Beasley Over Bamford in PittRace Practice
Wampum, PA – F2000 Championship Series points leader Sam Beasley continued his form, easily pacing Friday practice at the new Pittsburgh International Race Complex on Friday. Over two sessions, the No. 4 Mygale from Legacy Autosport was fastest of the day with Steve Bamford second quick.
Beasley was the only car to dip into the 1:39-second lap range, as the second fastest time of two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday was delivered on a flyer from Steve Bamford late in the afternoon session. Trent Walko was third quick in both sessions, and of the day, in the No. 91 Spectrum.
While Beasley has dominated the season, Bamford is looking to strike and pick up his second career F2000 win. A solid run at Road Atlanta for the Masters Class veteran was backed up by a win at Watkins Glen, but misfortune struck both at VIR and Mid-Ohio for the No. 07.
Walko looked solid in the Spectrum chassis throughout the day, riding a wave of pace from laps led and a second place run at Mid-Ohio in August.
Following the recent highschool graduate on the afternoon time sheets was John McCusker, still in a Van Diemen from Dotworks Racing, and Sam Chastain, separated by just .01 seconds.
Chastain’s luck has turned since his third place and first-ever F2000 podium on Saturday at Mid-Ohio just four weeks ago. On Friday morning, a newly-painted No. 30 Van Diemen from Chastain Motorsports completed less than a lap with a shift linkage issue.
A few hours later, a fifth place run from Chastain was more promising, but the No. 30 limped to a halt and caused a session stoppage. As a result, he will lose his two best laps from qualifying on Saturday morning. His first podium came from the result of a hard drive, battling to third at Mid-Ohio, and the aspiring racer looks as if he may be in a similar situation come Saturday’s race.
Quinlan Lall ran nearly two identical laps in free practice one and two, for fifth and sixth quick in each session, respectively, for Momentum Motorsports.
Polestar's David Grant followed Lall in each of the sessions, with Brandon Dixon, Eric Filgueiras and Nick Palacio rounding out the top 10 in practice two.
While Austin McCusker logged a top 10 lap in the early morning practice, he did not get out for the afternoon session. Of note, Charles Anti is making his Series debut, and Peter Gonzalez his first F2000 start in some time.
The new and 2.8-mile Pittsburgh layout is the debut pro event for the track, with various festivities planned throughout the weekend. The 18-turn venue incorporates the old 1.2-mile layout and shows off a stunning set of new corners with significant twisting elevation changes.
Full practice results are available on www.F2000Series.com under the Results tab.
The F2000 Series weekend continues on Saturday and Sunday, with rounds nine and 10 of the 2015 season.