IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

[MarkyS]

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We will likely get to see Simona de Silvestro on some road or street courses, this season…

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There are already 32 confirmed entries in the 2022 Indianapolis 500, with at least one more seat to fill to make the typical 33-car field. Paretta Autosport was angling to be the 33rd car, with Simona driving, but it appears that Beth Paretta and her associate sponsors have decided better to use their limited resources to put Simona in at least three twisty-circuit races later in the season than put her in a last-minute and lackluster effort in the 500.

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Simona de Silvestro (left) and the boss, Beth Paretta

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Frankly, we’re stoked! While it would be great to see the Swiss Missile at Indy, it will be infinitely more exciting to see her on a road course in an IndyCar again, where she is in her element.

In her last full season in IndyCars in 2013 she collected a podium for KV Racing Technology (a P2) on the Houston street course. In 2015, after a two year absence, she jumped into an Andretti Autosport car at NOLA Motorsports Park and drove it from a P-18 start to a spectacular P-4 finish - 14 positions gained in the rain. It was thrilling to watch her work.

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Simona with her Andretti Honda for New Orleans

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To make the three or more races this season, Paretta Autosport is said to be partnering with a current team - possibly Juncos Hollinger Racing. The goal is to showcase what the team can do for an even bigger slice of the pie in 2023. All of this is speculation, but the word is we will have more details and confirmation very soon.

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In the mean time de Silvestro remains a factory Porsche driver in European GT cars and a reserve driver for the team’s Formula E effort.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Jimmie Johnson on the mend, following surgery for his Long Beach shunt…

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Jimmie Johnson

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Exercise…

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Jimmie Johnson

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Jimmie Johnson

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Jimmie will be one of 32 drivers who will be at the open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, April 20-21st.

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Here’s the list, by team:

A.J. Foyt Racing
Dalton Kellett, No. 4 Chevrolet
JR Hildebrand, No. 11 Chevrolet
Kyle Kirkwood, No. 14 Chevrolet

Andretti Autosport
Colton Herta, No. 26 Honda
Alexander Rossi, No. 27 Honda
Romain Grosjean, No. 28 Honda
Devlin DeFrancesco, No. 29 Honda
Marco Andretti, No. 98 Honda

Arrow McLaren SP
Patricio O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet
Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 6 Chevrolet
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Chevrolet

Chip Ganassi Racing
Marcus Ericsson, No. 8 Honda
Scott Dixon, No. 9 Honda
Alex Palou, No. 10 Honda
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Honda
Tony Kanaan, No. XX, Honda

Dale Coyne Racing
David Malukas, No. 18 Honda
Takuma Sato, No. 51 Honda

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Santino Ferrucci, No. 23 Chevrolet
Sage Karam, No. 24 Chevrolet

Ed Carpenter Racing
Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet
Ed Carpenter, No. 33 Chevrolet

Juncos Hollinger Racing
Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet

Meyer Shank Racing
Helio Castroneves, No. 06 Honda
Simon Pagenaud, No. 60 Honda

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Graham Rahal, No. 15 Honda
Christian Lundgaard, No. 30 Honda
Jack Harvey, No. 45 Honda

Team Penske
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet
Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet

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That’s 25 series regulars and 7 Indy 500 “adds”. Ed Carpenter is also an add at all other
ovals, this season. The only regular NOT here is Tati Calderon for AJ Foyt who isn’t doing ovals, this season.

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On Wednesday, the 20th, there will be Rookie Orientation and Refreshers, sandwiched between veterans running for a few hours and everyone running until 6:00pm. The track will be open to all cars from 10 - 4 on Thursday. The test will be streamed LIVE on Peacock premium.

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[MarkyS]

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Last Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was a huge ratings success…

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…with well over a million viewers for NBC - more than double their best previous LB GP.

So, who was the fastest driver during the race at Long Beach, this year? Most will think it had to be Colton Herta for Andretti Autosport due to his impressive testing and qualifying lap record, but this graphic tells a different story:

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Not by much, but the 2021 series Champion for Chip Ganassi Racing stole the speed show, in the end. Despite a lot of young talent here, there are also three veterans in their 40s who still have hot shoes.

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[MarkyS]

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Hey! …It’s a BIRTHDAY! …Jack Harvey is 29 today…

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The young lad from Lincolnshire, United Kingdom was born on America’s tax day, but don’t let that spoil your well-wishes. Besides, we all have until Monday, the 18th to file this year!! Woo-Hoo!

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Have fun, Jack, and see you at Indy next week!

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[MarkyS]

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Paretta Autosport has made their partners known…

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Back in post # 1681 we spoke of the coming partnership between Paretta Autosport and a current IndyCar team in three and possibly four twisty-circuit races in 2022. We hypothesized that current team might be Juncos Hollinger Racing but it turns out to be another Chevy team, Ed Carpenter Racing.

Ed Carpenter Racing will help to bring driver Simona de Silvestro to Road America in June, Mid-Ohio in July and Nashville in August and hopefully a fourth venue - either Portland or Laguna Seca - in September. The # 16 car will be sponsored by KiwiCo, a manufacturer of STEM-based educational toys. De Silvestro has always been about STEM for girls.

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Simona de Silvestro

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Said Ed Carpenter, “ECR is very excited to be a part of the growth of Paretta Autosport. We watched closely what they accomplished at last year’s Indy 500 and look forward to helping their progression toward the goal of being a full season entrant. I have a lot of respect for Beth and Simona and look forward to success with them later this season.”

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Ed Carpenter

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This makes a lot of sense. ECR has the capacity to run a third car for the oval races, where Ed joins Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly on the grid. Really, what they need for Simona is another good road and street course engineer and race strategist and Paretta may be able to provide that and much more.

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As we said, we are stoked!!
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[MarkyS]

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Hey!..Let’s do our check-in with Josef Newgarden’s video series, “Admit 1”…

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This one is all about Long Beach, so we know it’s going to end happy.

Take a look:

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ADMIT1: 2022 Long Beach Grand Prix

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The brand new relationship between Josef and his engineer, Eric Leichtle, has already produced a street course WIN and an oval WIN in the first three races.

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[MarkyS]

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Wednesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the IndyCar open test begins…

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Today and tomorrow some 31 or 32 IndyCars CONFIRMED as entrants in the 2022 Indy 500 will be testing at IMS. The day started with a morning rain delay but once the track was usable the veterans came out for a warm-up, followed by Rookie Orientation and Refresher for drivers who haven’t driven an IndyCar since last year’s race. That session was successful, with all 8 cars completing their necessary laps at proper speeds. Rookie Calum Ilott for Juncos Hollinger Racing was TOPS in the R & R session - a harbinger of success later in the day.

Following the R & R session all cars were allowed on the track and the day went predictably well until there began a series of spins of several cars as they exited the pits. It was determined that a new sealer that had recently been applied was causing the havoc. The session was called off prematurely in order for the Speedway to look at the problem. According to most drivers the track itself is not affected and cars should be able to run tomorrow, one way or another.

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Here was the order of speed for Wednesday’s full-complement session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 39.6150s for a speed of 227.187mph

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2 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 39.6502s for a speed of 226.985mph

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3 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 39.7678s for a speed of 226.308mph

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4 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - time of 39.7910s for a speed of 226.182mph

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5 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 39.9394s for a speed of 225.341mph

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6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
7 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
8 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
9 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
10 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

11 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
12 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
13 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
14 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
15 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
16 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
17 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
18 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
19 - Will Power, Team Penske
20 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
22 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing
23 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
24 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
25 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
26 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP - no time
27 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises - no time
28 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan - no time
29 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports - no time
30 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport - no time
31 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises - no time

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Notable:

• These times are all with a tow. Team Penske’s Scott Mclaughlin led the field with the best no-tow lap in the # 3 Chevy (219.841mph).

• Drivers spinning on track were Alexander Rossi (no damage), Helio Castroneves (heavy damage to the right side of his car), Will Power (no damage) and Colton Herta, spinning to avoid Power, but with no damage. Helio is not expected to return tomorrow, as this is his Speedway car and needs careful attention.

• Sage Karam ran well in the refresher with a P4 in his Dreyer and Reinbold Chevy but did not run in the post-refresher session. The last six drivers listed here were intending to run in the afternoon, but the shortened session ended before they could put in times.

• Very impressive were Santino Ferrucci and JR Hildebrand, given their limited time in IndyCars, this season, but we know both these guys to be super on the Speedway in the past.

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Scott Dixon - TOPS for the day

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If everything goes as planned and the weather cooperates action resumes on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EASTERN time, with the entire session broadcast on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Indianapolis - The IndyCars hold a 2nd day of open testing at the Speedway…

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As was the case on Wednesday, Thursday’s schedule had to be pushed back due to rain in the morning, but the track opened up midday and 31 guys came out for open testing. Absent was Helio Castroneves for Meyer Shank Racing, as his primary car was involved in a shunt on Wednesday that did enough damage to pull it from the track. This is the chassis that is planned to run in the Indy 500. There were no shunts today.

By the end of the day there were times when almost all the cars were on track at the same time and it looked very much like race day out there. Speeds got incrementally faster all day long and were of course fastest in the last hour of the day, with temperatures at there lowest.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-3 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 39.2125s for a speed of 229.519mph

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2 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 39.2282s for a speed of 229.427mph

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3 - Tony Kanaan, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 39.3413s for a speed of 228.767mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 39.3548s for a speed of 228.689mph

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5 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 39.4051s for a speed of 228.397mph
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6 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta Autosport
7 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
10 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

11 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
12 - Santino Ferrucci, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
13 - Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
14 - Will Power, Team Penske
15 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
16 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
17 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
18 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
19 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
20 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
22 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
23 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
24 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
25 - JR Hildebrand, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
27 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
28 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
29 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
30 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
31 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP

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Notable:

• These speeds were with a tow. The no-tow speedster was Rinus VeeKay and teammate Conor Daly was 3rd fastest without a tow, which should please their boss Ed Carpenter. The TOP FIVE in no-tow were VeeKay, Scott McLaughlin, Daly, JR Hildebrand and Dalton Kellett, which should please AJ Foyt.

• The best team has to be Chip Ganassi Racing which has all five cars in the TOP TEN, led by race WINNER Tony Kanaan.

• The team with the biggest struggles is Andretti Autosport. Their cars ran the most laps with the least to show for it. Marco Andretti laid down a fantastic lap with 8 minutes to go, else none of their cars would have been in the TOP TEN. Also still struggling is Rahal Letterman Lanigan

• Takuma Sato has been testing a road course car that has been modified to run here, making his accomplishment today even more remarkable. One wonders how well he will do when they wheel out his Speedway car in May.

• Little Dreyer & Reinbold is doing great. Sage Karam was good all day with teammate Santino Ferrucci even better, making the TOP TEN most of the day. The little team that could ended up 12th and 13th.

• Despite ending up in P31 Juan Pablo Montoya was actually much happier with his car than he was in 2021, saying that it feels great whether in traffic or alone. He is not worried about the lack of speed, at this point.

Juan Pablo Montoya

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Josef Newgarden - the Golden Boy leads the parade today

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Next up for the IndyCars is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, April 29th - May 1st, with support from the Road to Indy, including USF Juniors, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights.

BTW, Sunday tickets for Alabama have sold out. 2nd year in a row!

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Gravois Mills, Missouri - USF Juniors holds their inaugural event…

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This weekend will see the debut race of the new series, USF Juniors, which is being billed as a “pre-series” to the Road to Indy, but what is going to be the defacto first step on the Road to Indy ladder system, going forward.

USF Juniors will hold three races this weekend on the new Ozarks International Raceway, built on a hilltop near Gravois Mills, Missouri, which is dead center in the middle of the state on the Lake of the Ozarks, 80 miles southwest of Columbia.

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Beautiful Ozarks International Raceway

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The track

The circuit is 3.97 miles long, making it just shy of the 4.1 miles of Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin - the longest circuit on the IndyCar calendar. The state-of-the-art facility is owned and operated by Pirelli GT4 America competitor JR Pesek and has been built to FIA Grade 2 standards. There are a number of track configurations, but on the main course that USF Juniors will be using there are 19 corners and 1200 feet of elevation change over one lap!

What the track lacks are the 2 long straights that make Road America a great passing track, but it does have three sections of almost straight track that will allow cars to build speed and hopefully make passes.

Here is some raw video of a GT4 car circulating around Ozarks. It gives one an idea of all the elevations changes offered on the circuit:

Raw Video - Ozarks International Raceway Practice Session 4

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The drivers

There are 18 entrees from 7 teams competing this weekend and all of them are “rookies”, as this is a new series. USF Juniors was conceived as a place where budding open-wheel talent can have a chance to develop racing skills in an environment that is less competitive, less expensive and less pressured than USF2000 or F4 United States. As such, it was expected that very young talent would enter the series, but as it turned out, the age range of drivers this weekend is between 13 years old to 23 years old, an average of 17.2 years old, with the common denominator being the opportunity to run a full season in less-expensive open-wheel cars and establish themselves to and with Road to Indy teams. They are also competing for a scholarship worth more than $220,000 to advance to the USF2000 Championship in 2023.

Some of these drivers have already made names for themselves in other series but most will be trying to do that, right here. We will try to introduce most of them, this weekend.

13-year-old Nikita Johnson…

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…and 23-year-old Andre Castro

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The car

For the first season of USF Juniors the car will be the same Ligier JS F4 Honda that is used currently in F4 United States. This car meets FIA F4 specs, of course. It is a carbon-fiber chassis fitted with a Honda 2.0 liter mill with about 160hp. For 2023 the plan is to move the series to a Tatuus chassis that can subsequently be used in both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 with only slight modifications, should a driver advance in his career in the Road to Indy.

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The Ligier Honda of Earl Tucker for DC Autosport w/Cape Motorsports

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The weekend schedule

The schedule calls for 3 test sessions on Friday, followed by an official race practice session on Saturday morning. Midday on Saturday will be the one qualifying session. Saturday afternoon will see Race 1 of the weekend. Sunday will see Race 2 and Race 3. All the races will be live-stream broadcast at RoadToIndy.TV, the new USF Juniors App and at usfjuniors.com

There will also be a Porsche Sprint Challenge North America event happening on track this weekend, but we won’t be concerned about those results, as no IndyCar guys will be involved.

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So, let’s get this new series GOING!!!

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at Gravois Mills, Missouri - USF Juniors holds their three test sessions at Ozarks…

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The Ligier Hondas of the new USF Juniors series got their first race weekend test sessions today at Ozarks International Raceway. The difference between a test session and a practice session is only that the series - USF Juniors, in this case - rents the track specifically for a test session while a practice session is part of the negotiated race weekend, and track time for it is provided by the track.

USF Juniors will likely hold pre-event test sessions at all the 2022 race weekend venues, as this is a new series and most of the drivers in it will be seeing these tracks for the first time ever. Drivers who pre-test of course hold much better race weekends for the fans.

The Juniors came out for three test sessions today. The morning session was understandably the slowest and all drivers exceeded their T-1 session times later in the day. We have COMBINED the efforts from T-2 and T-3 to get you the top times for each driver on the day.

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Here was the order of speed for USF Juniors test session 2 & 3 COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 02:24.258s for a speed of 99.072mph

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2 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports - time of 02:25.534s for a speed of 99.072mph

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3 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing - time of 02:25.934s for a speed of 97.935mph

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4 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports - time of 02:25.957s for a speed of 97.935mph

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5 - Nicholas d’Orlando [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports - time of 02:25.957s for a speed of 97.848mph

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6 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development
7 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
8 - Noah Ping [R], Velocity Racing Development
9 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development
10 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport

11 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development
12 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsports
13 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
14 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport
15 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing
16 - Bianca Bustamante [R], IGY6 Motorsports
17 - Jacob Bolen [R], IGY6 Motorsports
18 - Jason Prybil [R], IGY6 Motorsports - No Time

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Notable:

• 17-year-old Canadian Mac Clarke TOPPED test session 2 and session 3. Frankly, with his background, Mac should really already be in USF2000. In 2021 Mac finished second in the F4 Unites States Championship with six WINS, three poles and 11 podiums in 18 races. In 2020 he WON the Toyo Tires F1600 Series Canada Championship with 16 WINS and 17 podiums in 18 races. This guy WHEELS, right now. He is likely going for the scholarship that will go with the Juniors title.

• 2nd place Titus Sherlock from San Diego was the 2022 Lucas Oil Formula Car Winter Series Champion with three podiums and two WINS. The 17-year-old was the Lucas Oil Formula Car regular series Vice-Champion with 14 podiums and three WINS in 2021.

• 3rd place Jake Bonilla is a 21-year-old San Antonian with 2 1/2 years experience in F4 US but didn’t really start racing in anything until he was 18, which makes him remarkably fast, given his limited experience.

• 4th place Ethan Ho is a 16-year-old from Los Angeles who is trying cars for the first time in this series. Up to now, his meat has been karting, where Ethan pulled down second-place in Rotax Trophy West as a Rotax World Finals Team USA member in 2021. He has only a few races in cars at this point, but still managed a podium in Western F4.

• 5th place Nicolas d’Orlando has something his more famous brother, Michael d’Orlando doesn’t yet have - a national title. 18-year-old Nic is the 2021 FRP F1600 Champion, driving then for Team Pelfrey, claiming 12 WINS, 18 podiums, four pole positions and 10 Fastest Laps in 24 races.

• Unfortunately, Jason Prybil for IGY6 Motorsports put in no test time, all day. The 15-year-old from Glenview, Illinois was the only driver to miss all three sessions. No word yet from Jason or from IGY6 as to why.

Jason Prybil

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Mac Clark - leading the parade today

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There was a scheduling change today and Race 2 for the weekend has been shifted to Saturday, with Race 3 now by itself on Sunday.

Saturday will start out with the one and only weekend practice session, followed by qualifying in the late morning. Race 1 is then scheduled for 1:15pm CENTRAL time.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Gravois Mills, Missouri - USF Juniors practice and qualify…

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17 cars came out for practice at Ozarks International Raceway this morning and the results had the expected kids at the top of the charts - kids who had already shown up to TOP TWELVE speed on Friday during the 3 test sessions for the series. The TOP FIVE in practice were:

1 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing
2 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
3 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development
4 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsports
5 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development

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Following practice the series held their first ever race qualifying session and taking the honor of being a series first pole-sitter was Milton, Ontario Canada’s Mac Clark. The qualifying 2nd fastest lap for each driver will set pole for Race 2 and Mac took that honor, too.

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Here was the way USF Juniors will grid for Season Round 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 02:22.104s for a speed of 100.574mph

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P2 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 02:23.173s for a speed of 99.823mph

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Row 2

P3 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing - time of 02:23.319s for a speed of 99.722mph

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P4 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport - time of 02:23.394s for a speed of 99.669mph

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Row 3

P5 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports - time of 02:23.668s for a speed of 99.479mph

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P6 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 02:23.857s for a speed of 349mph

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Row 4

P7 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P8 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport

Row 5

P9 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
P10 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development
P12 - Nicholas d’Orlando [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P14 - Noah Ping [R], Velocity Racing Development

Row 8

P15 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing
P16 - Jacob Bolen [R], IGY6 Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Bianca Bustamante [R], IGY6 Motorsports

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Notable:

• Mac is still showing us he belongs in USF2000 right now. He was the only guy to crack into 02:22 seconds and the only guy to crack 100 miles per hour.

• Up to now, Sam Corry’s racing experience has virtually been all in karts, making this debut all the more impressive.

• Andre Castro is a well-known talent to us. The 23-year-old New Yorker is a former Team USA Scholarship WINNER and has knocked around open wheel racing for a few seasons, looking for a full-season ride, with a few races in USF2000. He is in USF Juniors because it affords him the opportunity for that full season. He will perform well.

• Nikita Johnson is one of the youngest drivers in the series, at just 13 years old. He will turn 14 during the season, however, so he qualifies for that minimum age. Despite his young age, Nikita has already proven to be a WINNER in cars, as the 2022 YACademy Winter Series Champion.

• There were two Red Flags during qualifying for spins from Nicolas d’Orlando and Maxwell Jaimieson.

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Mac Clark - on the pole, talks about it:

USF Juniors

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Next up is Race1 - the inaugural USF Juniors competitive event…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Gravois Mills - Mac Clark becomes the first ever USF Juniors Race WINNER…

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Race 1 of the USF Juniors inaugural race weekend was WON by Canadian Mac Clark in the # 17 DEForce Racing Ligier Honda, from pole. The 18-year-old had a huge 14+ -second lead when a full course caution on lap 11 effectively ended the competition to the end of the 12-lap race. Taking P2 was 13-year-old Nikita Johnson for Velocity Racing Development from a P6 start while teammate Sam Corry, a 14-year-old karter from North Carolina took P3 from his P2 start.

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Mac Clark dominates Race 1

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Mac led the field from pole cleanly while there was plenty of action behind him. Andre Castro for International Motorsport passed Jake Bonilla for DEForce to take over P3. Nikita Johnson followed Andre through and relegated Jake to P5. At the same time, Titus Sherlock for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports fell from P5 to P8, allowing Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi and Alessandro de Tullio for Velocity to take over P6 and P7, respectively. On lap 2 Titus put 4 wheels off in the bus stop trying to regain positions and fell further to P11.

On lap 3 Jake fell to P7 behind Jeremy and Alessandro. Meanwhile, Nikita managed to get by Andre to take over P3. On lap 9 Sam put two wheels off course trying to defend against Johnson’s attack, leading to Nikita successfully grabbing the P2 spot.

Clark out front was running away and had a 14.4 second lead when Jacob Bolen for IGY6 Motorsports went off on lap 11, bringing out a full-course caution that lasted to the lap-12 end of the race.

Here is the very pithy Mac Clark on Race 1:

USF Juniors

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And here is the race:

Ozarks International Raceway - Race 1

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Clark’s 2nd fastest qualifying lap was sufficiently fast to put him om pole for Race 2, next up. P2 at the start will be Nikita Johnson, P3 will be Sam Corry, P4 will be Andre Castro, P5 will be Alessandro de Tullio and P6 will be Jeremy Fairbairn.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at Gravois Mills - USF Juniors Race 2 goes to Mac Clark…

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…from pole, as the Canadian driving for DEForce Racing continues to dominate the weekend. P2 was 15-year-old Alessandro de Tullio for Velocity Racing Development from his P5 start while P3 went to teammate Sam Corry, from his P3 start as the 14-year-old gets his 2nd podium of the weekend.

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Another WIN for Clark

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This one seemed to start well but after 1 lap three cars went out as Jake Bonilla for DEForce, Frenchman Alan Isambard for International Motorsport and Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, starting from P7, P8 and P6 respectively, all came together and off track. That immediately threw a red flag in order to clean up the situation without losing valuable race lap experience - the purpose of the series. A good call, it took about 15 minutes to get the three cars out of the weeds.

The race restarted on lap 3. on lap 4 Bianca Bustamante for IGY6 Motorsports passed Noah Ping for Velocity Racing Development to take P10. Andre Castro for International Motorsport passed Sam Corry to take over the P3 spot and Titus Sherlock for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports took P6 from Ethan Ho for DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports. On lap 6 Sam retook P3 from Andre and Alessandro followed him through, sending Andre to P5.

On lap 7 Nikita Johnson for Velocity Racing Development went off in Turn 7 and dropped from his P2 starting spot all the way to P7. On lap 11 Nikita passed Ethan Ho to take P6, while Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development took P8 from Earl Tucker for DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports.

On the final lap the hard battle for P2 between the VRD teammates was settled finally, when Alessandro nipped Sam in Turn 1. Mac Clark WON with an 8.6 second margin on Alessandro, who was a second ahead of Sam at the stripe.

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Here is race WINNER Mac Clark following the race…:

USF Juniors

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…and here is the race:

Ozarks International Raceway - Race 2

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Clark also collected Fastest Lap of the race and will once again be on pole for Sunday’s 3rd and final race of the weekend. The weather is iffy at best and may play a big role, but the Canadian is all set to sweep the first race weekend for the new series.

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Gravois Mills, Missouri - The weather kills Race 3 for USF Juniors…

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As expected, inclement weather, including lightning strikes, has moved into the Lake of the Ozarks region and made racing at Ozarks International Raceway impossible. That is why Race 2 was moved from Sunday to Saturday - in order to make sure the series got in at least two races over the weekend.

With the weather sanctioning body USAC has decided that season Round 3 will not be able to be run this weekend and a make-up race, in order to keep the full 16-race season, will be announced shortly.

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With these results, here are the TOP TEN in points leaving Gravois Mills:

1 - Mac Clark, 66
2 - Sam Corry, 44
3 - Nikita Johnson, 40
4 - Alessandro de Tullio, 40
5 - Andre Castro, 38
6 - Titus Sherlock, 27
7 - Jeremy Fairbairn, 25
8 - Elliot Cox, 25
9 - Ethan Ho, 23
10 - Alan Isambard, 20

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Notable:

• It’s clear that Canada’s Mac Clark, who just turned 18 in late March, was the king of Ozarks International. He turned in the fastest times in test and practice, turned in the fastest laps for both poles and then dominated the races, WINNING with ease while setting Fastest Lap in both. While Clark has the experience to be this good compared to the others, he also commented on how similar OIR is to his home track, CTMP in Canada - also known as Mosport. He called it “CTMP on steroids”. Mac was virtually at home.

• The next stop for the Juniors will be two races at Barber Motorsports Park next weekend, in support of the IndyCar race weekend. Barber is also much like Mosport, - lots of elevation changes and flowing curves of various arcs - so we can expect Clark to shine there, as well. Indeed, he TOPPED the recent test there.

• While we can easily point to Sam Corry, Nikita Johnson and Alessandro de Tullio for their own excellence this weekend, there are a number of very good drivers in the series that had lousy luck, comparatively. Keep an eye on Nicolas d’Orlando, Andre Castro, Titus Sherlock and Ethan Ho. All of them impressed us over the weekend at various times.

• 17-year-old Bianca Bustamante was also impressive, despite her awful luck. She will not be contesting the full season, with her commitment to the W series, but we expect her to make some noise while she is here.

Bianca Bustamante

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Mac Clark - off to a great start in the Juniors

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Next up for USF Juniors is again Barber Motorsports Park, this coming weekend, where all four Road to Indy series will support the IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama race weekend. The Juniors are scheduled for two races, but a third may be added.

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[MarkyS]

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A BIG CONGRATS to Road to Indy ace Connor de Phillippi…

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…who just WON Saturday’s second Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie race of the season with co-driver Augusto Farfus in the # 98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 entry.

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Connor (left) and Augusto for the WIN at the Nurburgring

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Connor led from pole for the first two stints, but the Team RMG BMW M4 of Max Hesse, Daniel Harper and Neil Verhagen took the lead in the 2nd stint. At the end of the 4-hour contest Farfus got around Hesse with eight minutes to go after hunting down Max in the closing stages of the race. On the final lap Hesse challenged Augusto for the lead, getting alongside the ROWE entry due to traffic.

Hesse briefly took the lead in the drag race to the finish but Farfus regained the position moments later to cross the line for ROWE’s first NLS win since August 2020. The # 34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW of Christian Krognes, Andy Soucek and Sami-Matti Trogen completed the BMW sweep of the podium in third.

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The ROWE BMW M4 GT3

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Way to go, Connor and Augusto!

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[MarkyS]

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IMSA heads to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend…

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…for the Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship - The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series’ 4th race weekend of the season, with 4 of the 5 classes participating in the sprint race format. (LMP3 is out, this weekend). Along for the ride will be the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series and the Lamoborghini Super Trofeo series. There will be former IndyCar and Road to Indy drivers participating in all but the Lambo races.

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Let’s see who they are, starting with the IndyCar guys in the DPi class of the WeatherTech gang:

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DPi class - Sebastien Bourdais is coming off a spectacular WIN at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing. His co-driver will be Renger van der Zande.

Sebastien Bourdais

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Former Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier will drive the # 5 Cadillac for JDC Miller MotorSports with Brit Richard Westbrook as his co-driver.

Tristan Vautier

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Former Indy Pro 2000 driver Pipo Derani is one of the drivers in the # 31 Whelen-sponsored Cadillac for Action Express, with Tristan Nunez also in the car.

Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani

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LMP2 class - We have an exciting young talent emerging in LMP2 as 16-year-old phenom Josh Pierson from USF2000 in the Road to Indy has joined with co-driver Patrick Kelly in the # 52 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

Josh Pierson

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Storied veteran of IndyCars, NASCAR Cup cars, Formula One cars and SportsCars Juan Pablo Montoya is a co-driver with Henrik Hedman in the # 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA 07 Gibson.

Juan Pablo Montoya

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In GTD Pro class - former Indy Pro 2000 Champion and IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth shares the driver duties in the Vasser Sullivan # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 with fellow Britain Ben Barnicoat.

Jack Hawksworth

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Road to Indy ace Connor de Phillippi shares the # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL with John Edwards. Connor is coming off a WIN at the Nurburgring in a similar BMW M4, driving for ROWE Racing with Augusto Farfus.

Connor De Phillippi

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GTD class - another former Indy Pro 2000 Champion, Aaron Telitz, is a co-driver in the # 12 Vasser Sullivan RCF GT3 with co-driver Frankie Montecalvo.

Aaron Telitz

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Wright Motorsports boasts much-heralded former IndyCar driver Jan Heylen in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-driver Ryan Hardwick. Jan and Ryan WON the Rolex 24 at Daytona this year, with help from Richard Lietz and Zacharie Robichon.

Jan Heylen

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Indy Lights race WINNER Robert Megennis is a co-driver in the # 39 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing with co-driver Jeff Westphal.

Rob Megennis

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Former Champ Car driver Katherine Legge sharers the # 99 Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3 R with Rob Ferriol.

Katherine Legge

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• The Michelin Pilot Challenge series has a few former IndyCar guys and they are all in the Touring Car class:

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Former Indy Lights race WINNER and former TCR class Champion Ryan Norman drives the # 2 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with co-driver AJ Muss.

Ryan Norman

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IndyCar driver and paraplegic Robert Wickens drives the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport using hand controls. His co-driver in the car is fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins.

Robert Wickens

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Using similar hand controls, former Indy Pro 2000 driver and another paraplegic, Michael Johnson, drives the # 54 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Michael Johnson Racing w/Bryan Herta Autosport. His co-driver is Stephen Simpson.

Michael Johnson

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• The Porsche Carrera Cup North America series has 3 former Road to Indy drivers in it. They are:

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Road to Indy Shootout participant and former Porsche Cup Challenge USA Champ Trenton Estep drives the # 6 Porsche 992 Cup car for MDK Motorsports. Trenton is coming off a P2 at Long Beach.

Trenton Estep

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Road to Indy multiple ace Parker Thompson drives the # 9 Porsche 992 for JDX Racing. Parker already has 3 podiums on the season.

Parker Thompson

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TJ Fischer is another Road to Indy veteran with success this season, driving the # 58 Porsche for Topp Racing and collecting a podium at Long Beach.

TJ Fischer

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We are primarily watching the IndyCar event at Barber Motorsports Park, this weekend, and there is a separate thread for that, but we will drop in here from time to time to keep abreast of the IMSA doings at Laguna Seca. We will not be covering the Lamborghinis, as no IndyCar guys are racing them.

Friday will be a day of practice for the WeatherTech gang, the Michelin Pilot guys and the Porsche boys. The Porsches will also be qualifying. We will try to give you results at the day’s end, right here.

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[MarkyS]

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Friday midday at Laguna Seca - Practice begins…

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All three IMSA series we will follow this weekend started practicing today, with the Porsche Carrera Cup North America guys going out first. In their first practice the TOP THREE in the order of speed were:

1 - Trenton Estep, MDK Motorsports - time of 1:25.929s for a speed of 93.760mph

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2 - Parker Thompson, JDX Racing - time of 1:26.345s for a speed of 93.309mph

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3 - Kay van Berlo, Kelly-Moss Road & Race - time of 1:26.452s for a speed of 93.193mph

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Notable:

• The two IndyCar guys are beating out points-leader Kay van Berlo. That’s different and fine by us. PCCNA will practice again, later this afternoon.

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The Michelin Pilot Challenge gang were the next to practice, putting in two sessions today and we have the TOP THREE in each class, here, by COMBINING the two sessions:

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GS class - TOPPING the day with his P-1 session was Christian Szymczak in the # 72 Mercedes-AMG-GT GT4 for Murillo Racing with a time of 01:30.368s for a speed of 89.155mph. Christian bested the P-1 session time ofAnton Dias Perera in the # 21 Toyota Supra GT4 for Riley Motorsports by 0.150 seconds. 3rd quickest was Stevan McAleer in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1, again a P-i session time.

Christian shares the Mercedes with Kenny Murillo while Anton shares the Toyota with Aussie Scott Andrews. Stevan’s co-driver in the Porsche is Alexandre Premat.

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The # 72 Mercedes-AMG-GT GT4 for Murillo Racing - TOPS for the day

Christian Szymczak

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TCR class - TOPS in Touring Car was Karl Wittmer in the # 99 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Victor Gonzalez Racing Team - VGRT, with a P-2 time of 1:33.167s for a speed of 86.476mph. Karl beat the P-2 time of IndyCar driver Robert Wickens in the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport by 0.184 seconds. 3rd quickest was Mikey Taylor in the # 17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports, with his P-1 time.

Karl shares the Honda with Victor Gonzalez while Robert shares the Hyundai with Mark Wilkins. Mikey’s co-driver in the Audi is Chris Miller.

The # 99 Honda Civic FK7 TCR for Victor Gonzalez Racing Team - TOPS for the day

Karl Wittmer

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Later in the day the PCCNA guys held a 2nd practice, followed by qualifying. The TOPS in the practice were, in order:

1 - Riley Dickinson, Kelly Moss Road & Race - time of 1:25.442s for a speed of 94.295mph

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2 - Trenton Estep, MDK Motorsports - time of 1:25.764s for a speed of 93.941mph

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3 - Parker Thompson, JDX Racing - 1:25.981s for a speed of 93.704mph

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…with points-leader Kay van Berlo slotting in P4.

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They then qualified for the race weekend and on the pole for Race 1 will be IndyCar driver Trenton Estep in the # 6 car for MDK Motorsports, breaking Kay van Berlo’s streak of poles since the season started. Trenton set a time of 1:24.925s for a speed of 94.869mph, besting Riley Dickinson in the # 53 Kelly-Moss Porsche by 0.169 seconds. Starting 3rd will be IndyCar driver Parker Thompson in the # 9 Porsche for JDX Racing. Van Berlo will start 4th in the # 3 car for Kelly-Moss Road & Race.

The # 6 Porsche 992 Cup car for MDK Motorsports - on the pole

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The Porsche Race 1 is scheduled for 1:50pm PACIFIC time on Saturday. Next, the results of the WeatherTech gang P-1 practice session…

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[MarkyS]

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Friday evening at Laguna Seca - The WeatherTech gang hold a big practice session…

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After the Porsche Carrera Cup guys and the Michelin Pilot guys all got their crack at the storied track the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series came out for their 90-minute P-1 session. We have the TOP THREE performers from each of the four classes in attendance:

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DPi class - Ricky Taylor in the # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing put in the best time at 1:14.400s for a speed of 108.290mph. Ricky bested Oliver Jarvis in the other Acura, the # 60 for Meyer Shank Racing, by a healthy 0.681 seconds. Third quickest was the # 5 Cadillac DPi V.R for JDC-Miller Motorsports in the hands of IndyCar driver Tristan Vautier.

Ricky shares the # 10 with Filipe Albuquerque while Oliver shares the # 60 with Tom Blomqvist. Tristan’s co-driver in the Caddy is Richard Westbrook.

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The # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 for Wayne Taylor Racing - TOPS in P-1

Ricky Taylor

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LMP2 class - TOPPING the practice was Louis Deletraz in the # 8 ORECA 07 Gibson for Tower Motorsports with a time of 1:16.316s for a speed of 105.571mph. Louis beat out IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the # 81 ORECA for DragonSpeed USA by 0.482 seconds. Third on the charts was Ryan Dalziel in the # 18 ORECA for Era Motorsport.

Louis shares the Tower car with John Farano while Juan Pablo shares the DragonSpeed car with Henrik Hedman.

The # 8 ORECA 07 Gibson for Tower Motorsports - TOPS in P-1

Louis Deletraz

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GTD Pro class - IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth turned in the quickest time of the session in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with a time of 1:23.961s for a speed of 95.958mph. Jack took it to Daniel Juncadella in the # 79 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for WeatherTech Racing and nipped him by 0.210 seconds. Third charted was Mathieu Jaminet in the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports.

Jack’s co-driver in the Lexus is fellow Brit Ben Barnicoat while Daniel’s co-driver in the Mercedes is Cooper MacNeil. Mathieu shares the Porsche with Aussie Matt Campbell.

The # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan - TOPS in P-1

Jack Hawksworth

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GTD class - Robby Foley stole the show in class with the # 96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport with a time of 1:24.235s for a speed of 95.646mph. Robby bested IndyCar driver Jan Heylen in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports by a teensy 0.066 seconds. Third quickest was IndyCar driver Aaron Telitz in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan.

Robby’s co-driver is the great Bill Auberlen while Jan’s co-driver is Ryan Hardwick. Aaron shares the Lexus with Frankie Montecalvo.

The # 96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport - TOPS in P-1

Robby Foley

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On Saturday the day will start with the WeatherTech P-2 practice, followed by qualifying for the Michelin Pilot Challenge race, to be run late in the day.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Laguna Seca - The WeatherTech gang hold a 2nd practice and qualify…

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The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series held their 2nd practice session for all 4 classes this morning and then qualified for Sunday’s race in the afternoon. We have the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers for each class here:
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DPi class - Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor was fastest in the P-2 practice today and that later translated into pole position in the afternoon for the # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 with a time of 1:13.924s for a speed of 108.987mph. Ricky’s time is a new track record. Ricky bested Oliver Jarvis in the 3 60 Acura for Meyer Shank Racing by 0.089 seconds. Alex Lynn will start 3rd in the # 02 Cadillac DPi V.R for Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing.

Ricky’s co-driver in the # 10 is Filipe Albuquerque while Oliver’s co-driver in the # 60 is Tom Blomqvist. Alex shares the Caddy with Earl Bamber.

The # 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 for WTR - on the pole with a record run

Ricky Taylor

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LMP2 class - Jonathan Bomarito TOPPED the P-2 session in the # 11 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, but when it came to qualifying pole was taken by co-driver Steven Thomas in the car with a time of 1:17.571s for a speed of 103.863mph. Steven beat out Patrick Kelly in the # 52 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen by a scant 0.052 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Henrick Hedman in the # 81 ORECA for DragonSpeed USA.

Patrick shares the # 52 with Road to Indy driver Josh Pierson while Henrick shares the # 81 with IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

The # 11 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - on the pole

Steven Thomas

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GTD Pro class - It was Daniel Juncadella in the # 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 on top in P-3 but it was Mathieu Jaminet in the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports taking pole with a time of 1:23.142s for a speed of 96.903mph. Mathieu bested Juncadella by a TEENSY 0.022 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Alex Riberas in the # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for The Heart of Racing.

Mathieu shares the Porsche with Matt Campbell while Daniel shares the Mercedes with Cooper MacNeil. Alex’s co-driver is Ross Gunn.

The # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports - on the pole

Mathieu Jaminet

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GTD class - TOPPING the p-3 practice was IndyCar driver Jan Heylen in the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports but taking pole was Russell Ward in the # 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a time of 1:23.567s for a speed of 96.411mph, besting Jaden Conwright in the # 42 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for NTE/SSR by 0.210 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Robby Foley in the # 96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport.

Jan’s co-driver in the Porsche is Ryan Hardwick while Russell’s co-driver in the Mercedes is Philip Ellis and Jaden’s co-driver in the Lambo is Marco Holzer. Robby shares the Bimmer with Bill Auberlen.

The # 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 - On the pole

Russell Ward

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC from 3:00pm to 6:00pm EASTERN time on Sunday. It is also available on Peacock premium.

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[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Laguna Seca - The Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifies for today’s race…

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Both classes of the MPC qualified and we have the TOP THREE for each class, here:

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GS class - On pole for the race will be Kenton Koch in the # 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 a time of 1:29.928s for a speed of 89.591mph. Kenton bested Stevan McAleer in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 by 0.412 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Hugh Plumb in the # 48 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for Team TGM.

Kenton shares the Mercedes with Eric Foss while Stevan shares his Porsche with Alexandre Premat. Hugh’s co-driver is brother Matt Plumb in the TGM Porsche.

The # 56 Murillo RacingMercedes-AMG GT GT4 - on the pole

Kenton Koch

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TCR class - Touring Car class pole was taken by Harry Gottsacker in the # 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with a time of 1:32.754s for a speed of 86.861mph. Harry beat out the time of Chris Miller in the # 17 Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS SEQ by 0.426 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Roy Block in the # 5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR for KMW Motorsports w/ TMR Engineering.

Harry’s co-driver in the Hyundai is Parker Chase while Chris shares the Audi with Mikey Taylor and Roy shares the Alfa with Tim Lewis.

The # 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport - on the pole

Harry Gottsacker

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The race is scheduled for later today…

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