Junior Open Wheel Talent

Connor De Phillippi swept both rounds of the Skip Barber National championship over the weekend at Road America. The 16-year-old phenom now has 7 SBN wins--- which is a new series' record. Grant Maiman held the previous record, having recorded 6 wins during the 2002 Formula Dodge National Championship.

Connor's victory on Sunday didn't come easily. The race was ended prematurely due to several large incidents on track. The decision led to a drag race finish between Court Vernon and Connor De Phillippi. Connor came away with the win by a mere .004 seconds at the stripe (see photo above).

Series rookie Cameron Dodson of Greenfield, Indiana put in the drive of the day. Dodson improved 10 positions in 8-laps, coming from 13th on the grid to finish an impressive 3rd. Dodson improved the most positions earning him the hard charger title.

Honorable mention should go to Nazareth, Pennsylvania's Sage Karam who led 2 out of the final 3 laps after starting fourth. Ultimately, Karam finished the race where he started (4th), but that didn't stop him from setting the fast lap of the day with a 2:33.956. Ashley Freiberg, who earned the hard charger title in Rd. 9, rounded out the top-five. Freiberg managed to improve 4 positions in Sunday's race after starting back in 9th.

Complete Results

(photo: Jim Altemus/ www.skipbarber.com)

Skip Barber National front runner Connor De Phillippi won Round-9 of the season championship earlier today at historic Road America. Today's win marks the sixth win of the season for 16-year-old De Phillippi. Karting scholarship co-winner Court Vernon finished 2nd in today's race after starting 5th. Ashley Freiberg had a phenomenal drive that saw her improve from 14th on the grid to finish 3rd--- a feat that earned her the "hard charger" title.

Full Results
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(photo: Jim Altemus)

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

The Skip Barber National drivers completed Rounds 5 & 6 of their national championship at Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey Motorsports Park last weekend.

The hard charger of Round 5 is Connor De Phillippi who improved 5 positions to win the race by a 0.158 seconds over Kyle Marcelli. De Phillippi had an outstanding weekend as he swept both rounds of the Skip Barber National Championship at NJMP. He also set the fastest lap of the race in Saturday's event. He started 6th and crossed the stripe 1st. Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner Court Vernon finished 3rd.

The hard charger of Round 6 is Brett Smrz--who also improved five positions. The 18-year-old race driver had an impressive run to finish 3rd after starting 8th. Smrz had a busy weekend as he ran both a Skip Barber National car and a Mazda MX-5 car. I didn't take the time to punch all the results into my hard charger spreadsheet, but, if I'm not mistaken...Brett was also the hard charger in Sunday's Mazda MX-5 Cup. As stated above, Connor De Phillippi won the race--sweeping the competition. Pennsylvania's Sage Karam, who is also a Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner, had an impressive drive and finished the race in 2nd place. This is Karam's best finish of the year and moved him up 6 positions in the overall championship (15th-9th). Honorable mention should go to Dennis Trebing who also improved 5 positions in Round 6, he started 17th and crossed the stripe in 12th.
(photo: Rick Roso/SkipBarber.com)

Full Results and Race Report

The Skip Barber National drivers completed Rounds 3 & 4 of the championship at Virginia International Raceway over the weekend.

Brett Smrz ran a solid race in Round 3 to take his first career SBN victory. He improved five positions in the race, making an impressive run from 6th to 1st in 11 laps. Connor DePhillippi finished second and set the fastest lap of the race at 2:05.391. Felipe Polehtto claimed the third and final spot on the podium after qualifying on pole.

The Hard Chargers of the race were Julian Camilo Albarracin, Matthew Mair, and Arrie Maree. All three drivers managed to improve six positions. Albarracin drove from 14th on the grid to finish 8th. Mair drove from 15th to finish 9th. While Maree drove from 16th to 10th.

Full Results: Round 3
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Felipe "Pole-Sitter" Polehtto (the nickname seems to be a decent fit after this weekend where he claimed the pole position in both qualifying runs) ran a great race in Round 4 to claim the win. The victory marked the 19-year-old Brazilians second career Skip Barber National win. He won Round 9 at Road America last season. Corey Lewis had a great run to finish second--marking his best finish at the national level. Court Vernon put in the drive of the weekend, making a run from 18th on the grid to finish 3rd. This was a very impressive run for the co-recipient of the 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship (he shared the honor with Sage Karam).

As stated above, the Hard Charger of the day was Court Vernon--who improved 15 positions by going from 18th on the grid to 3rd. Vernon also set the fast lap of the race with a 2:05.590.

Round 4 actually had quite a few movers who deserve mention. See below:

Ian Costa improved 9 positions--21st to 12th.
Isaac Lyons improved 8 positions--14th to 6th.
Sage Karam improved 7 positions--17th to 10th.
Michael Vincec improved 7 postions--22nd to 15th.

Full Results: Round 4
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The Skip Barber National drivers return to action on June 12th-14th at Thunderbolt Raceway.

Ashley Freiberg, of the Skip Barber National Series, spent last weekend in a GDT-prepared Star Mazda car at the SCCA Oak Tree Double National Race held at Virginia International Raceway. The 17-year-old Illinois resident was using the event to garner additional seat-time in preparation for this weekend's Skip Barber National race at VIR.

The experience turned out to be a very positive one, as Ashley managed to qualify 4th and finish the race in 5th. She hopes to carry this momentum over to the Skip Barber car this weekend.

I'm looking at some new options for race coverage in 2009. Obviously there are plenty of sources out there offering race results, most of which have better resources available than I do, and most of the series have their own live timing available as well. Your typical Internet race report provides you with the winner (rightly so), but you don't always get the details of who had a great weekend. So, in an effort to separate the coverage at Junior Open Wheel Talent from that of several other racing websites and to help promote drivers showing improvement, I've decided to try a weekly "hard charger" section featuring the driver/s who advanced the most positions over the race weekend.

We will kick off this segment with the "hard-charger" or most improved drivers from Sebring. I sifted through these results fairly quickly, so feel free to correct me if I missed something, but here are the numbers I came up with....

Most Improved Driver/s: (Positions Improved in Parenthesis)

Skip Barber National
Race 1: Mike Vincec (5), Sage Karam (5)
--Race Winner: Connor De Phillippi
Race 2: Felipe Polehtto (8), Mike Vincec (8)
-- Race Winner: Connor De Phillippi

Formula BMW
Race 1: Joao Victor Horto (4) -- Race Winner: Gabriel Chaves
Race 2: Gianmarco Raimondo (5) -- Race Winner: Gabriel Chaves

Star Mazda
Conor Daly (13) **Hard Charger of the Week**
-- Race Winner: Adam Christodoulou

Atlantic Championship
James Winslow (5) -- Race Winner: John Edwards

I haven't had much assistance with news or inside information (**hint**) on the line-up for the 2009 Skip Barber National series, but I did manage to find the combined results from this morning's test in Sebring..... (thanks to Eformulacarnews).

1. Kyle Marcelli -- 2:21.763 - Morning
2. Connor De Phillippi -- 2:22.163 - Morning
3. Court Vernon -- 2:23.206 - Morning
4. Isaac Lyons -- 2:23.211 - Morning
5. Felipe Polehtto -- 2:23.619 - Afternoon
6. Brett Smrz -- 2:23.848 - Morning
7. Jason Toft -- 2:23.851 - Morning
8. Felix Serralles -- 2:23.903 - Morning
9. Stevan McAleer -- 2:23.921 - Morning
10. Thiago Calvet -- 2:24.430 - Morning
11. Sean Rayhall -- 2:24.460 - Morning
12. Victor Pedrosa -- 2:24.481 - Morning
13. Matthew Mair -- 2:24.539 - Afternoon
14. Michael Vincec -- 2:24.761 - Morning
15. Ian Costa -- 2:24.897 - Morning
16. Sage Karam -- 2:25.055 - Morning
17. Ashley Freiberg -- 2:25.772 - Morning
18. Julien Albarracin -- 2:26.031 - Afternoon
19. Dennis Trebing -- 2:26.280 - Morning
20. Dom Bastien -- 2:26.473 - Morning
21. Elliot Bachelart -- 2:27.540 - Morning

I would venture to say that several of these drivers are in attendance for seat-time only, but it's still nice to see such a large turnout during these trying economic times.

Judging from the early laptimes from today's promoter test, the track was much quicker in the morning session--85.7% of the drivers set their fast lap in the AM.

The Skip Barber National Championship wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts and creativity of John Barber III (Skip). Skip graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English, but his true passion was racing. He began his racing career during his Ivy years at the age of 22, driving in the Sports Car Club of America(SCCA). During his time with the SCCA, he won three consecutive National Championships. His next big accomplishment came in 1969 and 1970, where he won two consecutive Formula Ford Championships. The following year he became one of the few Americans to make a start in a Formula One race. Between 1971-1972, John Barber entered in 6 Formula One races driving for Gene Mason. After delving into the world of racing, he felt that racing, like most sports, is a very coachable activity. With this new thought process, he created the Skip Barber School of High Performance Driving in 1975. In 1976, he created the Skip Barber Racing Series and renamed the school; the Skip Barber Racing School.

The Skip Barber National series wasn’t created until 1999, it was designed as a cost effective stepping stone for the Barber Dodge Pro Series. The series, originally named the Formula Dodge National Championship, was created as a one-off championship race for the Regional Series victors. During this time period, the National series followed in the footsteps of the “then” premier Barber Pro Series. The Barber Saab Pro Series originally utilized a 16v turbocharged Saab engine placed on a Mondiale chassis. In the late 90's, the Mondiale chassis was replaced with a Reynard chassis powered by a V6 Dodge engine. With the new engine/chassis package in place, the series name was changed to the Barber Dodge Pro Series. The series was tightly aligned with the Champ Car World Series. After the bankruptcy of Champ Car in 2003, the Skip Barber organization announced the retirement of the Pro Series, elevating the Formula Dodge National Championship to the premier series run under the Skip Barber banner. In late 2006, Skip Barber decided to join Mazda in an effort to create a ladder system for junior formula drivers, once again changing the name of the series to the Skip Barber National presented by Mazda. As part of the current ladder, in place by the MazdaSPEED Development team, the champion of the series is awarded a funded ride in the Star Mazda series. The cost of a season in the Formula Dodge National Championship is advertised at $45,000 USD, but actual cost is most likely much higher when crash damage/repair is taken into account (should you be so unlucky).

The current Skip Barber National cars are referred to as a Skip Barber Formula 2000. The cars are set-up on a mild steel space-frame chassis, powered by a modified SOHC 2.0-liter 4 cylinder Mazda engine utilizing a 5-speed sequential gearbox. The car itself weighs in at 1,250 lbs (wet) and produces roughly a 150hp. The car can reach speeds near 135mph and is capable of pulling around 1.5 G’s. It doesn’t offer much down force, but does utilize a front and rear wing. The cars are maintained and transported by Skip Barber Racing, utilizing BF Goodrich g-Force racing slicks and wet tires. It’s hard to consider these cars true race cars, but they are fun to drive and are perfect for teaching drivers the basic skills required for success at the next level. The Formula 2000 car offers a perfect transition for drivers looking to make the move from karts to cars.

Past Skip Barber National Champions:
1999-Ryan Hunter-Reay (Champ Car, A1GP, Grand-Am, IndyCar)
2000-Anthony Simone (NASCAR Canadian Tire)
2001-Julio Campos (Stock Car Brazil)
2002-Grant Maiman (Raced Formula Renault)
2003-Raphael Matos (IndyCar)
2004-Marco Andretti (IndyCar)
2005-Gerardo Bonilla (American LeMans Series LMP2)
2006-Jonathan Goring (IMSA Lites)
2007-Joel Miller (Star Mazda)
2008-Conor Daly (Star Mazda)

Fun Facts:
Most Wins in a Season: 6 (Grant Maiman, Anthony Simone)
Most Poles in a Season: 8 (Gerardo Bonilla)
Most Career Wins: 8 (Gerardo Bonilla)

For Further Junior Formula 101 Reading~ Click Here.
For More Information on Skip Barber Racing: Click Here.

(photo: http://www.skipbarber.com)

The 12th annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out was held on December 27-29 at Sebring International Raceway. According to inside sources, this was the tightest group of competitors in years. Two drivers were awarded top honors: Sage Karam (13) and Court Vernon (16) were both awarded a fully funded season in the Skip Barber National series. The second place drivers also tied, with Dennis Trebing (16) and Nick Andries (18), both winning a funded half-season in the Skip Barber National. The judges either like Florida kids quite a bit or the natives have put in quite a few laps around Sebring while living in the Sunshine State (3 out of the 4 scholarships went to Floridians).

I believe Sage Karam has just become the youngest driver in history to win a fully-funded Skip Barber National ride at the age of 13. Gabby Chaves, who was also 13, won a smaller scholarship, while Alexander Rossi won the big prize at the age of 14. The average age of drivers entered in the shoot-out this year was an astonishing 18, compared to years past. The average age of the scholarship winners' this year is 15.75 years of age.

Sage Karam of Nazareth, PA, has had a very successful career in go-karts, winning both the Stars of Karting East/West titles in Cadet last year. This season saw the 13-year-old make the jump to the ultra competitive Junior ICA class, where he finished 10th nationally.

Court Vernon of Key Biscayne, Florida spent the year running the Skip Barber Eastern Regional series (winning eight races and the championship) along with his karting efforts. He also made an impressive start in a Star Mazda car at Road Atlanta finishing ninth in his first outing.

Dennis Trebing of Cape Coral, Florida didn't start racing until two years ago, when he jumped into a Junior TAG kart and won every race during his inaugural season. Last season, he moved up to the TAG Senior class where he won his first race. Late in 2007, the 16-year-old, made the transition to cars by running a regional Skip Barber race at Sebring where he finished 4th out of 15 drivers on a rain soaked circuit.

Nick Andries of Pinellas Park, Florida began his racing career in karts at the age of 5. He graduated from the Skip Barber 3-Day School at the age of 16 in 2006. This season saw him make the move to cars, running alongside Trebing in the Skip Barber Regional series. He stood on the podium in his first Regional weekend.

(photos: http://www.skipbarber.com)

Skip Barber released their 2009 National schedule earlier this week and I must say they have a really solid line of venues. Actually, I would say they have put together the best schedule of the North American junior formula series for 2009. The champion after 14-races will receive a $350,000 scholarship from the MAZDASPEED Development Ladder to be used in the 2010 Star Mazda series.

Here is your 2009 Skip Barber National schedule:

Spring Training, February 28- March 1---Sebring International Raceway

March 17-20--- Sebring International Raceway
April 24 - 26---Virginia International Raceway
June 12-14---Jersey Motorsports Park
July 17-19---Barber Motorsports Park
August 13-16---Road America
September 22-25---Road Atlanta
October 8 – 10---Lime Rock Park

Conor Daly doesn't want to be known as the son of a great race car driver, Conor Daly wants to be a great race car driver. The 16 year old, (dare I mention it?)son of former IndyCar and Formula One great Derek Daly, is taking the right steps to achieve his goal.

Under the guidance of his father, Conor tested and raced more cars this year than just about any other junior formula driver worldwide. Here are just a few of the cars and series that Conor used to gain additional seat-time in for 2008.

• F2000 Championship Car
• Formula Palmer Audi
• Ford Mustang FR500S
• Ontario Formula Ford 1600
• Not to mention his karting and Skip Barber efforts that kept him busy all year.

Apparently his vast amount of seat-time paid off in the long run. Conor and fellow Skip Barber National competitor, Josef Newgarden were selected for the Team USA scholarship. The duo will be racing in the Formula Ford Festival as well as the Walter Hayes Trophy this fall. As if winning the scholarship weren't enough, Conor went on to win the 2008 Skip Barber National Championship (by a small margin over Newgarden) in the series finale at Virginia International Raceway last weekend.

Winning the 2008 Skip Barber National Championship is quite an accomplishment. The championship is widely known as a developmental series where some of the best kart racers and aspiring race car drivers make the transition to the world of racing cars. For a little insight into the world of Skip Barber racing or just a ride along at Road America; click here. The competition this year was steep as usual, with drivers competing for the 2008 title and the opportunity to reach the next rung of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder. Conor Daly finished inside the top two in both races over the weekend in the series finale, giving him access to the next rung: he received the big prize... $350,000, which is to be used for a Star Mazda program in 2009. The ladder system continues for the Star Mazda Champion, who will be placed in the Atlantic Championship. Daly is currently following in the footsteps of American driver Joel Miller who was a top kart racer in the direct drive ICA category, before winning the Skip Barber National Championship in 2007. This year Joel can be found competing for the 2008 Star Mazda championship, which concludes this weekend at Laguna Seca. Miller currently leads the overall points championship. Mazda has really stepped up, providing these young aspiring drivers with a way to progress and develop into seasoned race car drivers. It's nice to see the ladder system working.

Congrats to the 2008 Skip Barber National Champion: Conor Daly, we look forward to seeing you in a Star Mazda car for 2009.

Skip Barber National Championship
Rounds 13 & 14 Full Results

This weekend the Skip Barber National Championship presented by Mazda held Rounds 11 & 12 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Sean Rayhall had an extremely impressive run, improving five positions in the final two laps of Race 1. Rayhall later took the win as the original victor, Fabio Orsolon of Brazil, received a DQ for blatant blocking. Rayhall's victory was historical in that he became the youngest ever winner of a Skip Barber National, he turned 13 in March. Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner, Connor De Phillippi took the second spot on the podium. Star Mazda driver, Alex Ardoin managed to take the third and final spot on the podium. Ardoin was using the weekend to learn the track and get some additional seat time as the Star Mazda Championship heads to NJMP for Rounds 9-10 on September 12-14, 2008.

Championship leader Conor Daly also received a DQ on Saturday for blocking after finishing fourth. The DQ bumped him back to 11th in Race 1, but didn't deter him from fighting back on Sunday to claim the win. Daly took the win in Round 12 by 11.223 seconds over Steven McAleer. Fabio Orsolon also rebounded from Saturday's penalty to take the third and final spot on the podium Sunday.

Rounds 11 & 12 Results and Press Release from Skip Barber National Championship.

The Indy Lights Series was racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course over the weekend. Race 1 was relatively uneventful, at least in comparison to what would follow. Matos ran a good clean race taking the race win. A few drivers who had been previously struggling this season, managed a top five finish.

Race 2 was a whole different story. The day started with a rain delay, however due to time constraints the drivers hit a full wet track anyway (for a timed race). To make a long story short, just about every driver in the field spun or went off course at least once during the race. The big surprise of the weekend was yet to come though..... Jonny Reid, Indy Lights newcomer, was dominating the race only to pull into the pits by mistake just prior to taking the checkered flag. A truly disheartening conclusion for Reid. Despite the disappointing ending, after his performance.... I will say this isn't the last we will see of him.

In Skip Barber news, Josef Newgarden stands atop the points standings in the Skip Barber National Championship after Round 8. Newgarden once again demonstrated his speed by taking the pole position in both qualifying sessions over the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.

Conor Daly wasn't about to give in though, and took the victory in Round 7. Daly's exponential amount of tests (in various cars) over the last month couldn't have hurt his performance. Newgarden bounced back on Sunday and reclaimed the top spot at the conclusion of the weekend's activities. The top three contenders in the championship are separated by a mere 5 points after 8 rounds. Click here for the full report.