Junior Open Wheel Talent

This might have been better if I had some onboard footage from St. Petersburg.  But, I don’t so this will have to do.  The following footage was taken during last week’s Star Mazda season opener.

Take a ride with Star Mazda rookie Connor De Phillippi at Sebring International Raceway.

It will be hard to miss, but make sure you pay close attention to how deep he drives the car into the corner.  He does a tremendous job under braking without hurting his exit speed (at least during the opening laps).  As the race wears on, it appears that he is battling a little understeer on entry which, in turn, creates a snap oversteer at mid-corner to exit.  Although it doesn’t seem to hurt him much.  Enjoy.

Jonathan Summerton, Race Johnson, Nic Le Duc, Ben Jopling, Niall Quinn and Steve Lewandowski all took part in the Palm Beach International Raceway Driver Academy last week.  All six drivers were able to participate in a two-day race car test at Putnam Park, Indiana.  The team had both a Formula BMW car and a Indy Lights car on hand.  In addition, they received media and driver presentation training as well as physical fitness training with Jim Leo from PitFit (see video below).

Team PBIR Driving Academy: Physical Fitness with PitFit’s Jim Leo

I haven’t provided much coverage on the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge series (OFFC) due to time constraints but it certainly deserves some press as do the drivers competing in the championship.

One driver who really stood out last season and has yet to sign with anyone for 2010 is Stefan Rzadzinski.  For those not familiar with him, you will be soon.  Stefan is incredibly smooth and did a great job last season during his first year in cars.  The 17-year-old Canadian earned the 2009 Rookie of the Year title after finishing runner-up to Matt White in the overall championship.

In the following video, Stefan qualifies on pole at the OFFC race at Mosport International Raceway.

Watch the onboard footage closely and take notice of how he comes off the brakes on entry and carries momentum through the turns.

Here is a 1:28.3 at Mosport International Raceway… Enjoy.

For those that have been waiting to see 15-year-old Zach Veach behind-the-wheel of an Atlantic Championship racecar, here is your chance.

The following video features onboard footage of Zach Veach testing with Jensen Motorsport.

I’m not sure how recent this footage is, or what the conditions were like during the test… so it’s difficult to provide much insight into his driving technique.  He does a nice job looking through the turns and keeping his eyes ahead of the car.  I would say that he appears a bit reserved (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing during a test day).  He’s lacking entry and mid-corner speed but seems to be adapting to the power of the car quite nicely on exit.  The ability to carry more momentum into– and through— the corner will come with additional seat time.   I’m looking forward to watching more footage and keeping an eye on his progress this season.

Take a ride with Brett Smrz in a Jim Russell FJR-50 race car at Infineon Raceway in this HD video (added by Patrick Barrett).  Smrz showcases his smooth driving and illustrates exactly why he has won the Jim Russell Championship for two consecutive years.

Despite the current lack of commitments to the 2010 Atlantic Championship, Zach Veach and Jensen Motorsport are continuing to run an aggressive testing program.  The following video gives you a semi-inside-look at the team’s recent rain test at Roebling Road.

The following footage was taken at the second event of the 2009 Star Mazda season; Virginia International Raceway.  The race features a solid battle at the front and is full of action-packed restarts.

Take a ride with Peter Dempsey during his first win of the 2009 season.  Alex Ardoin finished a close second and Joel Miller finished third.  Enjoy.

I haven’t had much Formula BMW footage on the site– simply because there isn’t a whole lot of onboard FBMW footage available.

In today’s feature, you can take a ride with Michael Lewis in a Formula BMW car at the collective test in Valencia, Spain.  Lewis recently signed with Team U.S. Formula Project and will be competing in Formula BMW Europe for 2010.

Take a ride with Star Mazda front-runner Alex Ardoin during qualifying at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.  Ardoin does a fantastic job of rolling back to power and picking up the throttle in this clip.  He qualified 2nd in Race-2 at NJMP.

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days, I decided to take a short break for the holidays.

I recently came across this onboard footage from World Series by Renault driver Mihai Marinescu.  The featured circuit is Motorland Aragon at sunset.  Enjoy.