Afterburner Autosport announced this week that Timmy Megenbier and Heamin Choi will join the team for the 2012 USF2000 National Championship.
Choi, a 28-year-old native of Korea, joins the team with a vast amount of sports car experience, but limited background in open-wheel racing (aside from karting). He drove for JDC MotorSports in the Star Mazda season-finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2007, finishing 19th after starting 28th. He should be fun to watch this season as he adapts to the Van Diemen/Mazda.
Megenbier, 20, joins the team after producing a stellar rookie season — as a privateer. He will, again, drive the No. 17 car in 2012. Prior to F2000 competition, Megenbier was a standout karter who graduated to Skip Barber (earning a national race win). In 2009, he won the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup with three wins and eight podiums and was nominated for the Team USA Scholarship that fall.
Bobby Kelley is congratulated by USF2000 CEO Dan Andersen for winning the 2012 Mazda Road to Indy combine at Andersen RacePark
Mazda Road to Indy scouting combine winner Bobby Kelley has confirmed he will drive an ArmsUp Motorsports National Class car in the USF2000 National Championship season-opener at Sebring International Raceway.
Kelley, 19, won the inaugural Road to Indy combine in early December topping nine other competitors. He will drive the No. 59 Van Diemen at Sebring during the March 15-16 opener. Prior to his first open-wheel race, Kelley will get behind the wheel of the ArmsUp Motorsport machine during the Series’ test day March 13.
At this time, Sebring is the only venue confirmed for the talented driver. Stay tuned for future announcements.
Collete Davis and James Dayson announced their intention of joining the Mazda Road to Indy in 2012 via the USF2000 National Class Championship.
Davis will join Glass Hammer Racing piloting a Formula Enterprises car with Lotus livery, fielded by One Formula Racing. For now, her deal includes the season-opener at Sebring International Raceway and the Streets of St Petersburg.
Last season, Davis garnered experience in a Pro Challenge Mustang, placing second in the championship with four wins and two poles. The highly-motivated 18-year-old is a mechanical engineering student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Dayson, 33, will join Wisconsin-based Arms Up Motorsports for 2012 driving the No. 16 Van Diemen in the USF2000 National Class. The Vancouver, British Columbia native won the USF2000 Winterfest National Class Championship earning three wins and four podiums while driving for Jensen MotorSports.
Today’s video features Wyatt Gooden pushing the limits of his Quantum Racing Services’ F2000 Championship Van Diemen race car under the setting Oklahoma sun on Hallett Motor Racing Circuit — a 1.8-mile, 10-turn road course which features over 80 feet of elevation change and a rhythm section similar to one you’d find at Mid-Ohio.
After earning four wins in four F1600 Formula F Championship starts in 2011, Gooden is graduating to the F2000 Championship with Oklahoma-based QRS for 2012. He’s a good signing for the team and will certainly be a driver to watch in 2012 and beyond.
“Hallett is a phenomenally fun and challenging circuit,” said Gooden, following his pre-season test. “The circuit has a little bit of everything; a 90-mph turn one, a tight hairpin, blind sweepers, a tricky braking zone which starts over a blind crest, and finally a long increasing-radius corner leading onto the main straight. It’s a great place to learn the limits of the car’s aero and mechanical grip, with the added safety of lots of runoff space!”
Take a ride at Hallett with Wyatt Gooden below. Enjoy.
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Scott Rettich and RC Enerson both announced their entry into the 2012 USF2000 National Class Championship this morning.
Rettich, a phenom in the Formula Enterprises ranks, will pilot the No. 71 Alliance Autosport Formula Enterprises car, while Enerson, a highly-talented 14-year-old karter and Skip Barber race winner, will drive a ZSports RF02 Van Diemen in the upcoming USF2000 National Championship.
Both drivers make great additions to the increasingly-deep national class field.
Rettich, 27, has been displaying his skills in various FE series over the last several years after spending the 2007-2008 seasons in Star Mazda. Displaying his skills might actually be an understatement. Rettich has been absolutely dominant in FE, winning the SCCA National Championship the last two seasons. In 2011, he won the SCCA Pro Series by claiming nine wins in 10 starts, including six poles.
Rettich recently made his Grand-Am Rolex GT debut driving the Alliance Autosport Porsche GT3 at Daytona in the GT Class.
Enerson — who is the son of Indy Lights team owner Neil Enerson (Team E) — has spent the last several years developing his craft in the karting and Skip Barber ranks, while also testing F1000 cars. More recently, though, Enerson has been planning an attack on the USF2000 National Class via pre-season F2000 testing under the watchful eyes of driver coach Jonatan Jorge. Enerson is a two-time Skip Barber regional race winner and should be one of the youngest drivers in the USF2000 field this season.
For more information on Scott Rettich, visit his website www.scottrettich.com. For additional info on RC Enerson, visit his website www.rcenerson.com.
Dane Cameron floats the No. 12 Star Mazda car out of Turn 3a at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
(Photo: Ryan - JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com)
Mazda has done it again.
The revered automaker has stepped up its support — once again — of grassroots motorsports by securing a deal with Velocity Network to broadcast USF2000 National Championship and Star Mazda Championship races in 2012.
Both series will be featured on “The Mazda Motorsports Hour,” hosted by Rick Benjamin with assistance from James Hinchcliffe (USF2000, Star Mazda) and Randy Pobst (Mazda MX-5 Cup). Todd Lewis will serve as pit reporter to the booth.
This is pretty solid news for the Mazda Road to Indy development program and should offer good exposure for today’s up-and-coming open-wheel drivers. The hour-long broadcast will be shown on tape-delay, but will hopefully be shown at an hour that will help generate more exposure. Certainly, any tv exposure is better than none and a step in the right direction.
Henrik Furuseth first tested a USF2000 car with Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing last September.
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing will enter the USF2000 National Class in 2012 with Norwegian driver Henrik Furuseth.
Furuseth, 15, won the 2011 Formula Basic – Norwegian Championship, the Norwegian Cup and finished third in the Formula Basic Factor-X Cup. He concluded the Norwegian Cup season with eight wins and 10 podiums in 12 starts.
His performance – which included 10 consecutive wins split between three series in 2011 – earned him a scholarship from the Norwegian Auto Sport Association to travel to the United States for a USF2000 test and to learn more about the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder. Furuseth has also teamed up with ABK Sports Management co-owned by Anders Krohn.
Good news — as well as highly-anticipated news — surfaced last week when it was announced that all Indy Lights races would be televised for the 2012 season.
The bad news?
Only the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be broadcast live. Iowa Speedway and Edmonton will both feature same-day coverage, while the other nine events will be tape-delayed. I’ve listed the schedule below.
Make the jump to see the TV schedule for 2012 Indy Lights races.
Ryan Tveter has signed with Team GDT for the 2012 Star Mazda Championship.
Tveter is a pretty impressive kid (no, not just because he’s a goalie, click the link for details). He has a standout resume off the track and has shown well in his limited pro-racing endeavors, as well as in private Star Mazda testing. His most recent test took place at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Texas.
Last season, Tveter began testing extensively with Jensen MotorSport (as part of a driver development deal) before making his debut in the Formula Tour 1600 Championship during the Montreal Grand Prix. He finished 10th out of 44 drivers. In August, he finished 11th in the Formula Tour 1600 stop at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.
Last fall, Tveter joined the Mazda Road to Indy making his debut in the USF2000 National Championship at Baltimore, finishing with two top-10 finishes (10th and 8th) in the National Class. Ride with him during Race 2, here.
Based on his experience level, it would have been nice to see him join the USF2000 National Championship full-time in 2012 rather than jumping to Star Mazda. The good news is that he plans to make Star Mazda a two-year stop. Plus, he will have guidance from engineer Remi Lanteigne, which should dramatically increase his transition time. Watch for continuous improvement throughout the season.
Tveter will pilot the No. 33 Team GDT race car in seven Star Mazda races; missing three due to school commitments. If his racing career doesn’t work out, he should have plenty to fall back on.
A special thank you to everyone for their support. Donations will be used as a travel fund to provide more live coverage of karting and junior formula events. Every little bit helps.
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Brandon Wagner will return to the cockpit, piloting the No. 17 Team E Indy Lights car during the Freedom 100. #IndyLights2 days ago
