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| May 24, 2012 News |
| F1600 Championship: Multi-Car Fight Expected for Lime Rock Doubleheader |
 | Rookie Brandon Newey enters the second event of the 2012 season leading the title fight
(Photo: F1600 Formula F Championship Series - Valet)
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The F1600 Formula F Championship Series heads to Lime Rock Park over Memorial Day weekend (May 25-26), with an thrilling chase for the 2012 title already underway, and the defending champion returning to add to the excitement.
Two wild races at VIR in April ended with a win for Brandon Newey, who leads the point standings for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Mygale/Honda, and a victory for Matias Koykka, driving the Spectrum/Honda. Those two are among those expected to battle along with 2011 champion Bill Valet, when the F1600 field takes to the fast road course in Connecticut.
“The key to keeping up the momentum would be to just take it race by race and performing like I know we can,” said the 19 year-old Newey. “My goal for Lime Rock is to just go there and do the best we can as a team. I know my guys will give me the tools to succeed, and the Mygale chassis is very fast. I can only see it getting better as we become more accustomed to the car.”
In between Virginia and Lime Rock, Newey finished his freshman year at Purdue University.
Missing out on a win at VIR was Garet Grist, Newey’s teammate, who had to settle for second place, by inches.
“Heading into Lime Rock I think the biggest thing to improve on is getting the car better on new tires,” said Grist. “We had a winning car at VIR, I just didn't put all the pieces together like I should have. I think if we improve those two things, we will be very hard to beat. Getting the damage on Sunday also really took away our chances of getting the win.”
That lead battle at VIR also featured Koykka for a short time as the young Finnish driver led from pole in race two, but retired after an off. Koykka gave Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing its first F1600 win at VIR, in the first race, and also delivered the first win for the Spectrum chassis.
“The speed we had with the No. 10 car in the opening round was great and we continue to push forward,” said Koykka, who took both poles at VIR. “Without the collision in race two we would've probably had a perfect weekend, but that only left us hungry for the second round.
“From Lime Rock I'll head to my high school, Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, to graduate,” added Koykka, who also said he has never been raced at any of the tracks on this year’s schedule.
Likely joining those three at the front of the field will be 2011 Lime Rock race winner and series champion Valet. Back for a one-off, he is expected to be very fast in the No. 83 Swift DB-6/Ford.
Tied for fourth in points are Jeremy Grenier, in a Citation/Honda, and Art Foster, who also won at Lime Rock last season, driving a Van Diemen/Ford.
Another young racer, John McCusker, spent the weeks between VIR and Lime Rock karting, and hopes to continue to pick up speed in his Van Diemen/Honda.
Two practice sessions on Friday (May 25) lead into a 4:20 pm local qualifying session for the F1600 Formula F Championship Series cars at Lime Rock Park. A short warm-up on Saturday morning (May 26) will be followed by races at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm, both 30 laps or 30 minutes. Live audio will be available for qualifying and both races at http://www.livestream.com/F2000
The top-three will be posted following every session on the EFCN Facebook page, and EFCN Twitter page. |
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