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| June 21, 2012 |
| Ontario FF: Adams at Canadian Grand Prix Weekend |
 | It wasn’t hard for Michael Adams to find inspiration in the Formula Ford race in Montreal
(Photo: Flagship Racing) |
COURTICE, ONT. (June 20, 2012) - As if three poles and three wins from his first four starts weren’t already enough to create a season’s worth of memories, Michael Adams and his Flagship Racing team recently had the opportunity to compete during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Montreal and add to that growing bank. The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship leader had sponsorship develop following the Shannonville rounds of the series, and capitalized on an offer to compete in Quebec for the very first time.
“It was a fantastic weekend all round,” Adams said after his first weekend of racing at Canada’s most famous event. “The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. The crowds were everywhere, even for the Formula Fords. It was just awesome. I just have to immediately thank everyone that made the event a successful one for me, especially when we faced a big challenge overnight. My parents, Mikey-G, Marcel from the Formula Tour, Britain West Motorsports, R&V, and all of the other officials. Sometimes the guys were at the track till midnight making sure the car was perfect, and I definitely had an incredible experience.”
The adventure of his young racing career began in the weeks leading up to the Grand Prix, as Adams looked to familiarize himself with Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve by tapping into technology and the experience of team members. Track time was precious with practice and qualifying combined into a single session on Friday, so Adams was determined to utilize everything and everyone at his disposal as he prepared for his first Grand Prix weekend.
“I played a bunch of video games at home and focused on running the proper line instead of just going as fast as possible,” Adams said of his early preparations. “Also, Mikey-G had raced there twice in Fords and my dad raced there back in the old Honda/Michelin Series, so I talked with them as well. It took me until Sunday until I was 100 per cent comfortable with the track, as we’d only had two sessions, qualifying on Friday and race one on Saturday. We were working on exits of corners mostly, and using up all the track by running the car right up next to the wall.”
His advance work definitely paid off, as Adams immediately impressed in his 1992 Van Diemen and was highest standing rookie in qualifying. Things then got even better in race one Saturday, before an unexpected event threw Sunday’s race into question.
“Qualifying was the first time I was ever on the track in a car, so I was really thankful that I’d played the games and that Mike and I did an in-depth track walk on Thursday,” Adams said of race one. “We were doing quite well. We were third early on in the session and eventually finished P7 after setting a fast time right near the end. My start to the race was good as I avoided two crashes on lap one, and was up to third early on. Then we started to have over-heating problems and I backed off a bit with grave concerns about the engine. I ended up fifth and was really, really happy with it considering.”
An in-depth engine inspection followed race one and carried on late into Saturday evening. The car had lost four litres of water during the race and was smoking like a chimney over the last two laps. The team changed a couple of valves and the radiators, then reassembled the car for Sunday where Adams started P4 based on fastest laps from race one.
“Before we even started we figured that since the engine was over-heated the rings had lost some of their tension and made the engine a bit soft on power,” Adams said of going into race two. “But we tried out best anyway. The start was decent and we started to have a really good race - a proper full-on Formula Ford, back-and-forth battle. There were some crashes, wheel touching and general close calls, but we made it through the battle on top of our group and finished sixth.”
This weekend will see the Flagship Racing team in much more familiar confines, as the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship returns to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for round three. Adams leads the Championship through two rounds after winning the season-opening event and sweeping the Shannonville races at round two. The 2012 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series in Ontario contests seven doubleheader events from May through September. Five held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and the championship also visits Shannonville Motorsports Park and Calabogie Motorsports Park. For more information, please visit http://www.offcseries.com |
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