mid-point-of-2012-coming-at-new-jersey
Sharon, CT – The F1600 Formula F Championship Series will hit its mid-point of the 12-race 2012 season at New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekend, with rounds five and six. Twenty three cars appear on the initial entry for the Thunderbolt circuit, with Brandon Newey driving for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb/Agajanian solidly in charge of the point standings with two wins in four races.
“The goal for this event is to keep performing at the level we have,” said Newey, coming off a win at Lime Rock in the Mygale/Honda. “After every race our team has gotten that much better and I am very excited to work upon that even more at New Jersey. To keep up the momentum we will just take the weekend one session at a time and continue to develop the car just like we have done all season so far.”
And while Newey has the race wins and points to back up his points lead, 17-year-old Matias Koykka has won every pole position, and two races in the Spectrum/Honda for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.
The Finnish driver, however, has two DNFs, scored third in the Championship standings.
“We are well prepared for New Jersey,” said Koykka, who added that he had been racing the track on a simulator. “It's going to be tough no doubt, but we have set our sights on the first place. My aim is to do the best job I can in delivering good feedback. With that, we should be in a position where we can beat the others.”
Adding to the Cape Motorsports assault will be a second Australian-built Spectrum chassis for Shae Davis, also Australian, and making his first F1600 start after Formula F success Down Under.
Between Newey and Koykka in the standings is Jeremy Grenier, with a string of strong finishes, including two podiums at Lime Rock. Grenier has had a quiet, strong season thus far in his Citation/Honda, with engineering support from Citation expert Eric Langbein.
“I want to get through this weekend with no major issues,” said Grenier. “Steady, good runs with very few mistakes will help. It was good to run the way we did at Lime Rock and it shows some potential in both the car and me. We need to keep moving forward on both.”
In fourth in points is Newey’s Bryan Herta teammate, Garett Grist. Grist had a strong start to the year at VIR, with a second place effort in a one-two for the team, but had a rough Lime Rock weekend.
Behind those four in points are Art Foster, Steve Oseth, Joe Colasacco, and Roberto Lorena - in eighth place.
Lorena, from Brazil, is driving for Quantum Racing Services, which won all four races they entered in 2011. Lorena has picked up the pace considerably since VIR, and could mix in at the front of the field in New Jersey.
The weekend features F1600 along with F2000 and the new Atlantic Championship Series, with the open wheel cars being joined by Trans-Am and ARCA.
Friday June 29 starts with F1600 practice at 11:00 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. Saturday features a 8:00 a.m. qualifying session and race one weekend of the weekend at 10:40 a.m. Sunday concludes with a 8:00 a.m. qualifying session and 11:35 a.m. race. Live audio, updates and results will be available on www.f1600series.com