Junior Open Wheel Talent

After a record nine pole positions and a record-tying seven wins in 2010, American Conor Daly has won the overall Star Mazda Championship during the penultimate stop at Mosport International Raceway.  The Series will head to Road Atlanta, October 1, for the final event of the year.

Jorge Goncalvez finished runner-up, trailing Daly for the majority of the race.  Lap traffic allowed Connor De Phillippi to catch the front two and briefly take second from Goncalvez on Lap 29, but the Venezuelan driver was able to re-take the spot on the final lap following a restart. Ultimately, De Phillippi finished third after making a handful of nice passes to move up from his sixth place starting position.

Farther back in the field, Rusty Mitchell put together an impressive drive.  The Texan qualified seventh but “flat spotted” his tires and chose to replace them heading into the race.  His decision relegated him to the back of the field for today’s start.  From nineteenth on the grid, Mitchell carved his way through the pack to finish ninth.

The race featured one caution when Series’ newcomer Mikhail Goikhberg lost his car on the exit of Turn 1, impacting the tire barriers.  For a lap-by-lap recap of things, check out my Twitter page.

Complete results after the jump.

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Alex Ardoin Wins 2nd Consecutive Trois-Rivieres GP3r
(Photo: Eric McCombs/Star Mazda)

Alex Ardoin drove to an impressive victory in Round 10 of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada after being out of a race car for nine months.  He’s now 2-for-2 over the last two years on the Canadian street circuit, having won at Trois-Rivieres last August.

Ardoin’s last race was October 10, 2009 at Laguna Seca; he finished 2nd.  Funding woes placed him on the sidelines in 2010.  He was invited to work as a driver coach with Team GDT this weekend, but a last minute decision by team owner JW Roberts put Ardoin back in a race car.  It was a wise decision.  In addition to taking the win, Ardoin set the fastest lap of the race 1:02.546.  Hopefully we will see him make a full-time return to competition in 2011, he’s a talented kid that deserves the opportunity.

Jorge Goncalvez finished second in Sunday’s race after starting fifth.  The Venezuelan passed points leader Conor Daly in the closing laps to secure his third runner-up finish of 2010.  Daly finished third earning his ninth podium of the year.

Anders “The Viking” Krohn finished fourth after leading the opening laps before being shuffled back with David Ostella rounding out the top-five.

Honorable Mention

Joao Victor Horto earned ‘hard charger’ honors after qualifying 12th and finishing sixth.  Linares Racing driver Kevin Toledo had a remarkable drive moving up to fifth from his 12th place starting position only to be shuffled back to 12th on Lap-36 of the 39 lap event.  Canadian Mikael Grenier also put in an impressive drive to finish 10th after dropping to the rear of the field on Lap 5 (while running near the front).

Make the jump for complete results.

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This type of post is fun because I can hit on a “few” items that stood out over the weekend.  Plus it’s not overly banal – like most of the race reports you can find spread across the Interwebs.  The bad thing about this type of post is that a lot of good things get left out.  It’s tough to limit, especially when so many drivers had a really good weekend.

Without further ado, here is my USF2000 and Star Mazda recap from the Autobahn County Club in Joliet, Illinois.

What Was Good…

• USF2000 Race Winners: Tonis Kasemets (no, that’s not a typo) and Sage Karam.
• Matthew Powers really impressed me in his return to the championship – perhaps my favorite part was the car control he displayed on cold tires Saturday while going over “the Autobahn jump,” I lost count on how many times the car wiggled, but it was fun to watch.
• Martin Scuncio is really beginning to develop as a driver.  I had him pegged as a driver to watch earlier this year and he was exactly that this weekend.  He had some bad luck on Saturday, but I’ll hit on that incident later.
• As always, it was great to see VisitFlorida.com and HDNet supporting the feeder series and providing TV coverage – even if they cut away from the action a few times (again, I promise, I’m not complaining – just offering constructive criticism).  It was great to have both doubleheaders on TV.
• Star Mazda race winners: Mikael Grenier and Conor Daly.
• Daly put in an astonishing drive Saturday going from 23rd on the grid to finish 3rd.  He won Sunday’s race.  His Juncos Racing teammate Tatiana Calderon continues to impress.  She’s getting better every weekend.
• Mikael Grenier drove a very solid race Saturday, hitting all his marks en route to a 3.667-second victory.  It was his first career win in Star Mazda and, if I’m not mistaken, his first major open-wheel victory outside of karting.
• Caio Lara has really done a nice job developing his racecraft over the last few years.  He finished second on Saturday and put together a nice drive on Sunday to finish ninth after being given a drive-thru penalty for jumping the start.
• Ashley Freiberg made an impressive return to Star Mazda competition on Saturday finishing fifth.

What Wasn’t So Good…

• J.R. Smart’s crash on Saturday.  He lost consciousness during the race, but all reports indicate he is doing well now.  Get well soon J.R.
• The USF2000 start on Saturday.  Personally, I had no problem with Tonis’ move at the start, but a few people did, and several drivers failed to make it through Turn One.  Here is an onboard shot, courtesy of Zach Veach.
• Conor Daly’s wing infraction.  Not sure who is to blame on this one but it’s unfortunate to see a guy with so much talent receiving so many penalties.  Fortunately, for the rest of us, the race was incredible thanks to his epic drive through the field.
• Saturday’s contact between Tatiana Calderon and Anders Krohn.  Krohn was running inside the top-four throughout the race and Tatiana had made a strong drive from 12th-to-5th before contact put Krohn back to seventh.  After the race Calderon was penalized for avoidable contact and demoted to 7th.  The contact ruined an impressive outing by both drivers.
• Martin Scuncio’s engine failure in Saturday’s USF2000 race.  WOW! Hopefully someone will post the footage shortly.  “The engine just stopped,” said Scuncio, who was understandably disheartened after the race. “I don’t know what happened, I’m just so disappointed.”  At the time of the failure, Scuncio was having a superb battle inside the top-five.

Full Results – Autobahn Country Club

USF2000- Round 7
USF2000- Round 8

Star Mazda- Round 8
Star Mazda- Round 9

Skip Barber National competitor Ashley Freiberg is set to make her return to Star Mazda competition this weekend at Autobahn (Rounds Eight and Nine) in the No. 91 Team GDT car.  In 2009, she drove two races in the Star Mazda Championship with GDT, both at Autobahn – which is her home track.  Last winter, she competed in one Formula Mazda Winter Series event at Infineon, finishing sixth.

Freiberg, 19, has done an excellent job of pacing her development, and her growth as a driver has been evident every season.  This weekend’s event at Autobahn should offer an excellent opportunity to gauge her progress from last year.  It’s likely that we will see her competing in Star Mazda full-time in 2011.

For now, this is a one-off opportunity for her to pick up some additional seat time.  Her focus will remain on the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship.

Other returning drivers include Kevin Toledo (Linares Racing) and Sean Burstyn (Juncos Racing).

This weekend’s Round Eight and Nine of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship will be broadcast live on HDNet. Both races are scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. CST start time on July 31 and August 1.

Sean Burstyn is set to make his return to the Star Mazda Championship this weekend during the doubleheader at Autobahn in Joliet, Illinois.  The 20-year-old Florida resident has signed with Juncos Racing for the event — the same team he drove for last season.  He made nine Star Mazda starts last year, earning two top-10 finishes.  His best finish of the season, 7th, occurred at Autobahn last July.

Burstyn will join teammates Conor Daly, Tatiana Calderon, and Rusty Mitchell under the Juncos Racing tent this weekend.  With the guidance of Ricardo Juncos, driving coach Peter Dempsey, and the aforementioned teammates, it’s quite possible we will see another top-10 result from Burstyn.

In order to prepare for this weekend’s races, Burstyn tested with the team two weeks ago at Autobahn in a private test.  All four Juncos Racing drivers were present.

Linares Racing has announced the signing of 19-year-old Kevin Toledo for the remainder of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship.  The Chilean driver will join Carlos Linares, who is currently tied for 13th in the overall championship.

Toledo competed in the Star Mazda Championship last season, logging a best-finish of seventh at Iowa Speedway.  His previous experience includes Chilean F3 and Formula Renault in Argentina.

The team is testing at Putnam Park in Indiana this week.  The addition of Toledo to the squad should help Linares Racing build their program heading into the 2011-12 season.

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.

During yesterday’s Star Mazda race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier were given drive-through penalties for “jumping the start.”  The problem is, Conor didn’t jump the start. At least not according to the rule book.

The official Star Mazda rule book states:

T.3.d. The red lights will illuminate in sequence until all are lighted.
T.3.e. The race starts once all red lights go out and the green lights are on, (not less than half a second, but no more than three seconds).
T.3.f. A car has committed a false start, if it moves beyond the start box or is moving forward when the start signal turns green.
T.3.g. A penalty will be imposed for a false start judged by the Officials. Decisions by the Officials are not subject to protest or appeal.

Both lead cars did creep a small amount while the lights were red due to the downhill grade of the front straight.  Daly’s car did stop, however, prior to the red lights going out and the green lights coming on.  His front wing was near the line of the start box, but all four tires were clearly within the designated box at the green light. Vautier, on the other hand, was still creeping forward, slightly, when the green lights came on.

Star Mazda Officials did come forward this morning and apologize to Conor for making an incorrect call.  Not that they had much choice in the matter, but their apology is extremely admirable and rare in the racing industry.  Sadly, their decision may have — and probably did — alter Star Mazda history.  Daly, who was starting from pole position, was looking to win his fifth consecutive Star Mazda race yesterday.  A feat no one else has ever accomplished in the history of the Series.

Mistakes happen and bad calls are made in every sport.  It’s part of life.  I guess the thing that really shocked me, in this instance, was the rush to make the call.  There was plenty of time to review the video of the start which proved Daly did not jump the start.  Regardless, the penalty was sent out almost immediately and by that time it was announced it was too late for anyone to do anything.  Let’s just hope this sort of mistake doesn’t happen again.

Daly and Vautier both handled the penalty remarkably well, showcasing their speed, maturity and ability to perform under pressure. Daly finished the race third after dropping back to 21st as a result of the penalty.  Vautier managed to fight his way back to sixth overall. Daly set the fast lap of the race 1:17.262 and Vautier set the second quickest lap of the race with a 1:17.444.

Update: Here is the video footage from the start.

Make sure to check out HDNet, starting at 12:30 p.m. EST today and tomorrow, for coverage of the USF2000 National Championship and Star Mazda Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

The USF2000 National Championship is scheduled to take the green flag at 2:05 p.m. EST today for Race 1.  Tomorrow’s race is also scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. EST start.

The Star Mazda Championship competitors will take the green today at 3:00 p.m. EST.  Sunday’s race will be run at the same time: 3:00 p.m. EST.

If you don’t have HDNet at home, click here to check and see if any of your local establishments carry the channel.

Here are my photos from Star Mazda qualifying on Saturday at Iowa Speedway.  The photos were taken as the drivers prepared for the session in the paddock and while on track.  Enjoy.

Photo credit: Ryan – JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com

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