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| May 31, 2012 |
| Star Mazda: JDC MotorSports Adds Two Top-10s During Night Before the 500 |
 | JDC MotorSports exited the Night Before the 500 night race with two top-10s
(Photo: Star Mazda Championship - Eric McCombs) |
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. (May 30, 2012) – For JDC MotorSports, the first of back-to-back Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear oval events proved to be a learning affair. Racing in front of a large crowd at Lucas Oil Raceway on Saturday night (May 26), the three-car outfit showed good pace and racecraft, before ultimately coming home with a pair of top-10 finishes. Juan Piedrahita and Gabby Chaves crossed the stripe in eighth and ninth, having been further up the order earlier in Round Five, while Ashley Freiberg's oval debut ended prematurely, after she was struck from behind by another competitor.
With three podium trophies already on the 2012 mantle, JDC MotorSports was excited to return to action on Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis. While the 0.686-mile banked oval at Lucas Oil Raceway Park marked a significant change from the opening street circuit in Florida and follow-up road course event in Alabama, the squad's talented line-up of Chaves, Freiberg, and Piedrahita were up to the challenge.
As planned, Friday's initial three-hour test session, and the subsequent two practice runs on Saturday, were spent working on car setup. While both Chaves and Piedrahita never found the outright balance or speed they desired in the three outings, both No. 19 OMP/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports and No. 9 GFK Motors/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports entries were inside the top-10 in each session. Freiberg - making her oval racing debut - meanwhile steadily gained confidence and speed in the No. 91 TrueCar.com/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports racer prior to single-car qualifying.
When the Star Mazda cars line-up for qualifying under the hot late afternoon sun in Indiana, the JDC drivers were optimistic further setup changes would benefit the talented trio. The two-lap timed run, however, proved to be an up-and-down affair. Piedrahita and his racing steed responded to the changes, with the Colombian-born racer posting the fourth fastest time to secure a row two starting position. Chaves was not as fortunate, as the Miami native was only able to go 10th fastest after his two flying laps. Freiberg likewise struggled to get the desired speed in her timed run, with the Illinois driver 15th on the timecharts.
Following some debriefing, analysis, and subsequent further changes to the cars, it was time to contest Round Five under the lights at Lucas Oil Raceway. With a large and spirited Night Before the 500 crowd looking on, the action got under with a solid getaway by all three JDC drivers. While it initially appeared the trio were in for a strong outing, as the race progressed, it increasingly became evident the vital car balance was not there. That being said, Chaves, Freiberg, and Piedrahita continued to battle lap after lap, dicing for positions. Unfortunately for Freiberg, her chase for a solid point scoring finish ended unexpectedly just past the two-third mark of the 100-lap race, when she was contacted by another car and sent into the outside retaining wall. The TrueCar 'Women Empowered' initiative racer, fortunately, exited the incident unharmed.
For Piedrahita and Chaves, the closing stages of the race proved to be a frustrating affair. Steadily losing both grip and overall speed, the duo relinquished positions gained earlier on. In the end, the JDC racers crossed the stripe in eighth and ninth respectively. While definitely not the results desired, the two top-10 finishes did add valuables points to their championship tallies.
"It was a hard weekend for us," stated Piedrahita. "We just couldn't find a good balance for the car. Qualifying went really well, but we struggled during the race. We are working hard, and hopefully things will be better at Iowa, as we need a good result to keep pace in the overall standings."
"I am disappointed that we could not find the right balance for the car throughout the race weekend," commented Chaves. "We will take this oval race experience with us to the next race in Iowa and look to improve the car. I am still confident we will show great results in the remaining 12 races."
The oval racing action continues for JDC MotorSports on June 23, when Round Six of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear takes place at the Iowa Speedway. The Minnesota-based championship-winning team enters the 7/8-mile oval currently third in the team standings, while Chaves and Piedrahita are fourth and fifth in the championship points respectively.
JDC MotorSports races with associate sponsorship from http://www.RedLineOil.com
Additional information on JDC MotorSports can be obtained from the team’s website @ http://www.jdcmotorsports.com For direct contact, please contact John Church @ 952-233-3075
Learn more about Gabby Chaves at http://www.gabbychaves.com and keep up to date via Twitter @ GabbyChaves
Learn more about Ashley Freiberg at http://www.ashleyfreibergracing.com keep up to date via Twitter @ AshleyFreiberg and her Facebook page @ AshleyRacing
Learn more about Juan Piedrahita at juanchopiedrahitac.com keep up to date via Twitter @ Juanpc9 and his Facebook page @ Juan-Diego-Piedrahita-Juancho
Involved in formula car racing since its inception in 1994, JDC MotorSports has established itself as one of the leading junior open-wheel teams in North America. Initially making its mark in the F2000 class of club racing competition, JDC MotorSports was soon a team worth watching in the pro ranks. Competing in the Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship, the team not only won races, but also helped develop multiple young drivers. In 2005, JDC MotorSports expanded its efforts, entering the Star Mazda Championship. Quickly becoming one of the top teams in the series, JDC captured both the driver and team titles in 2007, as well as Rookie of the Year honors, with Dane Cameron scoring a series-high three wins. In 2008, JDC MotorSports was the runner-up in the Star Mazda Championship and finished fourth in its inaugural season of F2000 Championship Series competition. The Minnesota-based team won the Star Mazda Championship title with Rookie of the Year Adam Christodoulou, and the F2000 Championship Series title with Chris Miller in 2009. This past year, JDC continued its winning ways, earning the Rookie of the Year award in the Star Mazda Championship with Connor De Phillippi, and scoring a non-points win in the USF2000 National Championship. The Minneapolis-based squad won a third Star Mazda Championship with Tristan Vautier in 2011, in addition to being victorious in the USF2000 National Championship and earning multiple podium finishes in its Prototype Lites Championship debut campaign. JDC MotorSports will once again contest full seasons in the Star Mazda Championship, USF2000 National Championship and Prototype Lites Championship in 2012. |
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