Braun slipping past pole sitter Joshua Goshen a the start.  Kristin Braun seized the lead from Pena in turn one a lap later and held it for three laps before a mistake allowed Pena past. Later on she would slip falling to fifth while Chris Keller drove a steady race moving from last to third.  The final order was Pena, first; Joshua Goshen, second; Chris Keller, third with  fastest  lap; Ryan Booth, fourth; and Kristin Braun, fifth. Both the Goshen brothers visited the podium.

There was no definitive answer to the new tyre rule for the FR1600’s.   The cars qualified with quicker lap times for Round 12 than they recorded for Round 11 when the tyres were fresh but the drivers less familiar with the track.  A few more weekends will be needed before the question can be answered completely. T

he championship point standings after these two rounds of the 2007 Formula TR PRO Series finds a change with Liam Kenney moving into third place in the FR2000 championship.

Formula TR PRO 2007 Championship at the half way point

Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2007 Formula TR PRO Championship in the 1600 Series and the 2000 Series were conducted at Buttonwillow Raceway Park over the June 9-10 weekend.

The weather was outstanding, albeit warm, perhaps preparing the drivers and crew for the challenges of hot weather that is in store for the last half of the championship season.

Round 9 qualifying saw Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports, on the pole of the 1600 class which had fewer entries this weekend due to the school year ending.  Luis Martinez, Jr., #3 Position One Motorsports, bested the 2000 class by half a second on the three mile circuit. The race was well run with the competitors in both classes well aware of the passing constraints enforced by the technical nature of the track.  Liam Kenney, #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports, overtook, after eight laps of the 16 laps race, Luis Martinez after leaping from fourth to second on the first lap.  John Knudsen, #7 Knudsen, Knudsen Racing, ran a steady pace starting and finishing in third in the 2000 class.  

In the 1600 class Kristen Braun, #70 Kimball Williams Racing, jumped to the front on the first lap with the pole sitter Sergio Pena slipping to third behind Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing. Pena regained the lead by the end of the second lap and the three finished in that order.

Round 10 qualifying for the 1600 class found Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing, on the pole with almost a one and a half second improvement over his Round 9 qualifying times.  Luis Martinez Jr. again topped the 2000 class to secure the poll for the start of Round 10.

The 1600 class in Round 10 saw Joshua Goshen, #83 Goshen Racing, slip from second to fourth and Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports, jump from fourth to second with Kristen Braun, #70 Kimball Williams Racing, running a consistent third and Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing, start and finish at the head of the class.

The 2000 class was lead from lights to flagl by Luis Martinez Jr. in his #3 Position One Motorsports entry.  Behind him John Knudsen, #7 Knudsen Racing, was running a strong second with Bill Goshen, #82 Goshen Racing, in third and Liam Kenney, #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports.  All were trying hard to make passing opportunities for themselves when Knudsen made an error and left the track briefly allowing Goshen into second.  Kenney was capitalizing on Knudsen’s error as Knudsen returned to the racing surface and a contact occurred with Kenney suffering damage and Knudsen slipping into third position.  The race finished Martinez Jr., first, Goshen, second, and Knudsen third.

The second half of the season kicks off at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on July 13-14 with Rounds 11 and 12.  This event will be in conjunction with the NASCAR Grand National West race being conducted on the outside loop configuration of the 4.5 mile road course.

Liam Kenney Buttonwillow summary

Kenney captured the victory in Round 9 on Saturday, his fifth straight podium finish, before nursing a damaged #95 Liam Kenney Motorsports entry to a sixth place finish on Sunday afternoon in Round 10 at the California track. His Buttonwillow points haul moved him from fifth to fourth overall in the Driver Standings, Kenney sitting with 221 points to series leader John Knudsen's 281, with ten rounds of the Formula   Reanult 2.0-litre powered open-wheel series remaining.

Scoring back-to-back victories at Willow Springs Raceway in May, followed by two podium finishes at the California Speedway seven days prior to Buttonwillow, Liam's momentum continued to serve him well as he recorded a third place qualifying effort ahead of Round 9 on Saturday. Posting a 1m47.412s lap time, just one hundredth of a second slower than Billy Goshen in second on the grid, Kenney was confident he'd have the race pace to challenge Goshen and pole-sitter Luis Martinez Jr.

Straight into second at the start of the race, Kenney hounded Martinez Jr., the pair quickly becoming locked in a battle for the lead leaving their rivals trailing behind in their wake. Contact between the two young chargers resulted in damage to the front-nose of Liam's #95 car but this failed to deter the Virginia racer. Lining Martinez Jr. up heading into the Star  Mazda Turn, Kenney dove up the inside of his fellow rookie and assumed the lead having made his gutsy move stick. From there Liam sprinted to the checkered, celebrating another victory and fastest lap of the race at the end of lap 16 ahead of Martinez Jr. and John Knudsen who came home third.

Sunday's outing proved to be more dramatic for Kenney but he again demonstrated his mettle to add to his points tally. Despite a bent push-rod, Liam managed to land a second-row grid slot for Round 10. Dropping to fifth at the start he quickly reclaimed fourth and found himself at the tail of a four-car train fighting for the lead. As the action unfolded Liam later found himself helpless to avoid contact with a car that had gone off but more dramatically darted straight back on-track directly in his path.

Jumping on the brakes, the contact between the two severely damaged the front-end of the #95 car with the shock cover flapping like a rag in front of Liam. While he successfully ripped the damaged piece off during the caution period, the crash-affected handling on Kenney's car thwarted his attempts to challenge for the lead and he nursed the stricken vehicle to a sixth place finish. Martinez Jr. won the race followed across the line by Billy Goshen and John Knudsen.

"Well I was in the wrong place at the right time," Kenney stated. "It's a tough result, I knew we could have been fighting for the win on Sunday but it wasn't to be. That said I can't be too upset looking at the bigger picture as I won Saturday's race. It was a fun weekend and an education as always!"

Two Races, Two classes, Four Different Winners Fontana

Rounds 7 and 8

 California Speedways infield road course was the site for rounds 7 and 8 of the 20 rounds of the 2007 Formula TR PRO Championship Series where there was a different winner in each class in each race, four different winners.   

Round 7 found John Knudsen, #7 Knudsen Racing, on pole for the 2000 cars and Ryan Booth,  #4 Knudsen Racing, on the 1600 pole.   With a picture perfect  start the 2000’s only position change in the top four was when Luis Martinez Jr., #3 Position One Motorsports, retired early with a mechanical failure.   

The 1600’s continuing battle between Ryan Booth and Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports, waged on in this round of the series with Sergio prevailing at the checkered flag.  Kristen Braun, #70 Kimball Williams Racing, and Kerstin Smutny, #35 Paladin Motorsports, raced each other hard again with Braun finishing in third.  Josh Goshen, #83 Goshen Racing, finished in fifth and Felice Snider, #85 JP Motorsports, suffering an early mechanical failure. In Round 8 qualifying was a repeat of the previous day with John Knudsen taking the 2 liter poll and Ryan Booth again on the 1600 poll.   The race became very interesting when Knudsen spun on the third lap and fell to the back of the entire field.   

Knudsen began his charge back to the front immediately.  His progress was hindered when Pena and Booth who were dicing for the lead of the 1600’s had contact that resulted in both cars unable to move and bringing out the pace car for several laps.  When the green flag came out again Pena had retired while Booth was able to continue.    

By now Knudsen had made his way through the 1600 field and was half way through the 2 liter cars and Booth was mounting his charge to regain position too.  Booth attempted a pass on Kerstin Smutny at the exit of turn 11 when his left rear tire contacted the right front of Kerstin causing her to veer off the racing surface where the left front tire dug into dirt and sent the car into a triple roll.  

Kerstin was uninjured; the Formula Renault 2000 and 1600 provide an incredible survival cell to protect the driver in such incidents and the series requires all drivers use a head and neck restraint system to provide the driver with maximum protection.  The race finished under yellow behind the pace car.    

After the stewards review of the race events the 2000 race results stood with Bill Goshen, #82 Goshen Racing, in first place, Liam Kenny, #95 Liam Kenny Racing, in second and Christian Franck, #16 Knudsen Racing, in third.  

Felice Snider, #85 JP Motorsports, was first in the 1600’s, Joshua Goshen, #83 Goshen Racing, scored second and Kerstin Smutny finished third after Ryan Booth was penalized by the stewards for avoidable contact.

Two races, two classes, four different winners, John Knudsen, Sergio Pena, Bill Goshen and Felice Snider in a weekend that started slowly and ended in a crescendo of action.

Formula TR Willow Springs – Rounds 5 & 6

Those who took part in the Formula TR test day on Wednesday were very thankful they did as Friday’s weather which was forecasted to have winds arrived with gale force winds of 40-60 mph. Saturday was better with the winds subsiding to 15-25 mph and finally Sunday with normal gusts of 5-15 mph.

Round 5

Saturdays round 5 of the 2007 Formula TR Championship found the first three 1600 qualifiers within four tenths of a second. For the first time the series had two female drivers participating, Kristen Braun and Kerstin Smutny. Smutny returned after missing Rounds 4 & 5 due to mechanical woes.

On the pole for the 1600’s, as he has been all season, was Sergio Pena in his JP Motorsports #58 machine with a very quick time of 1:24.385. Pena was followed by Joshua Goshen in his Goshen Racing #83 by less than 0.1secs behind on 1:24.466 and Kristin Braun in her Kimball Williams Racing #70 just over 0.3secs back at 1:24.771. The race was sure to be close.

The eleven 2000 cars saw Bill Goshen take pole in his Goshen Racing #82, set the quickest time of the weekend in the very windy conditions at 1:16.8, the only sub 1:17 lap recorded in competition all weekend. Liam Kenney in his Liam Kenney Motorsports #95 was less than 0.2secs behind at 1:17.000. Rounding out the top three qualifiers was Luis Martinez Jr. in his Position One Motorsports #3 with a quick time of 1:18.136.

The 1600 race saw a tight battle between Pena, Booth and Joshua Goshen with Pena staying firmly in the lead. The race between the ladies, Braun and Smutny, was exciting as they diced throughout the race, Smutny having taken the advantage on the start and maintaining it until late in the race when they were being lapped by the second place 2000 car of Luis Martinez Jr. when all three left the racing surface.

Bill Goshen held his pole position for the first six laps until he unfortunately suffered a mechanical failure and surrendered the lead to Liam Kenney. Jeremy Braun in his #50 Goshen Racing entry moved to third at the start and held off Luis Martinez Jr. until lap 8. The 12th lap proved to be the last lap of the race when aforementioned three cars  of Martinez Jr’s 2000 car., Smutny and Kirstin Braun in their 1600’s all sliding off slid off the track without contact. The cars were unable to continue, and in a unsafe location forcing the pace car to come out(plus tow truck). Before the pace car finished the lap it was recognized that the track would be blocked so the field were led into the pits.

The time for the race expired before the track was cleared bringing Round 5 to an end with Sergio Pena and John Knudsen still on top of the points standings in their respective classes but with Liam Kenney and Ryan Booth charging towards the front.

Round 6

Everyone was looking forward to Round 6 on Sunday, the winds had returned to normal and everyone was comfortable with the track. Qualifying for the 1600’s found Sergio Pena in his JP Motorsports #58 on pole at 1:24.295, a few 100ths faster than the previous day with Ryan Booth in his Knudsen Racing #4 less than 0.3secs behind and Joshua Goshen in the Goshen Racing #83 third on the grid.

The 2000 drivers threw down the gauntlet with Liam Kenney, Liam Kenney Racing #95, posting the fastest time of 1:17.574 and Bill Goshen, Goshen Racing #82, on the outside of row one with a time of 1:17.656. Luis Martinez Jr., Position One Motorsports #3, was third quickest with a 1:18.234.

On the second lap Braun and Smutny touched in turn 3 with Braun spinning off followed by Joshua Goshen who had no where to go. Both 1600’s were not able to continue and the pace car and tow truck came out, again! There were four pace car laps with the green flying at the beginning of lap 6.

Ryan Booth, Knudsen Racing #4, waited patiently until the white flag lap where he executed the textbook drafting pass of Segio Pena, JP Motorsports #58, at the entrance of turn 1 to take the lead which he held on to for the win. Sergio Pena finished in second and Felice Snider, JP Motorsports #85, took third.

Liam Kenney dominated the 2000’s in the Round 6 race. From the intial green flag he was able to open up a several car length lead over Jeremy Braun. The restart saw Liam do it again, opening up several lengths over second place. The start found Bill Goshen out positioned, falling to fourth but the on the restart he and Luis Martinez Jr. moving ahead of Jeremy Braun and then he moved ahead of Martinez just a lap later to second where he finished. The dicing was not over and Martinez position over Braun was short lived and after three laps Braun regained third which as also his finishing position. The series points battle tightens after these six rounds. In the 1600’s Sergio Pena is ahead by Ryan Booth is coming on strong and Felice Snider is demonstrating that consistency has its rewards. In the 2000 Series championship John Knudsen still leads with Bill Goshen and Luis Martinez Jr. just behind and Liam Kenney is making a strong move. With 14 rounds to go each series championship is far from being decided.

 Rounds 3 & 4

 Friday March 16 was a test day with the cars taking to the track for a total of 5 sessions.  Almost all the cars took to the track for each session.  Unfortunately, Kerstin Smutny in her #2, Position One Motorsports Formula Renault 1600 suffered a devastating gearbox failure that forced her to withdraw from the weekend’s competition.

Round 3

 The Formula Renault 1600’s fielded 6 cars and despite the withdrawal of Kerstin Smutny there was one young lady driver, Christine Braun who joined the series in her Kimball Williams Racing #55.   Ryan Booth #4 Knudsen Racing, served notice taking the Formula Renault 1600 poll three tenths faster than his previous best just a week earlier.  John Knudsen took the Formula Renault 2000 poll in his #7 Knudsen Racing entry a full second faster than his best time of the previous weekend.   

The Formula 2000 race saw the front of the field, John Knudsen’s #7, Bill Goshen’s, Goshen Racing #82 and Luis Martinez Jr’s, Position One Motorsports #3 maintain there respective starting positions for the entire 13 lap race.  Liam Kenny #95 Liam Kenny Racing entry was in fourth for 11 laps but suffered a suspension failure and was not running at the finish.  The action took place between Christian Franck, #16 Knudsen Racing, Dino Bruno, #33 Team Bruno, Bob Siska, #15 RJS Racing and Jim Booth, #5 Knudsen Racing with them all shuffling positions for the first two laps and then doing it again in lap 10.  

At the end John Knudsen crossed the finish line first followed by Bill Goshen with Luis Martinez Jr. in third.   

The Formula Renault 1600 race saw position changes throughout the field in almost every lap with Ryan Booth, #4 Knudsen Racing, Sergio Pena, #58 JP Motorsports and Christine Braun, #55 Kimball Williams Racing swapping the top three positions six times.  

While the top three were trading places Josh Goshen, #83 Goshen Racing, Felice Snider, #85 JP Motorsports and Carlos Munoz, #73 JP Motorsports were also swapping positions frequently.  All together it was a very exciting race with Sergio Pena finishing first, followed by Ryan Booth and Christine Braun in third.

 Round 4

Qualifying conditions were optimal with John Knudsen capturing the Formula Renault 2000 poll again for Round 4 and Ryan Booth repeating as well taking the Formula Renault 1600 poll both were over a second quicker than the previous day.

After losing the lead on the start of the Formula Renault 2000 race John Knudsen charged back to the lead on the third lap and took complete control of the race.  Luis Martinez Jr. and Bill Goshen maintained station for the last 11 laps also.  Christian Franck charged forward at the start but fell back to 4^th  by lap 3 and retiring after lap 9 with a gearbox issue.  On the third lap Liam Kenny had contact with the tire wall on turn 18 coming on to the front straight, his race ended and the field circulated behind the safety car for three laps. At the checkered flag it was John Knudsen in this first back to back first place finishes, Luis Martinez Jr., with fast lap of the race, in second and Bill Goshen in third.

The Formula Renault 1600 race again provided excitement.  Due to technical infractions both Sergio Pena’s and Felice Snider’s qualifying times were disallowed putting them at the back of the grid for the start.  Christine Braun took the lead at the start with Ryan Booth getting shuffled back to fourth.  By the end of lap 2 Sergio Pena had moved to the front of the field with Ryan Booth close behind.  The very next lap Ryan Booth took the lead until the final lap.  On the last turn before the checkered flag Ryan and Sergio had contact that resulted in Ryan impacting the tire wall.  Sergio went on to the win with Felice Snider in second and Josh Goshen in third.

Series officials reviewed the incident and let the results stand.  At the awards ceremony when Sergio was presented with the first place trophy he apologized to Ryan for the incident and said “Ryan, here you deserve this” as he handed the trophy to Ryan in a true demonstration of the sportsmanship that the Formula TR PRO Series strives to impart.

The Championship Series point’s contests are tight with only 24 points separating the top four in the Formula Renault 1600 series and 19 points separate the top three in the Formula Renault 2000 series.   There are 108 points available over the top four places with points paid to twentieth position for each race making the championship attainable for any of the competitors.

The series has a long six week break but will meet again May 5 & 6 for Rounds 5 & 6 at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, CA. About Formula TR Formula TR (Tatuus Renault) provides a development series for young drivers progressing from karting into professional formula car racing as early as age 14.  

The series was established in 2002 and features both 1600cc and 2000cc carbon fiber open wheel chassis built by Tatuus and powered by Renault. The series consists of 20 races conducted over 10 weekends at tracks throughout the western US

2007 Formula TR PRO Series Underway.

 Round 1

The fifteen cars (9 Formula Renault 2000’s and 6 Formula Renault 1600’s) took the green flag with the Formula Renault 2000’s at the front and the Formula Renault 1600’s behind to open the 2007 Formula TR PRO Series 20 race competition for the championships in the two respective classes.  One Formula Renault 2000 missed the grid due to a last moment safety equipment problem.

The Formula Renault  2000’s quickly fanned out going into the highly banked turn one with John Knudsen in his Knudsen Racing #7 capitalizing on his poll position and taking the lead for the Formula Renault 2000’s.

The Formula Renault 1600 field displayed no advantage for any car as they heading into the banking of turn one in perfect grid order, side by side and evenly spaced with Ryan Booth in his Knudsen Racing #4 at the head of the field from his poll position.

The battle for the lead in the Formula Renault 2000’s was close with John Knudsen’s #7 keeping a slight advantage over Bill Goshen in his Goshen Racing #82.  On lap 7 Goshen was able to take the lead.  Just three laps later Liam Kenny in his Liam Kenny Motorsports #95 who had been running a strong third attempted to pass both Knudsen who was in second and Goshen who was in third with unfortunate results for both Kenny and Goshen, sidelining them for the remainder of the race.  

Knudsen was back in the lead and broke his long string of second place finishes to take the stop step of the podium.  Second was claimed by Luis Martinez Jr while third belonged to Dino Bruno in his Team Bruno entered machine.

The Formula Renault 1600 drivers had their own battle with Ryan Booth holding the lead for the first lap with second fastest qualifier Sergio Pena in his JP Motorsports #58 taking the lead on lap two.   These two watched each other closely and then on lap 6 Pena took the lead.  Ryan retook the lead the following lap but lost control, handing the lead back to Pena.  Felice Snider in his JP Racing #85 who had been watching from his third place position leapt into second and Carlos Munoz in his JP Motorsports #73 moved to third. Carlos moved ahead of his teammate Felice on the next lap but slipped back on the following lap.

The three JP Motorsports entries swept the podium Pena first, Snider second and Munoz in third.

Round 2

The Formula Renault 2000’s again led the formation for Round 2.  Bill Goshen in his Goshen Racing #82 captured the pole for this race with John Knudsen’s Knudsen Racing machine in second with Luis Martinez’s Position One Motorsports third.

The Formula Renault 1600 field was paced by Sergio Pena in his JP Motorsports car with Round 1 poleman Ryan Booth second and the youngest driver in the field, 13 year old Josh Goshen, in third.

Bill Goshen was focused and kept the lead for the entire 14 laps of green flag racing.  John Knudsen slipped two positions on the first lap with Luis Martinez Jr in his Position One Motorsports car moving to second and Christian Franck’s Knudsen Racing machine moving to third.  

Knudsen did not stay back for long, taking third on the next lap and second on the one following. The positions did not change for the remaining laps of the race with Bill Goshen’s Goshen Racing #82 finishing first, John Knudsen was in his ‘customary’ second place with Luis Martinez Jr’s Position One Motorsports entry third.

The Formula Renault 1600 Round 2 race found Sergio Pena’s JP Motorsports entry on the pole with Ryan Booth’s Knudsen Racing car second and Felice Snider (JP Motorsports) third on the starting grid.

Pena was in command for the entire race.  He simply ran away from the field with Booth maintaining his second place position well clear of the field as well.  Carlos Munoz’s JP Motorsports #73 got the jump on his teammate Felice Snider at the start to claim third, however on lap 9 he suffered a mechanical failure and retired.  

A very tight battle waged between Josh Goshen and Felice Snider with Goshen taking fourth on lap 7 and moving to third with Munoz retirement in lap 9.  

At the chequered flag Snider attempted to pass Goshen at the start finish line by going below the white line at the edge of the track.  The pass was disallowed by the officials and the final results had Sergio Pena at the top of the podium

for a sweep over the weekend.  

Ryan Booth was second and 13 year old Josh Goshen third.

Up next for the Formula TR PRO Series are Rounds 3 & 4 this weekend at the California Speedway.  The teams and drivers are now very familiar with the track and it should be even more exciting for everyone.