F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Mid-Ohio Saturday Rundown
A rundown of the action from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, featuring three F1600 races, two F2000 races, and a single Atlantic Championship race.
F1600: Cowley Three for Three
Lexington, OH – Matthew Cowley made it three wins in one day in F1600 Championship Series competition at Mid-Ohio on Saturday. Cowley becomes the first F1600 driver to win three races in one day.
In race one, he broke away from the back; while in race two and three, he emerged after battling with Zach Holden taking the checkered flag after a near race-long fight with Zach Holden.
Link: Race 1 Rundown | Video Recap
Link: Race 2 Rundown | Video Recap
Full results are available here.
##Quotes From Race 1##
Matthew Cowley, Team Pelfrey:
“I felt I took to the track, it’s a great track. It’s got a Brands Hatch feel with ups and downs, wavy and slick. It was the plan to get a good start, to try to get into the lead early. I put in a few (big) opening laps to try to get momentum going and build a gap.”
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, K-Hill Motorsports:
“At the start, I managed to gain a position on Zach Holden. From there I knew if I lost a few positions it was fine because the draft is so big here. I got lucky at the end, in the right position at the right time.”
Lance Fenderson, K-Hill Motorsports:
“It was a bad qualifying yesterday. We got to the lead pack. It took me a couple of laps to get there. The leader broke away. The last couple of laps were interesting with the K-Hill drivers second, third and fourth.”
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F2000: LaRue and McCusker Split Wins
Lexington, OH – John LaRue led every lap to win the Saturday morning F2000 Championship Series race at Mid-Ohio, round three of the 2017 season. Brandon Dixon finished second while Austin McCusker drove through the field to finish third and will start on pole for race two.
A little later in the day, from pole, Austin McCusker led every lap at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win round four of the F2000 Championship Series season. McCusker put together a last-minute deal to drive the No. 95 Mazda-powered Van Diemen, and took the win over brother John McCusker. Brandon Dixon, Robert Allaer, and Steve Jenks completed the top five.
Link: Race 2 Rundown | Video Recap
Full results are available here.
##Quotes From Race 2##
Austin McCusker, Dotworks Racing:
“Going one-two is good for my brother and I. I need to thank the teams and boys. I sure hope I am back in a F2000 car soon. I also need to thank ADSA/Wright for the car and Company Motorsports for all their support.”
John McCusker, Dotworks Racing:
“We had some trouble this morning with a dead battery in the first race. I need to thank the team for fixing it and we came back for a good race – with Austin and I finishing first and second.”
Brandon Dixon (Masters Class Winner), Citation Engineering:
“I was just struggling to keep pace the second half of the race and keep the tires under the car. I was doing all I could.”
Robert Allaer (Masters Class – Second Place), LTD Motorsports:
“It’s a good day at Mid-Ohio. I need to count my blessings as the car is going home in one piece.”
Steve Jenks (Masters Class – Third Place), Tumenas Motorsports:
“I made that race more fun than it needed to be going off early in Thunder Valley. I gave up spots to Tim (Paul) and Dave (Weitzenhof) but got around them again. I needed more laps to chase down Robert.”
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Atlantic: Portante Sweeps Mid-Ohio Weekend
Lexington, OH – Peter Portante pulled off a Mid-Ohio weekend sweep in Atlantic Championship Series competition, winning Saturday afternoon’s race with a third-to-first move on the opening lap. From there, the K-Hill Motorsports pulled a gap but had to fend off a charging David Grant in the closing stages. Portante narrowly took the victory, with a margin of just over a second back to Polestar’s David Grant. Keith Grant finished third.
Full results are available here.
##QUOTES##
Peter Portante, K-Hill Motorsports:
“If I didn’t get the lead on the opening lap, I wouldn’t have a shot, David is in another world. The first lap was all we had; we have been struggling with an electrical issue that is getting worse. The guys threw everything at it they could.”
David Grant, Polestar Racing Group:
“The car was great today. We changed the setup yesterday and it came into full force today. Peter gapped us by about 10 seconds and it took a lot of the race to catch him. It was a great run.”
Keith Grant, Polestar Racing Group:
“I just didn’t have the speed today. David was a lot quicker and pulled away.”
John Burke (Masters Class Winner), Company Motorsports:
“We were struggling all weekend and cracked a head in the No. 55. Fortunately, we had another car because my son wasn’t here. We got that sorted out, got in the No. 19 and had fun, it was a good race.
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All Formula Race Promotions series next head to Indianapolis, June 8-11.
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Photos:
All Formula Race Promotions series next head to Indianapolis, June 8-11. Photos:
1. Matthew Cowley (Credit: Michael Berchak)
2. Austin McCusker (Credit: Jeff Loewe)
3. Peter Portante (Credit: Michael Berchak)
On the Web:
F2000: www.F2000Series.com | Facebook | Twitter
Atlantic: www.
About Formula Race Promotions:
Formula Race Promotions (FRP) operates the F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Championship Series. Starting with F2000 in 2006, FRP added F1600 in 2011 and Atlantic in 2012. The Series’ philosophy is to offer a vertical integration between club and professional racing, while offering some of the best race tracks and significant amounts of track time in single-class running. The 2017 schedule is composed of seven-points paying weekends. FRP is privately owned and sanctioned by USAC.