- Round 3 winner Scott Anderson leads the field into Turn 3 on Saturday at VIR.
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet/Skip Barber Racing)
The Skip Barber National Championship resumed action last weekend at the scenic Virginia International Raceway.
In Round 3, Scott Anderson picked up his first career win after a heated battle for the lead with pole sitter Sebastian Ordonez. Danilo Estrela rounded out the podium with a third-place result.
Trent Hindman was fourth and Shelby Blackstock completed the top-five.
On Sunday, the Series had its first repeat winner. Canadian Thomas McGregor picked up the win besting Anderson by 0.025 seconds at the stripe after starting sixth. McGregor also won Round 1 at Sebring International Raceway. Brandon Newey finished third Saturday after holding the lead for several laps.
Remo Ruscitti was fourth overall and Hindman rounded out the top-five. Sebastian Ordonez, who finished sixth, was also able to run up front for a good portion of the race… illustrating just how close the weekend’s racing was.
The SBN drivers return to action May 27-30 at Lime Rock Park for Rounds 5 & 6.
Complete Results after the jump.
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The 2011 racing season is finally underway and it opened with some exceptionally exciting races last weekend with both the Skip Barber National Championship and USF2000 National Championship opening their respective seasons at Sebring International Raceway.
Here’s a quick recap:
Skip Barber National Championship
The SBN Championship saw two first-time national winners over the weekend with Thomas McGregor picking up the win in Round 1 and Brandon Newey scoring the win in Round 2.
Danilo Estrela picked up five spots in the first race earning the hard-charger award. Shelby Blackstock drove from 10th to 6th in the second race, securing the second hard-charger title of the weekend.
Pole sitters were Scott Anderson in Round 1 and Trent Hindman in Round 2. By weekend’s end the top-three drivers in the point standings were Newey (67), McGregor (65) and Sebastian Ordonez (56).
Not surprisingly, it was a hard-fought battle for the lead all weekend long. If the competition level from this past weekend is any indication, we’re in for a thrilling season.
USF2000 National Championship
The USF2000 National Championship began with Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach scoring the flag-to-flag win at Sebring International Raceway. Veach also won the USF2000 WinterFest in January. Petri Suvanto showcased his speed right off the bat, wheeling his Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing No. 3 entry to second place. Spencer Pigot, driving the No. 8 Andretti Autosport car, finished third.
In Round 2 — which was packed full of action — Australia’s Luke Ellery emerged victorious in the No. 85 JDC MotorSports car. Pigot secured runner-up honors after starting fourth and Suvanto scored his second podium of the weekend with a third-place result.
The USF2000 National Championship will return to action this weekend at St. Petersburg, Fla.
Skip Barber Racing has released its 2011 National Championship schedule. The new calendar features seven double-race weekends.
2011 Skip Barber National Championship Schedule
- March 16-18: Sebring International Raceway
- April 29-May 1: Virginia International Raceway
- May 27-30: Lime Rock Park
- July 1-3: Road America
- July 21-23: Road Atlanta
- Aug. 11-13: Lime Rock Park
- Sept. 9-11: Autobahn
- Oct. 6-8: Lime Rock Park
You can read the official release from Skip Barber Racing here.
Trent Hindman, 15, and Danilo Estrela, 17, were announced as the winners of the 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Tristan Nunez (15) was awarded a half season in the 2011 National Championship. Stefan Rzadzinski (17) won a full regional scholarship for 2011. Kenton Koch (16), Scott Hargrove (15) and Kyle Kaiser (14) earned a half season of regional competition.
- KARTS TO CARS: Karting scholarship winners were announced at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Dec. 6, 2010. From left, Scott Hargrove, Kyle Kaiser, Tristan Nunez, Danilo Estrela, Todd Snyder, Trent Hindman, Stefan Rzadzinski, Kenton Koch. Forty-four drivers attended the shootout.
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet/Skip Barber)
A couple thoughts…
- As always, it’s great to see this shootout in place. The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship offers drivers a tremendous amount of seat time for a relatively low price. For those who walk away with scholarships, the event is even more valuable.
- Last year, with Pigot and Serralles winning, it was good to be from Florida as both are Floridians. This year it would appear New Jersey is the state to live in. Hindman and Estrela — the top prize winners — are both from New Jersey.
- The average age of scholarship winners this year is 15.57. Last year, the average age was 17.5 years.
- Several of the award winners had a significant amount of previous experience in a Skip Barber car. Both Hindman and Estrela ran four National Championship races in 2010. Nunez, Koch, Kaiser and Hindman all participated in the 2009 Karting Scholarship at Sebring.
- Estrela also has European experience as the 15-year-old ran three races in the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi series. In addition, he ran a few Brazilian Touring Car events. I’m not sure where Estrela was karting this season, but I’d have to assume somewhere because the application for entry to the shootout specifically says, “Applicants must be actively and currently racing karts.” Update: Estrela ran two races in Brazil’s Center-West Cup Championship this year.
- I’m glad I wasn’t a judge. There were so many talented drivers in attendance this past weekend. Prior to the event, I had picked a few drivers that I thought would exit with a scholarship — Not all of them did. It’s tough to leave an event like this without a prize, but those drivers need to use this experience to their advantage and realize that they aren’t leaving empty handed.
- Congrats to everyone who participated.
Related Reading: Skip Barber Karting Scholarship
The 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout is underway as of this morning and will continue throughout the weekend. The scholarship recipients will be announced Monday, Dec. 6, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Follow live updates from Skip Barber Marketing Coordinator Kelly Brouillet throughout the weekend on Twitter.
[Update]- Trent Hindman and Danilo Estrela earn top prize at Laguna Seca
Skip Barber Racing released its 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout entry list last week. The tentative list is comprised of 39 drivers.
The shootout will take place on Dec. 3-6, 2010, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The entrants will be competing for $200,000 worth of seat time in various Skip Barber Racing Series. The top prize, presented by the MazdaSPEED Development Ladder and the FIA Motorsport Safety Development Fund, will be a pair of rides in the 2011 Skip Barber National Championship, valued at approximately $52,000 each.
As noted above, there will be 39 drivers (and possibly more) in attendance at this year’s shootout. The average contestant age is 16.79 years.
Two years ago, I wrote a piece about the number of drivers who are 15 years of age or younger and competing for the prestigious Skip Barber Karting Scholarship. It seems the average age of the entrants continues to drop every year as competitors are getting younger and younger. Last year there were 13 drivers who were 15 years of age or younger in the shootout. This year, there is a record-15 drivers who are 15 years of age or younger. But, it should be noted that the youngest driver this season is 14, whereas in years past, the youngest competitor has always been 13-years-old or younger.
Here is a closer look at some actual numbers…
Percentage of Drivers Age 15 or Younger
2010- 39.47 (15 drivers) with the youngest being 14 years of age.
2009- 35.14% (13 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2008- 20.00% (10 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2007- 29.41% (15 drivers) with the youngest being 12 years of age.
2006- 24.49% (12 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2005- 17.02% (8 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
Make the jump to see the full 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout entry list… [Continue Reading...]
- Nick Andries (80) Wins at Road Atlanta
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet/Skip Barber Racing)
Name: Nick Andries
Nationality: American
Date of Birth: Nov. 19, 1990
Website: http://www.nickandries.com
Current Series:
Skip Barber National (full)
Star Mazda Championship
Final Standings: 6th
Average Finish
(1st Half of Season): 4.43
Average Finish
(2nd Half of Season): 7
Previous Experience:
Started Karting: Age 5
Karting Experience: 14 years
Car Experience: 2 Years (Skip Barber and Star Mazda)
Why he was chosen:
Nick won the 2009 Skip Barber Summer Series and made the jump to the National program in 2010. He did an excellent job of diversifying his skills this season by competing in both Skip Barber and Star Mazda. He ran 10 Star Mazda races this year and earned the Clutch Performer Award for earning the most points in the final six races. Perhaps the most admirable move he made, in regards to his development, was continuing his Skip Barber program rather than just moving into a Star Mazda car full-time when the opportunity presented itself.
The numbers posted above don’t tell the whole story on Andries’ development. During the second half of the Skip Barber National season, he was plagued with two bad results skewing his average finish. During the final lap of Round 10 at NJMP, Andries attempted a pass for the lead while going into Turn 1 and contact with another competitor sent him back to 10th. He improved seven positions in the very last race of the season to earn his first career victory. Additionally, he set the fastest lap of the race three times during the second half of the Skip Barber National season.
The Florida resident recently completed an Indy Lights test with Andersen Racing, but he’ll likely commit to a full-year of Star Mazda competition in 2011. If he’s able to put all his focus on one series, you can expect a marked improvement in his overall results. If you haven’t already noticed his talent behind-the-wheel, you will soon.
Related Reading: Unsung Hero Awards
- 2010 Skip Barber National Champion Spencer Pigot
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet – Skip Barber)
Just hours after being awarded the Team USA Scholarship by founder Jeremy Shaw, Spencer Pigot went on to win Round 13 of the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship, claiming the overall title for the year. Dennis Trebing led for part of the race, but ultimately had to settle for second after Pigot made a last lap pass to claim the win. Felix Serralles — co-winner of the 2010 Team USA Scholarship — finished third.
Scott Anderson was the Round 13 hard charger after improving from ninth to fourth.
Pigot looked like he was going to claim back-to-back victories in Friday’s Round 14, but contact changed that. Ultimately, Nick Andries walked away victorious in the final race of the 2010 season after starting eighth. It was his first win of the season and came just after he put together a solid drive in the Star Mazda race. Serralles, who was also pulling double-duty this weekend by competing in the USF2000 National Championship, finished second. Team USA nominee Ashley Freiberg rounded out the top-three.
Pigot claimed the overall title with three wins, five pole positions, and twelve podiums in 14 races. As part of his prize for winning the 2010 championship, he will receive a fully-funded ride in the 2011 USF2000 National Championship, courtesy of the MazdaSPEED Development Ladder.
The MazdaSPEED Ladder Awards ceremony will be streamed live at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Oct. 1, here.
With the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship season coming to an end, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at which drivers still have a mathematical shot at winning the overall championship. The Series will conclude their season at Road Atlanta on Oct. 1 following the completion of Rounds 13 & 14.
Despite only having two races left on the calendar, a lot can change heading into October especially when you factor in one race drop for each driver. You might be surprised at how many drivers still have a mathematical shot at the overall title. Make the jump for all the exciting details…
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- Nick Andries
(photo: Eric McCombs/Star Mazda)
Florida resident Nick Andries will rejoin Andersen Racing for the remainder of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship. His next race with the team will be this weekend at Iowa Speedway.
Andries made his Star Mazda debut with the team during Round 3 on the Streets of St. Petersburg. This weekend will be his first official oval race, but he did test Andersen Racing’s Star Mazda car at O’Reilly Raceway Park in May.
Andries, 19, will continue racing in the Skip Barber National Championship this season where he is currently ranked fourth in the points’ championship. In a press release, he is quoted saying:
“I think this is a great opportunity for me to continue developing my talent, but I’m not going to lose focus of winning a national championship in Skip Barber.”
I tend to agree with him. The opportunity to run both series is a great one, especially with the chance to learn from Andersen teammates Anders Krohn, Mikael Grenier and Tristan Vautier – all of whom will be an asset to Andries’ development. To me, his key sentence is “I’m not going to lose focus of winning a national championship in Skip Barber.”
