Bamford Around Megennis at the Line
Alton, VA – Steve Bamford waited until the last second to pull out of line heading to the checkered flag at VIR to beat Robert Megennis by .056 seconds for his second career F1600 win to close out the triple-header weekend. Megennis barely missed his first victory for Team Pelfrey, while Austin Mack watched from third in front of a closing Art Foster.
“The race was up and down as Scott Andrews and I touched just coming out of five and six and dropped me to mid-pack,” said Bamford. “I had to climb my way through but there were a bunch of incidents that allowed me to start making up places.”
The race was changed dramatically with three laps to go when Skylar Robinson, Ben Auriemma and Thomas McGregor as well as a number of other contenders were either sidelined or shuffled back after a series of moves in the first few corners on the 17-turn track.
This left Bamford fighting for the win with Foster, Mack and Megennis, who were all part of the lead pack throughout the race but exercised the best race craft.
“I started fifth, dropped back a little bit ended up in eighth and just drove through the field,” said Megennis. “It was just long enough to where he got the draft and beat me by a couple inches. It was pretty exciting, it was a great race.”
Mack returned to the podium in an otherwise rough weekend that saw car problems and him switching chassis.
Foster also marked a great result and his best finish of the season thus far.
Andrew Hobbs completed the top five in the second Team Pelfrey Mygale/Honda following a podium performance in Sunday morning’s F1600 race.
Skylar Robinson led the most laps, finishing sixth after a series of daring moves to take the lead in turn one, including one driving maneuver that saw him vault from fourth to first in two corners in the No. 12 K-Hill Motorsports Mygale/Honda.
Lewis Cooper was seventh overall and the third on the Masters Class podium behind Bamford and Foster. Jordan Cane was a solid eighth place in the Pelfrey No. 81, and was also involved in the late race tangle.
Scott Andrews failed to make it five wins in a row and a complete weekend sweep with an unscheduled pit stop after dropping back early in the race.
The result also ended the Australian’s podium streak, which stood at eight straight. Despite the bad finish, the No. 94 Exclusive Autosport Spectrum/Honda keeps a solid points lead. After rejoining the race, Andrews was able to drive from 17th to a ninth place finish, on top of winning Saturday and Sunday morning F1600 races at VIR.
Mike Scanlan completed the top ten, unable to repeat his Masters Class victory from race one on Saturday.
F1600 Championship newcomer Michai Stephens had his race end early on lap two with a reported incident in his No. 91 Spectrum/Honda from Jay Motorsports.
After nine races in 2015, race winners are as follows: Kyle Kirkwood, Thomas McGregor, Austin Mack Steve Bamford and Scott Andrews – with Andrews taking the lion’s share of victories with five.
Full results are available on www.F1600Series.com under the results tab.
The F1600 Series continues with rounds 10, 11 and 12 from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 2-5.
About F1600:
The F1600 Formula F Championship Series is an entry level pro series owned by Formula Race Promotions and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. The Series features a wide variety of Formula F (formerly Formula Ford) chassis using both Honda Fit and Ford Kent engines. The 2015 schedule features seven points weekends and is expanding to a triple-header format for 21 total races, in addition to a winter test weekend in Palm Beach. A spec tire from Hoosier along with ample track time at all events provides a level playing field, attracting the latest aspiring drivers and savvy veterans from all over the globe. Learn more at www.f1600series.com.
Sources: Formula Race Promotions PR