Junior Open Wheel Talent

Conor Daly proudly waves the American flag following his GP3 win in Barcelona, Spain.
(Photo: LAT/GP3.com)

Conor Daly didn’t get much sleep the night prior to the GP3 season-opening race in Barcelona, Spain. He tossed and turned with anticipation and excitement, not fear.

Preseason testing had gone well and he was anxious to embark upon his sophomore season in European racing. Yet the pressure was still lurking for the young American, relentlessly building despite his optimistic approach to racing and life abroad.

On May 12, 2012, the wait was over. It was time to qualify.

The session started out perfect, Daly’s first flying lap put him on pole position. It didn’t last, however, as he was quickly bumped back to seventh. Undeterred, he laid down another solid lap placing him second for the start of the opening race.

A misjudged start, a slipping clutch, and a misadventure at the exit of the chicane following minimal contact with a menacing curb during the opening lap quickly erased all hope of a win and instead forced Daly to fight for a top-10 finish.

Not that he was having a bad race. He wasn’t. In the ultra-competitive world of GP3 — a series chock full of young drivers hoping for a chance at F1 — a minimal mistake quickly compounds and appears much bigger than it really is, and that was the case in Daly’s opening lap of the season-opening race.

Still, he finished sixth and would start race two from third on the grid.

“I really beat myself up after performances like that,” Daly wrote in his Racer.com blog. “I was in a position to be successful and squandered it. However, I’m also quite a positive person and enjoy focusing on my next opportunity to make the best of my time on track.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Daly made the most of his next opportunity aggressively passing Romanian Robert Visoiu in the grass to lead the field into turn one during race two. His start was perfect, immediately erasing all remaining thoughts of earlier imperfection. He had a new task to focus on.

Following the fight for the lead in turn one, the race was over — at least at the sharp end of the field. Daly continually clocked fast laps leaving his formidable foes far behind during the 16-lap sprint race. As the race wore on, the gap grew. Then the checkered flag waved and his team — Lotus GP — handed him an American flag and he embraced his father Derek with a hug. Meanwhile, his mom screamed and cheered while watching on television in Indianapolis — having just received the ultimate Mother’s Day gift.

Daly had made history becoming the first American driver to win a GP3 race. Twitter feeds exploded with the news and Daly’s Facebook page was quickly littered with congratulatory comments.

Shortly after the race, Daly (@ConorDaly22) tweeted: “WE DID IT!! P1!! #USA #USA thank you so much @ARTGP ! What an incredible day. Feels so good! Happy mothers day Mom :)”

Good friend American Josef Newgarden and former Indy Lights teammate at Sam Schmidt Motorsports — who currently races in IndyCar and spent the 2010 season in GP3 — picked up a few chuckles post-race when he tweeted : “Holy Santa Clause Sh*t, how about @ConorDaly22 taking victory in Barcelona this morning!#America”

Needless to say friends, family, and followers were all proud of Conor’s achievement. The pressure was lifted and now that he’s earned that first win, many more are sure to follow.

This week, 20-year-old Daly is taking another step in his burgeoning career: testing a Force India Formula One car. Make sure to follow along for what is sure to be an illustrious career in motorsport. This is just the start and Daly has the holeshot.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a linkage update and there has been a fair amount of news lately. Here’s some of the latest.

Despite a point-deduction penalty following the season-opening races in F2000 Championship competition, Robert La Rocca remains the driver to beat winning the Series’ first four races.

Meanwhile David Grant is off to a pretty solid start in the newly formed Atlantic Championship Series having won both races this past weekend at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.

In the Toyo F1600 Championship — formerly the Ontario Formula Ford Championship — Michael Adams proved he was ready for the next step by winning the opening race at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Adams won the B-class championship in 2011). Shane Jantzi won Round 2, edging Adams by 0.128 seconds after the duo exchanged several bids for the point.

Mazda Road to Indy scouting combine winner Bobby Kelley is off to a fast start in the Pacific F2000 Series, sweeping the opening two rounds at Willow Springs. He was fast in Rounds 3-4 too, but the blistering- fast Ian Lacy emerged from retirement to steal the show — and both wins — at Miller Motorsports Park.

World Speed Motorsports Rising Star Award winner Niki Luna sampled a FormulaSPEED2.0 car at Infineon last month.

Team Moore pilots Gustavo Yacaman and David Ostella led 17 Indy Lights drivers in a May 11th test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The gap from 1st to 17th was less than 7/10s of a second. Needless to say, the Freedom 100 should be extremely entertaining.

Conor Daly earned his first career GP3 victory in Race 2 at the Circuit de Cataluyna. With that one out of the way, I’m sure we’ll see many more. Nice work Conor!

American Alexander Rossi turned laps in the Caterham Formula One car this past weekend during the Spanish Grand Prix practice. Congrats Alex!

For those heading to the Indy Lights — err INDYCAR — race at Iowa Speedway, make sure to read Pressdog’s 2012 Guide to Des Moines.

And last, but not least, if you’re interested in learning more about karting or simply how to get involved in the sport, jump over to eKartingNews.com and read the staff’s latest project titled ‘Entry Level Karting.’ The first official installment should be live next week. Go Karting!

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Peter Dempsey (photo: IndyCar.com)

Peter Dempsey no longer wakes up and wonders if he’ll race an Indy Lights car in 2012.

His ride has been finalized.

Younessi Racing — owned by driver Rodin Younessi —  has signed the talented Irishman for both the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Detroit’s Belle Isle race on June 2.

Not only will Dempsey return to the cockpit he will do so with a familiar engineer: Dave McMillan — Dempsey’s engineer at O2 Racing Technology.

This is a smart move by Younessi Racing. In nine Indy Lights starts, Dempsey, 26, has four podium finishes and remains the winningest driver in Star Mazda Championship history (nine wins).

Simply put, he deserves to be in an Indy Lights car.

It will be nice to see Peter back in the car. He will be a good addition to Younessi Racing and it should be fun to see what kind of impact he will have on the organization.

Dempsey will participate in the Indy Lights Open Test on May 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Freedom 100.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

I decided to try something new this week and post a video featuring Star Mazda driver Gustavo Menezes.

In the film, Gustavo discusses the Mazda Road to Indy oval clinic with INDYCAR’s Beaux Barfield, and later, how he applied the skills during the Star Mazda test at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Special thanks to Gustavo Menezes, Beaux Barfield, and Kate Guerra for assisting in the production of this film. Enjoy.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Mike Larrison completed his rookie test May 3 at Iowa Speedway.

Mike Larrison announced he will join Belardi Auto Racing for the 2012 Indy Lights oval events and the Baltimore street race.

Last season, the 29-year-old was planning to make his Indy Lights debut with Andretti Autosport at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, a crash in Turn 4 at Kentucky Speedway during his rookie test resulted in several injuries and foot surgery.

Yesterday, Larrison put the incident and injuries behind him while successfully navigating Iowa Speedway for his 2012 rookie test.

The Indiana native will make his racing debut with BAR at the Freedom 100, May 25, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His teammates will be Alon Day and Jorge Goncalvez.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

(Photo: Corey Johnson - JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com)

The 2012 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship will move back to Sebring International Raceway for 2012, taking place Nov. 13-16.

The Skip Barber Championship Shootout will take place the same weekend with entrants competing for a ride in the 2013 USF2000 National Championship.

Awards for the Karting Scholarship Shootout are as follows:

Emerson Newton-John (photo: IndyCar.com)

Emerson Newton-John plans to join Fan Force United for the upcoming Freedom 100 Indy Lights race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The signing is contingent on Newton-John completing his oval rookie test.

The Charlotte, N.C., resident has been out of competitive racing for some time but recently completed a test day with FFU at Putnam Park in Indiana.

In 2000, Newton-John competed in the Australian Formula Holden Championship running two races for Greg Murphy Racing. The following season he ran 11 races in the Australian Drivers’ Championship where he finished fifth, compiling four podiums. The championship was won by current V8 Supercar driver Rick Kelly.

In 2002, Newton-John sampled a NASCAR truck for Steirwalt-Pirtle Racing during the New England 200. His race ended early due to a mechanical failure and he was classified 31st.

Additionally, he has experience in shifter karts and tested an F3 machine with Hayashi Racing in Japan.

While Emerson — named after Emerson Fittipaldi — has a goal of making it to IndyCar within the next two years, he has some interesting lineage who chose other career options and made pretty big names for themselves.

This will be an intersting debut to watch.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Take an onboard ride with Danilo Estrela at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in his Formula Skip Barber car. Enjoy.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Matias Koykka leads the F1600 Formula F Championship field during the season opening race at Virginia International Raceway. (photo: Dennis Valet)

Finland’s Matias Koykka was first to put his name in the 2012 F1600 Formula F Championship Series title hunt with a win in the season-opening race at Virginia International Raceway. Koykka topped a heated four-car battle in the closing laps, besting 20 other drivers after starting from pole position.

Colin Thompson finished runner-up, trailing by 0.517 seconds at the line with Brandon Newey, Garett Grist, and Jeremy Grenier completing the top five.

Sean Maisey (7th) and John Nesbitt (12th) both improved seven positions.

In Round 2, Koykka, 17, appeared to be on his way to his second victory before contact with Grist ended his day. Newey went on to win by 0.042 seconds after a tight battle with teammate Grist. Thompson rounded out the top three with an impressive drive after dropping to 11th during the race.

In F2000 Championship Series competition, Robert La Rocca was in a class by himself earning two poles, two fast laps and two race wins aboard the No. 10 HP-Tech machine, besting a field of 33.

In the opening race, veteran Fabio Orsolon finished runner-up with Niki Coello completing the podium. Coello — who looks set to finally complete a full season – finished runner-up in the weekend’s second race with Wyatt Gooden completing the top three after contact knocked him out of the Round 1.

Nathan Morcom was the hard charger in the opening race driving from 31st to 15th, while Jeff McCusker maneuvered his way from 32nd to 19th in Round 2.

The F2000 Championship Series drivers return to action on May 10-12 at Road Atlanta, while the F1600 competitors are off until May 25-26 when they travel to Lime Rock Park.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Esteban Guerrieri secured his third straight podium in the season's opening three races with a win on the streets of Long Beach. (photo: Camden Thrasher-INDYCAR/LAT USA)

After qualifying second on the streets of Long Beach, Esteban Guerrieri’s strategy was simple: Make a bid for the lead early.

From there his goal was to run a mistake-free race.

He accomplished both, earning his fourth-career victory and first of 2012 on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn California street course.

“Really, really happy to get my first win of the season at Long Beach,” Guerrieri said. ” I have to thank my engineers for the strategy. We used a little less wing so we could go at the start.”

On the opening lap Guerrieri made his move as the 15-car field catapulted into Turn 1, passing pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra for the lead. From there he continued to build his advantage, ensconced in the No. 11 cockpit.

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