New Teams and New Winners in the Opening Formula Race Promotions Event of 2024
It was the first event of the 2024 Formula Race Promotions (FRP) series, and some new teams along with new names joined former race winners and champions on the top step of the podium to begin their 2024 season with success. Kicking off at the famed Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, FRP teams and competitors will now shift their focus to the last weekend in April as they travel north to the famed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“What a start to a new year of racing,” explained Bob Wright. “Starting a new year is always exciting, but as it seems to happen every year, the competition level gets stronger each season. We had the opportunity to welcome new teams and new drivers to the series, and it was great to see them adapt and have success right out of the gate.”
With a Promoters Test Day on Thursday, the official race weekend kicked off on a wet Friday with practice and qualifying for the F1600 ranks while the Atlantic and F2000 competitors had a pair of practice sessions before qualifying on Saturday morning.
F1600
Qualifying
1. Trevor Russell – 1:44.769
2. Sebastian Naranjo – 1:44.831
3. Jonathan Lee – 1:45.565
4. Timothy Steele – 1:46.521
5. Christopher Kierce – 1:46.660
F1600 Masters
Qualifying
1. Scott Rubenzer – 1:47.879
2. Joe Colasacco – 1:49.264
3. Phil Kingham – 1:49.744
4. David Livingston Jr. – 1:50.226
5. Bob Reid – 1:52.987
Race #1
The first F1600 race of the weekend rolled off the grid bright and early Saturday morning. No rain but with a very damp and slick track, this first session of the day was plagued with issues throughout and the green flag was never displayed. Multiple spins and a car fire resulted in only six circuits being completed behind the pace car. Following the on-track session, the Race Director called a mandatory meeting where he informed competitors that the first race would be canceled, championship points would not be awarded, and that the grid for race two would be based on the Friday qualifying session.
Race #2
With better conditions for Race 2, Team Pelfrey driver Sebastian Naranjo was the driver to beat in F1600 as he took advantage of his front-row starting position to seal the win in the first points-scoring race of the season. Lee Racing’s Jonathan Lee, driving the oldest car in the field in a 1991 Swift DB6, was the best of the rest in a solid second-place performance keeping Naranjo honest throughout the nine-lap affair. Joining the front two on the podium was Timothy Steele in third, just ahead of Dillon Defonce, who turned the fastest lap of the race in fourth. Scott Rubenzer finished fifth on track but was the first of the Masters drivers as he scored the F1600 Masters win ahead of David Livingston Jr. who finished hot on his heels in sixth and Joe Colasacco in seventh. Ethan Tovo, the youngest competitor in FRP competition in 2024, crossed the line eighth with his twin brother Jackson in 12th, while Christopher Kierce and Karsten Defonce, the second of the Defonce family members, finished ninth and tenth respectively.
Race #3
Sebastian Naranjo asserted himself as a championship contender securing his second race win in as many days to sweep the F1600 class at the opening round of the 2024 FRP program. With the fastest lap of the race earning him two additional championship points, Rice Race Prep driver Simon Sikes crossed the line in P2 to claim the second step of the podium, while David Livingston was the top Masters driver and joined Naranjo and Sikes on the podium in the third position overall. Scott Rubenzer was fourth on track and second in the Masters class, while Timothy Steele finished fifth. Joe Colasacco, another one of the Masters competitors crossed the line sixth splitting the top-six with three F1600 and three F1600 Master competitors. Ethan Tovo continued his development program crossing the line seventh ahead of newcomers Ava Hanssen and Dillon Defonce, with Jonathan Lee rounded out the top-ten. As a special bonus, Sunday’s F1600 Race #3 was live streamed by Greenlight TV, with 2022 veteran driver Nolan Allaer in the booth providing commentary. View the program HERE.
Atlantic 016
Qualifying
1. Dudley Fleck – 1:28.542
2. John Mcaleer – 1:28.550
3. Clay DellaCava – 1:31.196
4. Matthew Butson – 1:34.772
5. Jim Booth – 1:34.885
Atlantic Open
Qualifying
1. Glenn Cooper – 1:30.173
2. Nathan Byrd – 1:30.760
3. Tim Pierce – 1:31.725
4. Paulie Gatto – 1:42.418
5. Austin Holtgraewe – 1:45.423
F2000
Qualifying
1. Gabriel Cahan – 1:33.514
2. Dane McMahon – 1:34.357
3. Alan Guibord – 1:34.663
4. Paul Farmer – 1:35.331
5. Hartley MacDonald – 1:36.668
Race #1
In the combined Atlantic 016, Atlantic Open, and F2000 race, all three classes would compete on the 2.540-mile Road Atlanta facility but scored separately. The 016 class was won by K-Hill Motorsports driver Dudley Fleck as he piloted his 2006 Swift 016 Mazda to the win over fellow K-Hill Motorsports drivers Matthew Butson and John Mcaleer for a K-Hill Team podium sweep. Nathan Byrd, finishing third on track overall, was the winning driver in the Atlantic Open class, joined by Tim Pierce and Paulie Gatto, creating an Arrive Drive Team sweep in the Open Class.
Gabriel Cahan, making his FRP series debut in the new Cahan Racing Team outfit, was the F2000 class victor topping the sizable field of 12 competitive entrants who joined in for the first race of the season. Making the trek from Arizona to compete in the FRP program, the two-car effort with Gabriel and brother, F1600 competitor Ayrton, celebrated together in the team’s first win. It was Alan Guibord who was the next best and stood on the podium in the second position ahead of Matthew MacDonough, and rounding out the top-five was newcomer Dane McMahon and veteran Hartley MacDonald. Kicking off 2024 was one of the largest F2000 fields seen anywhere: A tightly competitive group, the lead F2000 pack of seven posted qualifying lap times from Race #1 all within .666, forecasting another exciting race for Sunday.
Race #2
Butson got the best of Fleck in the second Atlantic race of the weekend as the #24 entry finished just under one-second ahead of the #74 of Fleck for the win in the Atlantic 016 class. Clay DellaCava made his first appearance on the podium in race two with a strong drive to third, less than three-tenths of a second ahead of John Mcaleer in the fourth position with Jim Booth classified in P5. In the Atlantic Open class, it was Nathan Byrd who went two-for-two on the weekend earning his second win in as many days as Saturday’s podium was the same on Sunday with Tim Pierce and Paulie Gatto joining him on the box. Rounding out the top-five was the #07 entry of Austin Holtgraewe in fourth as Glenn Cooper was classified in the fifth position.
The competition was on for Race 2 in the F2000, with the top-seven grid positions all within .666 seconds. After 14 laps, it was the third-place finisher from Saturday’s F2000 race who found his way to the top step of the podium and his first win of 2024 as Matthew McDonough held off Saturday’s winner Gabriel Cahan who had to settle for the second position, but left Road Atlanta with the point lead. Dane McMahon improved on his Saturday fourth-place result to stand on the podium with a third-place result Sunday, as Alan Guibord and Joe Colasacco finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Wright added, “With our first event of 2024 now in the books, and the announcement of our Major Money Madness event at Mid-Ohio, all the focus shifts to the last weekend in April and a trip to one of North America’s most famous natural terrain road courses.”
Next up for Formula Race Promotions will be the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course over the April 26-28 weekend. Stay tuned to RaceFRP.com for more information.
Stay tuned for all the news and information regarding the event and find details about the event on the FRP website at racefrp.com and throughout the event weekend on social media.
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For questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Bob Wright RobertW@RaceFRP.com or Clay Hutchinson ClayH@RaceFRP.com. For media inquiries, please contact us via email at Media@RaceFRP.com.
