Junior Open Wheel Talent

Minnesota's Chris Miller claimed the 2009 F2000 Championship title by winning Sunday's race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Miller, who drives for JDC Motorsports, had a tremendous year with dominant performances that earned him the nickname "Mr. Podium". The 20-year-old University of Minnesota student had 4 wins, 7 pole positions, and 9 podiums in 12 starts. Those numbers put him on the podium in 75% of his 2009 races.

Miller spent last season in the F2000 Championship as well, where he finished fourth in the final standings. He plans to compete in the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. He remains a driver to watch.

Early this season, I picked Miller to win the F2000 Championship... followed by Matthew Inge and Remy Audette respectively. It's not often that I get predictions correct, but this time it looks like I was right on the money.

Matthew Inge, who finished runner-up, had a very impressive season, winning 2 races and standing on the podium 7 times. He set the most fast laps (4) of any competitor in the championship.

Canadian Remy Audette finished 3rd in the championship with 1 win and 6 podiums. He started from pole position on three occasions.

Benjamin Searcy won the 2009 F2000 Championship "Rookie of the Year" title. Searcy had a tremendous freshman year with 3 wins and 4 podiums. When Searcy signed with ZSports Midwest last March, I wrote;

This is a decent signing for the Minnesota-based team. With some additional seat-time Searcy should do quite well this season. I fully expect to see him getting faster every weekend.

I hope to see Ben back next season. He was challenging for the title all year long. If he returns for 2010--- he will undoubtedly be a championship favorite.
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Here are the 2009 final standings.

(photo: www.chrismillerracing.net)

Oklahoma native Slade Miller will return to F2000 Championship competition this weekend as the driver of the #17 Quantum Racing entry. He and his father, Wendell Miller, own and operate Quantum Racing Services.

Slade, who competed in the 2006 F2000 Championship season, is scheduled to make his return to Mid-Ohio this weekend. He finished 2nd in his last outing at the circuit (2006). He was 7th in the overall championship at the conclusion of the season. In 2004, he won the prestigious Team USA scholarship that allowed him to compete in the New Zealand Formula Ford championships.

He has spent the last two seasons running USAC Midgets on oval tracks, while living in Indianapolis. You can read the series' official release here.

After being away from the computer for a few days due to a mini-vacation, it's time to catch up on all the racing news and results. Rather than put all the news into individual posts, which are already dated, I decided to just put everything in one spot via a 'Linkage' post.

Skip Barber
Skip Barber National standout Connor De Phillippi won Round 7 by going from 3rd to 1st in the final lap.
Round 7: Complete Results

Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner Court Vernon won his first Skip Barber National race over the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
Round 8: Complete Results

Formula BMW-Americas
Gabby Chaves won the first race of the weekend at Lime Rock Park in dominant fashion. The win moves the Colombian driver back into the points lead.
Round 8: Complete Results

Australian driver James Kovacic celebrated his 16th birthday in style by claiming his first Formula BMW victory in Race 2 at LRP. Not only did Kovacic win, he became the first driver to win from a spot other than pole position, so far this season. He started the race in 5th. Honorable mention should go to Alex Ellis who led most of the race only to see the victory slip away in the closing laps.
Round 9: Complete Results

F2000 Championship
Matthew Inge ran a solid race to take his second win of the season in the F2000 Championship, while racing at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Championship leader Chris Miller finished the race in second place. Alegra Motorsports driver Fabio Orslon continues to develop as he finished the race in 3rd.
Race 1: Complete Results

Tim Minor found his way to the top spot of the podium in the second race of the weekend at his home track (SPMP). Championship leader Chris Miller continued his renowned podium streak by finishing 2nd. Ben Searcy found his way to the podium after being DQ'd from a fifth place finish in Race 1---due to missing the minimum weight requirement by a mere 3lbs.
Race 2: Complete Results

You can read the F2000 Championship weekend notebook here>>.

Atlantic Championship
Simona De Silvestro made history this weekend by becoming the winningest female driver in the 36-year history of the Atlantic Championship. Simona claimed her fourth career Atlantic victory at Lime Rock Park. The previous record was held by Katherine Legge, who had 3 career Atlantic victories. John Edwards had a great run to finish 2nd after starting 5th. His performance earned him the hard charger award. Borja Garcia put in another solid performance to finish 3rd in Round 5. The result marked his second podium of the season.
Round 5- Complete Results

Formula 3 Euro Series
Jules Bianchi dominated the competition at Zandvoort this weekend for Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2009 championship. The 19-year-old driver has won four races this season and leads the championship by 17 points.

The Hard Charger of Round 7 was Atte Mustonen who improved 11 positions-- 20th to 9th.
Round 7- Zandvoort Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 8 was Stefano Coletti who improved 12 positions-- 24th to 12th.
Round 8- Zandvoort Complete Results

World Series by Renault
Bertrand Baguette dominated the weekend by winning both races at Le Mans. Baguette leads the championship by 19 points over Marcos Martinez (2nd) and James Walker (3rd).

The Hard Charger of Round 10 was Dani Clos who improved 10 positions--20th to 10th.
Round 10: Le Mans Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 11 was Edoardo Mortara, who improved 15 positions--21st to 6th. Honorable mention should go to Miguel Molina who improved 8 positions--10th to 2nd.
Round 11: Le Mans Complete Results

Phil Lombardi had a great run to win today's F2000 Championship race at Watkins Glen International after qualifying 6th. Perennial front runner; Matthew Inge returned to form after a DNF in Race #1, by finishing 2nd in today's race... just 0.545 seconds behind Lombardi. Al Guibord Jr. had an impressive drive to finish 3rd, his best result of the year.

The race, which was termed wild by many in attendance, included several incidents and caution flags. The final results are still under review as various teams filed protests at the conclusion of the event.

The hard charger of the race is Fabio Orsolon, who improved an astounding 24 positions. Orsolon started the race in 31st after failing to complete a lap in qualifying due to electrical problems. The team managed to get the car ready for the event and the Brazilian driver proceeded to charge through the field to finish 7th.

Honorable mention has to go to championship leader Chris Miller, who passed 12 cars in two laps. Miller dropped back to 24th with two laps remaining, due to contact that resulted in a flat tire. After the team replaced the tire, Miller drove through the field to finish 12th.
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F2000 Championship
Round 8- Watkins Glen
Complete Results
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(photo: Janice Eakin/F2000 Championship)

Chris Miller has had a tremendous start to a big weekend in his racing career. The F2000 Championship drivers are not only racing at the world famous Watkins Glen International this weekend, they are also racing alongside the Indy Car series. Miller did exactly what he set out to do by qualifying on pole---setting a new track record in the process--- and winning Race #1 at Watkins Glen. The win marks his third victory of the year and his sixth podium in seven races.

Phil Lombardi had a great race and finished 2nd, 5.774 seconds behind Miller. Remy Audette kept his championship hopes alive with a solid third place finish, rounding out the top-three. Matthew Inge wasn't so lucky... as contact with Audette knocked his front wing off, causing him to drop a lap down. He ended the race in 30th position.

The hard charger of today's event was Masters driver Rob Nicholas who improved 13 positions. Nicholas finished 13th after qualifying 26th. Honorable mention should go to Tyler Hunter, who made his F2000 Championship debut at the Glen and improved 10 positions. Hunter qualified 30th and finished the race in 20th position. Other hard chargers include Masters drivers Chris Camadella (15th-5th) and Charles Finelli (28th-18th) who both improved 10 positions.
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F2000 Championship
Round 7- Watkins Glen
Complete Results

(photo: Janice Eakin/F2000championship.com)

The 2006 F2000 Championship 'Champion', Matt McDonough, will be competing in this weekend's F2000 race at Watkins Glen International Raceway. The former champ will be filling a seat vacated by Jesse Yorio.

The F2000 Championship will be racing alongside the IRL this weekend at Watkins Glen. You can read the series' preview here>>.

Matthew Inge won his first F2000 Championship race yesterday at Mosport International Raceway. After finishing 2nd in Saturday's race, Inge returned on Sunday to take the top spot. The Florida resident was very impressive this weekend--setting the fast lap of the race both days. Chris Miller, who won Saturday's race, traded places with Inge and finished 2nd on Sunday, capping off a very impressive weekend as well. Both drivers have been remarkably consistent this year. Fabio Orsolon returned to the podium for the second time in as many days, moving him to fifth in the overall title hunt.

The hard charger of the race was Mikhail Goikhberg who improved 11 positions in only his second F2000 Championship race. I was very impressed by Mikhail this weekend and hope to see him return to the championship for some more events.

Heading into the weekend, I wrote this about Goikhberg:

I'm sure this will be a rather large jump for Mikhail as he is used to driving cars without much (or any) downforce--- but the extensive test with BGR earlier this week in a F2000 Championship car should prove beneficial. The Ontario Formula Ford Challenge series raced at Mosport earlier this year for their season opener, so he has plenty of track time at Mosport, which should aide his performance.

After this weekend, it would appear that he adapted quite well to the F2000 Championship car. He finished 6th in Race 1 and drove from 23rd to 12th in Race 2.
(photo: Janice Eakin/F2000 Championship)

F2000 Championship
Round 6- Mosport
Full Results

Minnesota's Chris Miller found his way to victory lane in today's F2000 Championship race at Mosport International Raceway. The win, which is Miller's second of the year, moves him into a tie for second place in the series championship with Matthew Inge. Inge finished second in today's race and in the process set the fastest lap of the day--with a 1:21.647 second lap. He was the only driver to break into the 1:21's. Fabio Orsolon ran a solid race, improving 3 positions to finish 3rd. The 21-year-old Brazilian driver seems to be adapting to the F2000 cars after a mediocre start to the season.

Brent Gilkes is the hard charger of the day for the Masters drivers ---improving 7 positions in the 18-lap race. Gilkes started the race in 22nd and finished 15th. Alegra teammates, Fabio Orsolon and Victor Carbone each improved 3 positions---earning them a tie for the Championship class hard charger.
(photo: F2000 Championship)

F2000 Championship
Round 5- Mosport
Full Results

Brian Graham Racing has signed Mikhail Goikhberg for this weekend's F2000 Championship stop at Mosport. The Russian driver will be running both the Ontario Formula Ford Championship as well as the F2000 Championship. The signing came at the last minute after Goikhberg completed 175 miles in a BGR F2000 car---earlier this week.

The 22-year-old race driver is currently balancing his racing duties with his studies as he is a mathematics major at the University of Waterloo-Ontario. His previous experience includes Skip Barber regional competition. This year his focus has been on the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge series, where he sits 8th in the points championship.

I'm sure this will be a rather large jump for Mikhail as he is used to driving cars without much (or any) downforce--- but the extensive test with BGR earlier this week in a F2000 Championship car should prove beneficial. The Ontario Formula Ford Challenge raced at Mosport early this year for their season opener, so he has plenty of track time at Mosport, which should aide his performance.
(photo: Teresa Matkovich)

Tyler Hunter has announced his intention to run the F2000 Championship Series event at Watkins Glen International in early July. Hunter will drive for Front Range Motorsports and should do well under the continued guidance of J.D. McDermott. The duo has been extremely successful, over the last few years, in the Formula Enterprises SCCA class.
(photo: www.frontrangemotorsports.org)

The F2000 Championship series completed Rounds 3 & 4 at Lime Rock Park this weekend.

ZSports Midwest rookie Benjamin Searcy ran a very solid race in Round 3, capturing his second win in three races. He started on pole and set the second quickest lap of the race to finish 3.174 seconds ahead of Chris Miller. Matthew Inge set the fastest lap of the race with a 50.519, finishing third.

The hard charger of Round 3 is Chris Burke who improved 8 positions. He started 23rd and finished 15th. Honorable mention should go to Brian Belardi who had an impressive drive from 14th to 8th.

Lime Rock Park
Round 3: Full Results

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Earlier today, the series completed Round 4 of the 2009 championship. This time the race belonged to Canadian Remy Audette who drove from flag to flag to take his first career F2000 Championship win. That said, he has been very quick in his past endeavors with six podiums (to date) over the last two seasons. Speaking of podium finishes, Chris Miller continued his streak of top-three finishes by crossing the stripe 2nd overall. The University of Minnesota student has finished on the podium in 75% of his 2009 race starts. Matthew Inge ran another solid race to finish third in today's final tally. Friday's winner, Benjamin Searcy, set the fastest lap of the race, with a new Lime Rock Park record of 50.272 seconds.

Masters class driver Brent Gilkes is the hard charger for Round 4-- improving 9 positions in today's race. Gilkes started in 22nd and finished the race 13th. Honorable mention should go to Round 3's hard charger--Chris Burke who improved 6 spots in today's race, for a weekend high of 14 total spots.

Lime Rock Park
Round 4: Full Results

Jonathan Scarallo and Group A Racing will be testing at Pocono Raceway tomorrow in preparation for next weekend's F2000 Championship event at Lime Rock Park.

The eighteen-year-old New York resident has had a much better start to his pro racing career than his results show. In his first race at VIR, he attacked a wet track on slicks and moved into 12th place after starting back in 22nd. Unfortunately, on the following lap he made a rookie mistake and spun the car, only to stall and finish back in 21st position. In Race 2, he showed promise by passing five cars and narrowly missing a top-ten finish--he finished 11th after starting 16th. If he and Group A are able to put everything together at Lime Rock, a top-ten finish is not out of the question for this youngster.

A few F2000 Championship drivers took to a wet Lime Rock Park circuit today, in an effort to prepare for the upcoming race held there. The drivers return to the Lakeville, CT. track for the second time in series history for Rounds 3 & 4 on May 22-25.

The competitors taking part in today's test are listed below:

• Remy Audette (Championship Class)
  
• Victor Carbone (Championship Class)
  
• Fabio Orsolon (Championship Class)
  
• Blake Teeter (Championship Class)
• John Dole (Masters Class)

According to Monty Mathisen (Communications Director - F2000 Championship Series); both Victor Carbone and Fabio Orsolon--who drive for Alegra Motorsports-- spent some time in a Skip Barber car yesterday as well.

The entry list for Lime Rock Park looks pretty impressive; with 31 cars already entered.

2007 F2000 LRP Season-Finale


Click to see Video

The Minnesota-based teams (JDC Motorsports and ZSports Midwest) are feeling pretty good about now as they each claimed a victory in this weekend's opening round of the F2000 Championship at Virginia International Raceway.

Chris Miller took the win today in his JDC Motorsports entry by a mere 0.126 seconds over second place finisher Matthew Inge. Miller, who finished fourth last season in the overall title hunt, is heavily favored by many to take the crown in 2009. After dropping out of Race-1 due to contact, Miller seems to be back in the drivers seat by claiming his first career victory in Race-2. Last season, the nineteen-year-old was remarkably consistent, finishing inside the top-ten in all but one race. His previous best finish was 2nd--at both Mid-Ohio and Road America--in 2008.

Dave Weitzenhof is once again the Hard Charger of the Day in the Masters Divsion; improving 10 spots. Caitlin Johnston is the Hard Charger of the Day in the Championship Class; improving 9 positions. A nice run by Johnston to finish inside the top-ten with a run from 19th to 10th.

Matthew Inge set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:55.440.

Full Results: Qualifying Race 2
Full Results: Race 2

(photo: Janice Eakin/www.f2000championship.com)

Take an onboard lap with yesterday's F2000 Championship race winner, Benjamin Searcy, on a very wet Virginia International Raceway.
**Make sure to click HQ on the video for better resolution**

The first race of the 2009 F2000 Championship is officially in the books. The 26% of you that voted "other" in the poll to predict today's winner were correct as ZSports Midwest rookie Benjamin Searcy stole the show at a wet VIR, winning his first F2000 Championship race.

The 19-year-old driver signed with ZSports Midwest late last month. At the time of the announcement, I wrote:

This is a decent signing for the Minnesota-based team. With some additional seat-time Searcy should do quite well this season. I fully expect to see him getting faster every weekend.

Today's result is great for ZSports Midwest and Benjamin Searcy.... he proved that he is a championship contender right out of the box and if he does indeed get quicker every weekend, the competition may be in trouble. Great run by the rookie, especially in the wet conditions.

Dave Weitzenhof and Tom Fatur, both of the Masters Class, are the hard chargers of the day as they improved 17 positions each. Weitzenhof stormed the field to finish 10th after starting 27th, improving 17 positions. A very nice run by the 7-time National Champion. Tom Fatur had a tremendous run that ended just short of the podium as he finished 4th after starting 21st.

Alejandro Munoz was the hard charger for the Championship class, improving 10 positions. The Mexican driver started the day in 25th and crossed the stripe in 15th place. A solid run for the series rookie.

Full Results Race 1

(photo: Janice Eakin/http://www.f2000championship.com)

The Junior Open Wheel Talent Poll to see who will win the opening F2000 race is now closed as the F2000 Championship drivers just completed their qualifying session for Race 1.

You will find the qualifying results for Race 1-- here.

Four out of the six drivers in the poll managed to qualify within the top-ten, which is pretty impressive considering the size of the field (28 cars). Today's race should be very exciting. Chris Miller received the most votes with 36% of the total vote. Remy Audette and Fabio Orsolon received 10% of the vote. Matthew Inge, Caitlin Johnston, and Victor Carbone all received one vote, putting them in the poll tied for 5% of the vote. The rest of you picked another driver (labeled other) to win the race---26% of you, to be exact. The correct answer?...remains to be seen.

With overcast skies and a chance of rain in Virginia... the race is far from over. Stay tuned for results from today's opening race.

Benjamin Searcy has signed with ZSports Midwest for the 2009 F2000 Championship. Searcy has quite a bit of karting experience and has shown promise in the Skip Barber racing series. Last season, the 19-year-old ran two Skip Barber National races and qualified for both events inside the top-ten. His qualifying lap on Day 2 was a mere 0.215 seconds off Connor De Phillippi's lap--De Phillippi swept the opening SBN races at Sebring last weekend.

Searcy recently completed a very successful test with Ron Boltik and the ZSports Midwest crew at Putnam Park, which in-turn led to the commitment for 2009.

This is a decent signing for the Minnesota-based team. With some additional seat-time Searcy should do quite well this season. I fully expect to see him getting faster every weekend.
(photo: www.skipbarber.com--Rick Roso)

Matthew Inge has announced that he will rejoin St. Clair Motorsports for select F2000 Championship events in 2009. Inge is hoping to put together enough funding to run a full F2000 Championship campaign with the Michigan-based team.

The Florida resident is currently splitting his time between his studies at Virginia Tech and his racing efforts,... further limiting his four wheel endeavors. He is majoring in Mining and Minerals Engineering and plans to do a internship in a Pennsylvania mine this summer.

Last season, Inge performed quite well in the F2000 Championship for St. Clair Motorsports... finishing inside the top-ten in 70% of his race starts. Prior to competing in the F2000 Championship, he was a standout in the Formula E Championship series.

Watch for Inge and St. Clair Motorsports to put together some very solid results this season, regardless of how many races they run.

ZSports Midwest signed Caitlin Johnston to contest the 2009 F2000 Championship Series. The young Canadian spent the majority of 2008 in the Ontario Formula Ford 1600 Championship, competing alongside the likes of Conor Daly, Matt White, and eventual series champion Kyle Marcelli (among others).

With hopes of moving into the F2000 Championship for 2009, Caitlin tested with Ron Boltik and the ZSports crew last season before making her series debut at Mosport.

"We knew from the first session Caitlin was the real deal," stated Owner/Partner Ron Boltik.

Caitlin proved to be quite quick in her first test with the team and showcased her speed by finishing 7th in the second race of her one-off weekend (Mosport). Her best lap in that race was less than a half second off series standout and eventual champion Anders Krohn.
(photo: http://www.caitlinjohnston.com/)