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Brazilian Victor Carbone won Round 11 at Road America with American Jonathan Scarallo claiming the top spot in Round 12 of the 2010 F2000 Championship.  Australian Daniel Erickson finished runner-up in both events, bringing his podium total to six after completing eight events.

Round 11

Carbone took the lead early in Race 1 of the Road America doubleheader and never looked back, crossing the stripe 3.742 seconds ahead of Erickson.  Scottish rookie Steven McAleer drove an impressive race to finish third.  Mikhail Goikhberg and Chris Livengood rounded out the top-five, respectively.  Both drivers put on a good show after contact early in the race.

Vaughn Horvath was awarded the “hard charger” award for improving the most positions during the race.  He started 22nd and finished 15th.

Round 12

American Jonathan Scarallo had a break-through win on Sunday after qualifying on pole for Round 12.  With two-laps remaining in the race, Scarallo edged Erickson and drove to a 1.890-second victory at the finish line.   Masters competitor Keith McCrone finished third with Cole Morgan and Fabio Orsolon rounding out the top-five.  The number of lead changes at the front of the pack illustrates just how much the draft can impact a race at Road America.  By all reports, it was one of the best F2000 Championship races of the season.

Liberty Motorsports’ Brian Belardi earned hard charger honors by improving 10 positions.  He finished 13th after starting last in 23rd.

Complete Results

• Round 11 – Race 1 (Road America)
• Round 12- Race 2 (Road America)

Victor Carbone won Round 10 of the 2010 F2000 Championship yesterday at Lime Rock Park after starting from pole position.  It was his fifth win of the season, but his first since June 13.  Carbone faced his first DNF of the season earlier in the day during Round Nine.  Daniel Erickson stole the show, however, driving from 14th on the grid to finish runner-up while setting the fastest lap of the race (50.475).  The end-result marked Erickson’s fourth top-two finish in six starts.  Phil Lombardi finished third with Fabio Orsolon and and Tim Minor rounding out the top-five, respectively.

The hard charger award went to Keith McCrone who drove to a 13th-place finish after starting back in 28th position.  The F2000 Championship will resume August 6-8 at Road America.

Click here – for complete results from Round Ten.

With everyone trying to find their braking points on a dry track, today’s F2000 Championship Race 1 was a bit wild.  Competitors had one on-track practice session Friday and two qualifying sessions, all were wet.  This morning’s race was the first opportunity, for many, to navigate their way around a dry Lime Rock Park racetrack.

Cole Morgan used his experience to work his way forward from fifth to win today’s first event.  Australian Daniel Erickson, who started from pole position, appeared poised to take home runner-up honors until the last lap when he mysteriously disappeared off-track before coming home 12th.  Steven McAleer ended up second after driving a nice race that saw him lead several laps.  Masters driver Phil Lombardi rounded out the top-three for his third podium of the season.

Series newcomer Felix Serralles started the race 10th – his first race ever in a F2000 Championship car – before dropping back to 14th, and then climbing his way back through the field to finish sixth overall.

Chris Gumprecht put in the drive of the day to finish 14th after starting 27th, improving 13 positions in 25-laps.

Championship leader Victor Carbone was classified 27th after contact with Chris Livengood on lap-21.  Livengood finished one lap down in 26th position.

Today’s second race is scheduled to take place at 5:15 p.m. EST.  Following this weekend’s doubleheader at Lime Rock Park, drivers return to action August 6-8 at Road America.

Click Here – for complete results from Race 1 at LRP.

Skip Barber National driver and MazdaSPEED scholarship driver Felix Serralles will make his F2000 Championship debut this weekend with GTP Motorsports at Lime Rock Park.  The 18-year-old race driver is coming off his first-career win in the Skip Barber National Championship last weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

GTP Motorsports will also enter Phil Lombardi, Paul Farmer, Tom Fatur, and Jim Hanrahan.   I expect Serralles will be a nice addition to the squad and do quite well.

Update: Felix Serralles was the fourth quickest driver in this morning’s wet practice session at LRP.  Qualifying for Race 1 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Daniel Erickson hit his marks all weekend and won two F2000 Championship races — his first victories on American soil — at Watkins Glen International Raceway.  The 22-year-old Australian driver should be competing for the overall championship this season but a lack of funds sent him home after an impressive showing at Virginia International Raceway – the series’ opening two rounds for 2010.  Following VIR, he missed the next four-rounds before making a triumphant return this past weekend at Watkins Glen.  Erickson is still on a race-by-race schedule due to limited funding, but he plans to run the Lime Rock Park event in three weeks.

Race 1 – Watkins Glen (F2000 Championship)

American Chris Livengood earned his first career pole in race 1 at ‘The Glen’ and led half the race before Erickson was able to slip past and claim the win.  Masters’ competitor Tim Minor rounded out the top-three with Cole Morgan and Victor Carbone finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

The hard charger of Round 7 was Charles Finelli – who improved 15 positions in 14-laps.  Finelli started the race in 30th and finished 15th.  Honorable mention should also go to Steven McAleer who drove from ninth to third before being forced backwards through the field due to a broken rear sway bar.

Indy Lights’ competitor James Winslow spent his Saturday in the No. 42 F2000 Championship car in search of additional seat-time prior to Sunday’s Corning 100.  Winslow finished eighth in his F2000 Championship debut without any previous seat-time in the car or on the track.  On Sunday, he finished fifth in the Indy Lights race – a career best.

Race 2 – Watkins Glen (F2000 Championship)

In Round 8, Erickson drove from flag-to-flag to earn his second win in as many days.  He faced tough opposition in the waning laps, as championship leader Victor Carbone hounded him in an effort to get past.  In the end, Carbone would be denied a win, though, as Erickson was forced to drive a defensive line.  Cole Morgan – who is currently second in the drivers’ championship – finished third, 7.480 seconds back.  Livengood rounded out a solid weekend by bringing his car home fourth.  Masters’ driver Keith McCrone was fifth.

Mark Defer earned “hard charger” honors by improving 11 positions in 14-laps.  He started the race 25th and crossed the finish line in 14th.

The F2000 Championship will return to action July 23-24 for Rounds 9 & 10 of the 2010 season at Lime Rock Park.

F2000 Championship
Complete Results – Watkins Glen

• Round 7 Results
• Round 8 Results
  

Up-and-Coming Drivers

Bill Zahren (aka Pressdog) put together an excellent two-part piece on Indy Lights’ drivers Martin Plowman, Pippa Mann and Gustavo Yacaman.  The article looks at the various challenges facing today’s up-and-coming drivers.  If you haven’t already read it, I strongly recommend you do.  Part 1– Part 2.

Karting standout and 2010 Bondurant Champion Neil Alberico had the chance to sample a Formula Mazda race car last weekend with World Speed Motorsports in the West Coast Formula Car Challenge series.  The opportunity came as part of the prize for winning the inaugural Bondurant Championship Series.

Speaking of the Formula Car Challenge series, rumor has it that 30+ drivers will be entered for the Infineon Round with the IRL.  A few notable names on the current entry list are Cole Morgan, Case Montgomery and Dane Cameron … just to name a few.  In addition to the racing action at Infineon, attendees will also get a chance to see the new FormulaSPEED 2.0. Here’s a sneak preview.

F2000 Championship – New Additions Inked for ‘The Glen’

Australian standout Daniel Erickson will return to F2000 Championship competition over the Fourth of July at Watkins Glen.  The 22-year-old ran out of funds after a stellar weekend in Virginia (earlier this year).  He plans to get back behind-the-wheel next weekend with Quantum Mechanics.

Scottish driver Steven McAleer was originally hired by SMR to work with rookie F2000 driver Tim Paul.  McAleer has done a nice job working with Paul (who has a sprint car background) – but the team has decided to actually put him in a race car alongside Paul.  He will be driving the #14 car at both Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park.

Both drivers will make a nice addition to the F2000 Championship field.

USF2000 and Star Mazda – New Jersey Motorsports Park

I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up last weekend’s USF2000 and Star Mazda races from New Jersey Motorsports Park.  Both races were broadcast on HDNet courtesy of VisitFlorida.com which was great to see.  A few of the camera men at NJMP could have used a little additional training (ie. don’t take the camera off of the action) but overall the production was outstanding and I certainly don’t want to sound like I’m complaining.

The talk of Saturday’s race was the bewildering penalty given to Conor Daly for jumping  the start of the Star Mazda race but the real story (aside from Conor’s comeback) was Brazilian Caio Lara.  Lara, who in his third year of Star Mazda competition, found his first Star Mazda podium early this season at St. Pete and then drove to a 2.650-second victory this past weekend in New Jersey.  Race 1 Results.

It was Lara’s first win in Star Mazda competition.  He’s flown under the radar for the past few seasons but he’s beginning to standout on a more frequent basis.  I’m not sure what his future holds but he’s certainly made some great strides over the past three seasons.

In the second Star Mazda race of the weekend Dom Bastien forgot he was a back marker (ed. note: while being lapped) and made the race incredibly exciting for the spectators.  I’m guessing there are a few Star Mazda front runners who didn’t find the race craft quite as entertaining as the rest of us.  As it turned out, the results weren’t affected – not much at least.

Tristan Vautier drove a phenomenal race after grabbing the holeshot from Conor Daly.  Sunday’s win was Vautier’s second of the season.  Joao Horto ran an impressive race driving from 8th to 2nd in 35-laps.  Krohn, who ultimately finished third, was running second until his gearbox got stuck in sixth-gear on the final lap.  Race 2 Results.

In USF2000 competition Sage Karam proved he’s human.  After qualifying on pole and driving to a 10.936-second win in Race 1, the 15-year-old American made a rare mistake while battling a loose car in Race 2.  He put all four wheels off track at corner exit and punctured the radiator in the process.  Patrick McKenna, who won at O’Reilly Raceway Park earlier this year, took the win from a hard charging Mikhail Goikhberg. Raphael Abbate, who finished third, is continuing to make a name for himself in the Series.  I admit I wasn’t real familiar with him when he first signed with JDC MotorSports, but I’ve been very impressed with him this season.

GP3- Hard Chargers, Race Winners and Interviewees

This is starting to get pretty long.  If you’re still reading … thank you.  The GP3 drivers spent the weekend in Valencia, Spain with Formula One.  Honorable mention needs to go to James Jakes for driving from 27th to 8th in Round 5.  Nico Muller, 18,  also had a strong weekend in GP3 – driving from 17th to 7th in Round 5 before winning Round 6.  It was his first GP3 victory.  Full GP3 Results from Valencia.

Mark at F1Prospects.com recently interviewed GP3 standout Alexander Rossi.  You can read the full interview here.

Formula BMW-Europe - Podcast

FeederSeries.net recently sat down with American Michael Lewis of Formula BMW fame for an interview.  Listen here.

The F2000 Championship drivers’ wrapped up a wet weekend at Mosport earlier today, completing Rounds 5 & 6 of the 2010 season. Canadian Remy Audette showcased his speed on a slick track surface Saturday, driving from flag-to-flag to earn his first victory since May 25, 2009 at Lime Rock Park.  Audette started the weekend off on the right foot, finishing inside the top-three in every practice session before earning the pole position for Round 5.  Additionally, he set the fastest lap of the race (1:38.032) en route to Saturday’s win.

“That was just an amazing race,” said Audette in a release. “I was on the limit the entire way and we went to the wet tires at the last second, and the track just kept changing. This is also special because it is my first win at Mosport.”

Phil Lombardi, who competes in the Masters Class, finished second in Saturday’s race.  The real story of the day was Cole Morgan, 2007 F2000 Champion, who spun on the opening lap of the race, dropping to the rear of the field, and then proceeded to catapult through the field to finish a respectable third.

Championship leader Victor Carbone finished fourth, just over 43-seconds back. Tim Minor rounded out the top-five.

In Round 6, Carbone returned to his winning ways by earning the pole position and driving to victory on Canadian soil. It was Carbone’s fourth win in six events this season. He set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:21.311.

“It wasn’t as easy as it may have looked,” said Carbone in a release. “I got a great start and then just pushed from there and looked forward.”

Remy Audette rounded out the top-three, earning his second consecutive podium finish. Masters Class’ competitors Tim Minor and Phil Lombardi finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

F2000 Championship
Rounds 5 & 6
Mosport International Raceway

• Round 5 Complete Results
• Round 6 Complete Results

Liberty Motorsports has signed Zach Craigo for the final 10-races of the 2010 F2000 Championship season.  Craigo, 24, will join Bobby Caldwell and Tim Kautz at Mosport on June 12-13 for Round 5 and 6 of the 2010 season.

Craigo’s resume boasts several local and regional Colorado karting championships.  In addition, he won the 2002 U.S. Amateur 125cc Shifter Kart Championship.  Craigo graduated into the car ranks with an emphasis in SCCA Formula Continental competition.  He has several regional and national wins in the Rocky Mountain division. He finished fourth in the 2008 FC June Sprints.

Craigo made his F2000 Championship debut at Road America in 2008 with Front Range Motorsports.  He qualified 18th and finished 12th in a 40+ car field during his first race.  He has continued to develop as a driver since that time, so I expect he will do quite well this weekend at Mosport.

Brazilian driver Victor Carbone set a new F2000 Championship track record over the weekend at Road Atlanta, sweeping the competition in both Round 3 & 4 of the 2010 championship.  Carbone has won three out of the first four events this season.

Carbone put his Alegra Motorsports car on pole for Round 3 and went on to win the race by just over a second and a half ahead of teammate Fabio Orsolon.  Cole Morgan, who won the 2007 F2000 Championship, finished 3rd in Round 3 just over eight seconds back.

Matthew Inge was the undisputed hard charger of the race by improving 19 positions in 18-laps.  Inge qualified 28th, due to a misfiring engine, and finished the race just inside the top-10, finishing ninth.

Carbone earned two straight pole positions over the weekend at Road Atlanta.  In Round 4 qualifying, he set a new F2000 Championship track record with a 1:25.192 lap.  The previous record, at Road Atlanta, was set by Jordan Taylor in 2008 (1:25.265) aboard a ZSports Midwest Van Diemen RF02/Zetec.

Although Carbone lost the lead early in the race to Rob Nicholas, he managed to get the point back just two laps later and went on to win his third event of 2010 by a margin of 7.552 seconds over Jonathan Scarallo.  Phil Lombardi finished third.  Scarallo’s second place finish was his career-best to date.

Blake Teeter and Dan Denison earned hard charger honors as both improved 13-spots in 18 laps.  Denison drove from 24th to finish 11th.  Teeter finished 13th after starting 26th.

Complete Results:

• Round 3 Race Results
• Round 4 Race Results

Matthew Inge, who finished second in the 2009 F2000 Championship, will return to F2000 competition this weekend when the series heads to Road Atlanta for Rounds 3-4 of the 2010 championship.  He will join Cole Morgan at K-Hill Motorsports.

Inge completed the 2009 F2000 Championship season with two wins, seven podiums and nine top-5 finishes.  At this time, it’s likely that this is simply a one-off opportunity but Inge remains hopeful that he will be able to get back in the car for some additional events.

Inge is a senior engineering student at Virginia Tech, with a focus in mining and minerals.