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| March 26, 2009 News |
| Cartech FM Challenge: Futrelle Victorious in Season-Opener at Road Atlanta |
 | Franklin Futrelle took the early lead in the Cartech FM Challenge title chase via a commanding win in Round One at Road Atlanta
(Photo: Tom Arkus) |
The second edition of the competitive Cartech FM Challenge series commenced on March 22, with the opening round taking place at the famed Road Atlanta road course in Georgia. Following what was entertaining event for both those involved and on-hand to watch, reigning series champion and Formula Mazda SCCA National Champion Franklin Futrelle emerged with the race win ahead of Juan Marchand and Jeremy Grenier.
The season-opening event for the 2009 Cartech FM Challenge, a highly-competitive regional Formula Mazda championship, commenced on Saturday (March 21) with the first of two qualifying sessions. As part of an SCCA Club Racing National event, a total of 10 skilled drivers took to the 2.5-mile high-speed track. Futrelle immediately proved the man to beat, posting some very fast times and behind the defending champion on the timesheets was Grenier and Joe Garner, who repeatedly swapped the second fastest time, finishing up just ahead of Curt Harrelson and Dale Swope. When the checkered flag waved, Futrelle had captured the provisional pole position via a lap of 1:25.990, with Grenier and Garner completing the top-three.
After a night of going over ideas and making any changes to their cars, the Cartech FM Challenge drivers returned to their cockpits on Sunday morning (March 22) for the second and final qualifying session. While a number of drivers posted some fast times during the session, no one got within striking distance of Futrelle’s day one time, securing the pole position for the Georgia native. Marchand and series organizer Bruce Lawrence, both having not taken part in the first qualifying session, moved into the top-three in Q2, posting the second and third fastest in the morning session.
Rolling back on-course a few hours later, the start to the 2009 season got underway under ideal sunny skies. As expected, the opening lap featured plenty of jostling for position, with some minor contact between various drivers. Attacking right from the waving of the green flag, Futrelle immediately established a multi-car advantage over Marchand, Lawrence, Grenier and Garner, who were all running in close formation. After a couple laps, gaps steadily began to appear throughout the field, with both Marchand and Grenier soon running unchallenged in second and third. With top-three evenly spaced apart, attention turned to the fight for fourth place, which featured continued dicing between Lawrence and Garner. Lap after lap, the duo routinely swapped places more than once, with the order only decided via the checkered flag. Out-front, Futrelle never relinquished the lead, turning the fastest lap en route to a 14 second win. Returning series standout Marchand crossed the stripe in second, while fellow series standout Grenier completed the podium celebrations. Garner came home in fourth, only just edging Lawrence at the stripe. Harrelson and Evanson, in his first-ever visit to Road Atlanta, finished sixth and seventh, ahead of Court Dowis, Dale Swope and Sam Lockwood.
The six-race Cartech FM Challenge, which features a $10,000 prize fund, resumes on April 19th, with Round Two at Virginia International Raceway.
Cartech FM Challenge
Round #1 - Race Results
March 22, 2009
Road Atlanta - Braselton, Georgia
| Pos. | Driver | Diff. | Fast Time| 1. | Franklin Futrelle | - | 1:26.345 | | 2. | Juan Marchand | 14.413 | 1:26.923 | | 3. | Jeremy Grenier | 15.037 | 1:27.021 | | 4. | Joe Garner | 1 Lap | 1:28.588 | | 5. | Bruce Lawrence | 1 Lap | 1:28.251 | | 6. | Curt Harrelson | 1 Lap | 1:29.074 | | 7. | Ryan Evanson | 1 Lap | 1:29.546 | | 8. | Court Dowis | 2 Laps | 1:33.316 | | 9. | Dale Swope | 3 Laps | 1:29.683 | | 10. | Sam Lockwood | 9 Laps | 1:29.200 | |
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