Richard Kent who currently sits in second place in the Star Mazda standings after Round 1, will not compete this weekend at Virginia International Raceway after breaking his fibula. Apparently, he tripped crossing the street–according to the Andersen Racing press release– he will return to the drivers seat for Round 3 at Miller Motorsports Park. This is truly unfortunate for Richard, but I guess accidents do happen (even if they involve tripping over a curb). In the meantime, we wish Richard the best and hope to see him back in the car very soon.
This unfortunate story reminds me of an NHL report last year, when the St. Louis Blues No. 1 pick (2006) Erik Johnson, ended his season by stepping off a golf cart. It leaves the rest of us sitting here saying…. Did this just happen?
I have just received word that nineteen year old British F3 driver Steven Guerrero was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. From what I can gather, Guerrero is in serious condition with multiple injuries. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.
Guerrero, who hails from Colombia, finished 2nd in the British F3-National class in 2008 with 2 wins and 9 podiums. He also spent two years in the Formula BMW-Americas program driving for HBR Motorsport. Stay tuned for updates.
(photo: http://www.jamesbearne.com/)
Atlantic Championship front runner, Carl Skerlong will miss the series finale after sustaining a concussion during Tuesday’s promoter test at Road Atlanta. The crash occured in Turn 2 of the 2.54 mile racetrack, located in Braselton, Georgia. The 20 year old Pacific Coast Motorsports driver arrived in Atlanta on Monday holding down fourth place in the overall driver championship, but will now have to watch the final round from the sidelines.
Apparently the doctors have also warned him not to indulge in paddock surfing.
Skerlong was released from the Northeast Georgia Medical Center after receiving a precautionary CT-Scan late Tuesday. Due to certain risks associated with a head trauma, Skerlong will not be cleared to race.
Former F1 and Champ Car great Nigel Mansell did some laps in a go-kart on the new layout at Thunderbolt Raceway (NJMP). He must have given his son Greg a few tips after the venture; Greg Mansell received the official hard charger note in the box score over the weekend enroute to a career best finish of 7th in the Atlantic Championship race on Sunday. Greg’s brother Leo Mansell finished 12th in Sunday’s race.
ATS Formula 3 driver Hamad Al Fardan survived his tremendous wreck at The Nurburgring without any serious injuries only to break his metatarsus in a leisure activity, forcing him to miss the next two rounds of the Championship.
Several Indy Lights drivers were scheduled to try out dirt track racing over the weekend at Terre Haute, Indiana..in an effort to raise money for flood victims of Wabash Valley. Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to rain (isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?).
The event has since been rescheduled for October 4th.
International Formula Master driver, Chris van der Drift became the first Kiwi driver to try out the new Ferrari powered A1GP Car.
World Series by Renault driver Fabio Carbone will be driving a Nissan Nismo GT-R next weekend in a one-off at the Suzuka 1000km.
Italian Motors driver and current VW TDI Cup Championship leader, David Jurca, had another successful weekend by finishing sixth at Lime Rock. Retaining his championship lead.
British F3 hotshoe, Andy Meyrick looks to make his return to the racetrack for the British F3 series finale at Donington Park following a mysterious illness that has sidelined him since early July. We hope for a speedy recovery for the Welsh driver as he has consistently proven his talents behind the wheel.
Former open wheel star, A.J. Allmendinger is reportedly “feeling the pressure letting up“, despite a recent article by Marty Smith of ESPN.com claiming the opposite. Just this week, A.J. was named to the Atlantic Championship All Star Team. It would be a shame to see A.J. on the sidelines for 2009.
Kart racing may never be an Olympic sport, but American gearbox champion Gary Carlton continues to “Globetrott for ICC Success”.
Bahrain’s hottest F1 Prospect, Hamad Al Fardan, was hospitalized over the weekend after a crash at the Nurburgring in the German F3 Championship. The 21 year old was later released despite some serious bruises.
Atlantic Championship driver David Garza dislocated his hip last weekend while training in his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. His driving coach, and current A1GP driver, David Martinez will replace Garza this weekend at Road America in the #7 Atlantic Car. This will be a good opportunity for Martinez to get back into a car and show what he can do. The Mexican driver has three Champ Car starts with Forsythe Racing and 2 starts for Team Mexico in their A1GP car.
Arie Luyendyk Jr. was released from the hospital on Sunday following surgery to clean up a staph infection inside his left knee. The doctors worked on removing an infected bursa sac along with the infected portion inside the knee joint. Apparently the infection was created due to continual bruising, due to the high g-forces inside the cockpit. At this time, the medical staff has not announced whether or not Arie will be cleared to race at the Kentucky Speedway on August 9th. Luyendyk Jr. will follow up next Tuesday at the Indiana Orthopedic Hospital, hopefully the surgery will have cleaned everything up as a staph infection can be very dangerous.
Posted July 13, 2008 at 10:35 pm
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Injury
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Cody Robinson, WKA Triple Crown Winner, was struck by a car on July 9th. The youngster was walking home at the time of the accident with fellow kart racer Dakota Pesek. The impact caused a compound fracture in his right leg. After spending the weekend at the Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio; Robinson was released after undergoing surgery to repair the fracture. He will spend atleast six weeks in a full cast prior to beginning physical therapy. We wish Cody the best and hope to see him back at the racetrack soon.
For those that don’t already know, Cody is the 2007 WKA National Champion in HPV Jr. Heavy, Yamaha Supercan Jr. Lite, and Yamaha Supercan Jr. Heavy.
British driver, Charles Hall is victorious in his Anderson Racing entry at Watkins Glen. Hall has been quick all week, never dropping out of the top two spots during the Star Mazda on-track sessions. In fact, his quick time on Wednesday morning’s opening session was his best lap of the weekend @ 1:45.651. Having never run Watkins Glen, the Englishman researched the track layout via YouTube and other internet sites prior to his appearance.
The victory tastes extra sweet for this 28 year old pilot after being sidelined following a terrible street car accident in 2005. Hall was a shoe-in to run the GP2 series (Formula One Development) in 2005, when he was struck by a drunk driver in early February. Both the driver of the other vehicle and Hall’s passenger were killed in the crash. Charles managed to survive but didn’t escape unharmed. He suffered a crushed femur among other injuries. After having corrective surgery, he now stands one inch shorter than he did prior to the accident. Hall made a brief (3 race) stop in the Champ Car Atlantic Series in 2006. After that horrific February night, he has been rehabbing (physical therapy) and training in Italy to make a full comeback, and today he has done just that. It won’t be long before you see this driver standing at the top step at the next level. He has the heart and the skill to make it happen. Job well done!
In other weekend news, Star Mazda drivers who were under 18 years of age were not allowed to participate at Watkins Glen due to insurance reasons. A few drivers, Billy Goshen and John Edwards, emancipated themselves this weekend in order to compete. I can tell you that Championship contender Tom Gladdis sat out this weekend as he was not able to attain emancipation in time. Cody Jolly missed this weekend as well, although I’m not sure if he has committed to run a full season. In reaction to the situation, Star Mazda officials have changed their rule book to allow drivers to drop one race from the championship. In other words, their top 11 finishes will count towards their final points tally. I like the fact that they have offered the young drivers an opportunity to stay in the championship hunt, but the ruling still puts them at a disadvantage should there be a future DNF or DNS. Drivers not affected by the Watkins Glen insurance policy will have an extra race to drop if they attend all events.
Star Mazda: Round 3
Watkins Glen Full Results
Posted May 17, 2008 at 9:11 pm
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Injury
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The 2005 Stars of Karting ICA National Champion, Phil Giebler, crashed this morning at Indianapolis while practicing for the Indy 500. He is currently hospitalized with bruised lungs and will remain at Methodist Hospital overnight for observation. Giebler followed up his 2005 ICA National Championship with a ICC Eastern Division Championship in the 2006 Stars of Karting series. He was named “Rookie of the Year” in his Indianapolis 500 debut last season. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in the car soon.
**Updated**
Phil has been released from Methodist hospital and is doing okay. Unfortunately, due to a cervical sprain, Giebler will not start this year’s Indianapolis 500.
