USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda
Kasemets Wins USF2000 Race At Autobahn Country Club Saturday
July 30 - August 1 2010
July 30. 9:20-9:50 Practice #1
July 30. 2:20-2:50 Practice #2
July 31. 8:00-8:30 Qualifying
July 31. 1:05-1:35 Race
JOLIET, Ill., July 31 - Pabst Racing Services' Tonis Kasemets stirred things up in the "Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda" in more ways than one Saturday afternoon at the Autobahn Country Club. The veteran earned his first series victory over the drivers who are first and second in the point standings, Sage Karam and Patrick McKenna; he took the lead by braking late in the first turn on the first lap to vault from third to first, and then he led all 11 laps to post the victory in a Zetec-powered Van Diemen.
Kasemets, of Mundelein, Ill., is a former SCCA Formula Continental champion, he's finished as high as second in the Atlantic series, he's been in two Firestone Indy Lights races this year and he even has five Champ Car World Series starts. His appearance in this series, which is part of both the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy ladder system and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver development program, was similar to a trainer dropping a race horse back in class.
Kasemets said it wasn't easy, however. "I used everything I had to beat these kids," he said in victory lane. "I didn't plan anything out for the start; I was just living in the moment. I braked late and was able to get the lead. Sage gave me a good run at the end. He had no choice but to back off at the start. He's a very good driver."
Karam, of Nazareth, Pa., earned his sixth $500 Cooper Tires "Don't Give Up a Thing" pole award of the year during a rainy qualifying session early Saturday morning, with Zach Veach of Stockdale, Ohio alongside for an all-Andretti Autosport front row for the start of the 11-lap/30-minute race Saturday afternoon. All that fell apart at the start though, as Karam's red No. 8 sponsored by the Michael Fux Foundation, Comfort Revolution, Bell Helmets, Alpine Stars, Walters Web and artrotundo.com dropped back to fifth as Kasemets took the inside line to edge ahead.
Veach and JDC MotorSports' Mikhail Goikhberg fared even worse, as their cars were both sprawled across the track as the rest of the field picked their way around them. Goikhberg, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, pitted for repairs and finished one lap down in tenth place, while Veach soldiered on only to experience more trouble later, ending up seventh.
Martin Scuncio of Fuerza Chile Motorsports/Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing was even more upset than they were after the race. Scuncio, of Concepcion, Chile, qualified fifth and ran in second place for the first four laps only to have his car's fuel pump fail when he was just 0.149 of a second behind Kasemets.
Matthew Powers of Danville, Calif. turned in an impressive performance when he came from eighth to third in the early going and finished fourth after Karam and McKenna, a 22-year-old from Dublin, Ireland who drives for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, passed him in the late stages. Powers said he struggled with an understeer in his Ghilotti Brothers No. 8 fielded by Liberty Motorsports in practice, so he was pleased to take the checkered flag in fourth place and earn the $200 Tilton Hard Charger award.
Two JDC MotorSports drivers, Raphael Abbate and Martin Sala, placed fifth and sixth, followed by Veach and Javier Barrales. Sala won the $200 Staubli award, which is presented randomly.
J.R. Smart of Fitchburg, Wis. brought out a full-course caution flag with seven laps down when he spun between Turns 3 and 4. The race was restarted on lap eight and Smart was given a black flag to report to the pits, but before he responded to that he spun again and hit the wall hard with his Pabst Racing Services/Smart Motors No. 9, bringing out another yellow on lap 10. He was transported to a local hospital, and the latest reports available said the doctors suspect he passed out but predict that he'll be fine after some rest. He is being hospitalized overnight for observation. The race ended under that second yellow with 11 laps complete.
Ardie Greenamyer of Louisville, Ky., who competes in the National class like Smart does, ended up winning that class with his AcceleRace Motorsports No. 27 Reynard Ford sponsored by Bidazzled.com, Sabelt and Sube Sports.
PFC gift certificates went to the class-winning teams, Pabst Racing Services ($100) and AcceleRace ($50).
Karam set the fastest lap of the race so he'll start on the pole for a similar race here tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. local time. All the action at this event, called the Harrah's Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda, is being covered live on HDNet from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time Saturday and Sunday.
Live timing and scoring is also offered at www.usf2000.com
Post-race quotes follow:
Tonis Kasemets: "I used everything I had to beat these kids. I didn't plan anything out; I was just living the moment, and I braked late and was able to get the lead.
"Sage gave me a good run at the end. He had no choice but to back off at the start.
"The track was really slippery. I'll take the prize money and head to Florida like the VisitFlorida.com people say.
"I just have to thank Pabst Racing, Mazda and Cooper Tires."
Sage Karam: "They were all over the place in Turn 1 at the start.
"I'm real happy that we had a good car that could get us back up through the field. We were back to sixth or seventh at one point. The track conditions were really bad.
"I'm happy that we were able to get second, but I wish we were on top.
"I want to congratulate Tonis for his victory, and thank my sponsors, Mazda, Cooper Tires and the Road to Indy program."
Patrick McKenna: "It was chaos at the start. I had wheel spin in the muck. Then I was just trying to chase Sage and get back up through the pack.
"It was a hectic race, but enjoyable. This finish puts us in a strong position for tomorrow."
I want to thank my sponsors, especially Motorsport Ireland and Willsborough Transport, my team and my parents. We had problems on Friday, so it's good to be on the podium today."
About Mazda:
On any given weekend there are more Mazdas on the road courses of America than any other brand of vehicle. MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models are all popular race cars because every Mazda has the soul of a sports car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the world is Spec Miata. With more than 2,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up America's racetracks, it the most-raced production car in the world. Mazda's involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with one of the world's premier road courses, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, Calif., and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States in 2010, Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. It oversees the sales, marketing, parts business and customer service of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario. _Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
For more information see MazdaUSA.com.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car and light truck tires and subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located in 10 countries around the world.
For more information visit Cooper Tire's Web site at coopertire.com.
About the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship
Powered by Mazda:
Many top drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series and endurance sports car racing honed their skills in F2000, and the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda is an important training ground for rising stars.
Debuting in 2010, it is the revival of the very popular USF2000 series of 1990 through 2006. Sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, it is the first step on its Road to Indy ladder system, preceding Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights.
It is also part of the prestigious MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver development program. The top driver in the series' Championship class earns a scholarship package from Mazda valued at $350,000 to help him or her advance to Star Mazda the following season.
USF2000 races are contested on road courses, street courses and ovals in order to give the series' drivers experience on all the different types of tracks they will face as they proceed up the ladder.
For more information visit USF2000.com.
Toronto’s Firestone Indy Lights Race
Sunday, July, 18, 2010
Video is available under MEDIA Menu
| Warm-up (8 a.m.): | Race (10:10 a.m.): | |
| 1. J.K. Vernay, 1:06.4456, 95.085 mph, lap 17 of 18 | 1. J.K. Vernay | |
| 3. Tonis Kasemets, 1:06.7397, 94.666 mph, lap 13 of 14 |
6. Tonis Kasemets | |
| 14. Carmen Jorda, 1:10.8079, 89.227 mph, lap 13 of 14 | 15. Carmen Jorda |
Andersen Racing's
Kasemets Finishes Sixth, Jorda 15th
In Toronto Firestone Indy Lights Race Sunday
TORONTO, Ontario, July 18 - Andersen Racing's Tonis Kasemets of Mundelein, Ill. clawed his way from ninth to a sixth-place finish in the Toronto 100 Firestone Indy Lights race Sunday morning on the Toronto street circuit. His teammate, Carmen Jorda of Miami, got as high as 12th before retiring after a spin to finish in the same position that she started, 15th.
Kasemets (whose name is pronounced Toe-NEES KAHZ-uh-mets), had his hands full throughout the 50-lap race on the 1.755-mile, 11-turn street course that is very tight and therefore generates single-file racing. The drivers who finished right in front and right behind him set the fastest laps of the race.
Stefan Wilson, who finished fifth, set the fastest lap of the race on lap 17 with a 1:05.8173 (95.993 miles per hour). The driver who finished seventh, Martin Plowman, had the second-fastest lap of the race with a 1:05.9094 (95.859 mph) on lap 43. The fastest lap Kasemets turned in the Andersen Racing No. 5, which is sponsored by Flexovit, Allied Building Products, Northcentral Construction and the Novotel Toronto North York hotel, was a 1:06.3252 (95.258 mph) on lap 42.
Kasemet's fastest race lap was faster than his qualifying speed and even faster than the 1:06.7397 he ran in Sunday's warm-up session, where the native of Parnu, Estonia posted the third-fastest time.
Kasemets started the race in ninth place, beside Wilson. Wilson passed him at the start, but Kasemets got him back before the lap was completed to move back into ninth. He advanced into eighth place in the next few laps, and then there was a scuffle behind him after which Plowman had to pit for a new front wing. With eight laps down Wilson flew off into a runoff area off Turn 3, and a couple of laps later Philip Major brought out a local yellow in Turn 8 when he went into a tire wall. At that point Jorda, a native of Alcoy, Spain, passed the driver she'd been battling with since the start of the race, Rodrigo Barbosa.
On lap 14 Kasemets moved into seventh place with a dramatic move to the inside and a big display of brake smoke. The top six cars had a big cushion at that point, however, so he was forced to try to play catch-up in order to reach the sixth-place driver, Charlie Kimball, and move up any higher. The interval between sixth and seventh was 5 seconds with 21 laps down.
Jorda was in 12th place by then, running between Wilson and Plowman after their early difficulties. Unfortunately she did a 180-degree spin in Turn 8 with 24 laps down. She didn't have any contact with a tire wall or another competitor, but she brought out a full-course caution and was forced to retire at that point. Without the spin she very well may have finished at least eighth, as she had passed Barbosa and he was ninth at the checkered.
Although disappointed that she wasn't able to duplicate the top-10 finish she got at Long Beach, Jorda was happy to receive a $1,000 bonus from Firestone for her efforts in addition to her regular prize money. Jorda is a native of Alcoy, Spain, and her No. 4 featured decals lauding Spain's recent Soccer World Cup Championship as well as her regular supporters: ASAP Sports, NTGS.es, iHOLA!, Air Europa and pepetravel.com.
The only drivers who weren't glad to see the full-course caution were Jorda and the leader from the on-set and eventual winner, J.K. Vernay, as it allowed the drivers to take a break and to pack up the field.
Kimball passed Sebastian Saavedra for fifth place on the restart with 28 laps down. Kasemets was still in seventh, but now he was chasing Saavedra instead of Kimball. He got around Saavedra for sixth place with 30 laps down, right before the event's second full-course caution waved on lap 31 when Adrian Campos Jr. and James Winslow plowed into the tires off Turn 8.
The green flew again with 33 laps down, with Kasemets still in sixth. Saavedra pitted with a problem with his car's gearbox on lap 34, so after that Kasemets was about 1.6 seconds behind Kimball and working hard to hold off Wilson.
Kimball stretched his interval to over 2 seconds in the next few laps, and Wilson finally got around Kasemets with 44 laps down to push him to seventh place. Campos spun in Turn 8 with 48 laps down, but no full-course caution was required that time.
Kasemets advanced one more spot when the second-place driver, James Hinchcliffe, got into a tire wall off Turn 5 on the last lap. He was 2.5553 seconds behind the fifth-place driver, Wilson, and 1.3402 seconds behind the seventh-place driver, Plowman, at the checkered.
The top-five finishers were Vernay, Dan Clarke, Gustavo Yacaman, Kimball and Wilson. Vernay led every lap.
The next race is coming right up next Sunday at City Centre Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Another 50-lapper, it will also be carried via live video streaming at indycar.com beginning at 1 p.m. local time.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp., see andersenracingteam.com.
About Allied Building Products Corp.:
Allied Building Products Corp., headquartered in East Rutherford, N.J., is one of the largest roofing and siding distributors in the United States. Founded in 1950 with five employees and two trucks, today it is a $1.8 billion building material distribution company with over 3,500 employees, more than 200 branches in 30 states, well over one million square feet of office and warehouse space, and an inventory of approximately 85,000 products, from residential roofing and siding to doors, windows, waterproofing, manufactured stone, interior products and commercial roofing systems. For more information see alliedbuilding.com.
About Andersen Racing:
Andersen Racing strives to provide the best and most comprehensive training possible for future open-wheel superstars while giving its marketing partners media exposure and hospitality opportunities at some of the most prestigious events in North America. It provides a unique program utilizing multiple entries in three different platforms: karting, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights.
A sister company, Andersen Promotions, administers the USF2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda. It is part of both the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy program and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver development system.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. The team is headquartered at Andersen RacePark, an 18-acre facility in Palmetto, Fla. that includes a 1-mile road course test track. For more information see andersenracingteam.com, andersenkarting.com, andersenracepark.com and usf2000.com.
Streets of Long Beach
Sunday, April, 18, 2010
