Rookie Searcy Wins Season Opener in Wet-Dry Conditions

Searcy’s Z-Sports team put him on the grid on rain tires. At the drop of the green he was able to quickly get around Jesse Yorio who started the race on slicks. Searcy then quickly moved around Matthew Inge and Remy Audette, who had already been passed on the opening lap by Chris Miller for the lead. Searcy didn’t wait long and got past Miller in turn 13, and took off. He took the win over Audette by some 15 seconds, at times lapping two seconds a lap quicker than anyone else.

“One race one win, hopefully we can continue,” said Searcy. “The car was unbelievable, we made some wing changes, it was just great in the rain. I got around a few cars and then passed Miller for the lead up in turn 13 and went for it.”

Z-Sports team owner Ron Boltik commented , “I am over the moon. There was nothing special about this car and Benjamin was able to lap two seconds a lap faster than anyone. It’s all Benjamin, I’m proud of him and he entire Z-Sports team.”

Remy Audette, who broke the track record in morning qualifying and started from pole, came home second in the #21 Audette racing Van Diemen. “Rain is always fun,” said Audette. “We made a mistake on the setup. The weather was tricky with the changing conditions. There was no good line on the track so I just kept up the pace. The start of the race was very fun in the wet.”

GTP’s Phil Lombardi was able to overcome the challenging conditions and a practice crash yesterday to come home in third position. Lombardi commented, “It’s been a trying two years and to finish on the podium here is just awesome. I’ve never driven on these rain tires. GTP did an amazing job putting the car back together. During the race people were making mistakes which opened the door for me. I passed Inge for third and then he tried to come back at me going into the rollercoaster and I just out braked him. I’ll take this podium.”

Tom Fatur was the first of the Masters class drivers coming home in fourth overall after losing a Zetec morning in yesterday’s test sessions and having to switch to a spare engine, starting in 21st, “We didn’t need the horsepower for the rain,” commented Fatur. “GTP did a super job on the setup changes right before the start. There were quite a lot of slow guys on the track and I was able to take advantage. I think I went from 21st to 12th on the opening lap and was able to pick off a car a lap after that.”

Matthew Inge rounded out the top five and at one point was challenging Chris Miller for third place when they got together in turn five to avoid a spinning Jonathan Scarallo. Inge commented, “It was a very slick track out there. I couldn’t see anything. There was a wall of water. There were cars off everywhere. A car spun in front of Chris [Miller] and I. We both checked up, got back on the gas and he checked up again and I had nowhere to go.”

JDC Motorsports driver Chris Miller ended up in 18th spot after posting fast time yesterday and qualifying second for today’s race. “There was a car spinning,” explained Miller. “I slowed down and the car behind me just hit me."

Tim Minor, Jeff McCusker, Robert Wright, Al Guibord Jr., and Dave Weitzenhof rounded out the top ten as series veterans and Masters class drivers excelled in the challenging conditions. Tim Minor, the 2008 Masters class champion, completed the entire race on his Hoosier slicks.

“My rain tires were even on backwards. I couldn’t see the front nose of my own car during the first lap, it was insane, a wall of water,” said Guibord Jr. “It was survival of the fittest today.”

Series newcomers Alegra Motorsports and Group A Racing did not have any of their cars finish the race. Both teams rolled the dice with the changing weather situation, sending one car out on rain tires and the other on slicks.

Alegra’s Fabio Orsolon spun in the esses to end his day and teammate Victor Carbone, who started the race on slicks, went off in the first turn on the opening lap, “The race was bad,” said Carbone. “I had the dry tires on. Approaching the first turn I went to brake and turned and nothing happened. I went off and couldn’t get the car going again.”

Group A Racing’s day didn’t go any better. Apparent gearbox problems stranded Colin Alexander on the grid and Jonathan Scarallo spun off in turn five on his dry weather tires.

“It was unfortunate. Colin got taken out before he even started. We rolled the dice with Jonathan and sent him out on slicks. He had a problem with the gearbox which ended up causing his spin. I’m thrilled about his car control in the wet on dry tires, it was amazing. Both boys did really well, this looks much better on the inside than on the outside,” commented team owner Joe Scarallo.

Race winner Searcy’s teammate Caitlin Johnston came home in 12th and had the fifth fastest race lap. “The race was good. It was a little wet at first and I couldn’t see anything at the start. It took a few laps to get used to the track in the wet but after that I was able to slowly pick up the pace,” said the Canadian rookie.

Chris Gumprecht also completed the entire race on slick tires, bringing his #97 CG Racing Van Diemen/Zetec home in 20th, five laps down.

The F2000 cars hit the track again tomorrow morning for a morning qualifying session followed by an afternoon race. The weather at VIR continues to be a huge question mark for the 28 car field.

Full Results

Pos PIC No. Name Class Laps Total Tm Diff Gap

1 1 10 Benjamin Searcy F2 13 30:20.799 -

2 2 21 Remy Audette F2 13 30:35.560 +14.761

3 3 3 Phil Lombardi F2 13 30:47.311 +26.512

4 4 70 Tom Fatur/M F2 13 30:49.764 +28.965

5 5 02 Matthew Inge F2 13 31:06.995 +46.196

6 6 88 Tim Minor/M F2 13 31:27.490 +1:06.691

7 7 25 Jeff McCusker/M F2 13 31:37.411 +1:16.612

8 8 90 Robert Wright/M F2 13 31:51.363 +1:30.564

9 9 95 Al Guibord, Jr. F2 13 32:04.298 +1:43.499

10 10 67 Dave Weitzenhof/M F2 13 32:09.505 +1:48.706

11 11 16 Peter Gonzalez/M F2 13 32:23.529 +2:02.730

12 12 20 Caitlin Johnston F2 13 32:24.123 +2:03.324

13 13 30 Jerry Szykulski/M F2 13 32:38.900 +2:18.101

14 14 27 Craig Clawson/M F2 12 30:43.466 1 Lap

15 15 96 Alejandro Munoz F2 12 31:40.051 +56.585

16 16 03 Tim Walsh F2 12 32:23.528 +1:40.062

17 17 94 Blake Teeter F2 10 28:14.700 3 Laps

18 18 85 Chris Miller F2 8 19:12.871 5 Laps

19 19 7 Brent Gilkes/M F2 8 21:54.761 +2:41.890

20 20 97 Chris Gumprecht F2 8 32:38.126 +13:25.255

21 21 22 Jonathon Scarello F2 19:07.844 6 Laps

DNF 22 80 Bobby Caldwell F2 4 10:15.717 9 Laps

DNF 23 4 Chris Camadella/M F2 2 5:35.894

DNF 24 26 Fabio Orsolon F2 0 4.598 13 Laps

DNF 25 23 Victor Carbone F2 0 6.386 +1.788

DNF 26 11 Jesse Yorio F2 0 2:35.132 +2:30.533

DNS 27 12 Colin Alexander F2 0 -.--- -

DNS 28 41 Brian Belardi F2 0 -.--- -