Pacific F2000 at Laguna Seca
Buttonwillow, CA. (September 9, 2009) – Rounds nine and ten of the Pacific F2000 Series presented by Terminal Velocity Processing and Sierra Tire will be held this weekend the 12th and 13th of September at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This will be the first time the series will take on the challenging 2.238 mile track with the storied past. Having hosted nearly every major racing series from the Can Am and Formula Continental in the sixties and seventies to CART, Champ Car, ALMS and Moto GP, Mazda Raceway is one of the premier racing circuits in the country if not the world. With Names like McLaren, Stewart, Gurney, Hulme, Hobbs, Posey, Rahal, Hayden and Stoner having raced here, the drivers of the Pacific F2000 series hope to make their mark with wins of their own.Pacific F2000 to Test Challenge of Laguna Seca
Coming into this weekend there are no fewer the four drivers who still have a legitimate chance to win the title. Leading the standings is Robert Podlesni in his #84 /Terminal Velocity Processing/Alpinestars/DFR Van Diemen with a slim 4 point lead with 208 points over PR1 Motorsports’ Max Hyatt in his #22/Performance Drink Van Diemen, whose wins in rounds 7 and 8 enabled him to close in to 204 points. Podlesni with only one win this season has consistently finished on the podium and along with the bonus points for poles and fastest laps has been able to maintain his lead but probably needs another win to secure his second title. In third place with consistent finishes and a win this season is Scott Rarick his #34/PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen with 194 points after having switched from the Piper to the Van Diemen this year. Rarick who has experience at Mazda Raceway when he drove a Formula Ford leading up to his National Championship, leads the third PR1 Motorsports driver Shaun Modisette in his #26/Carson Trailers Van Diemen with 178 points. Shaun is capable of stringing together wins as he did earlier this season to close up on the leaders.
In addition to the overall championship, there are Expert and Masters Class championships with Rarick leading the Expert Class and Peter Hastrup leading the Masters Class. Hastrup drives the #5/Western Building Materials/Nuttal & Coleman/Van Diemen for Dave Freitas Racing alongside Podlesni, Ira Fierberg and Peter West. Series newcomer David Cheng is expected to return after his opening weekend at Infineon Raceway in June driving for PR1 Motorsports in a fourth Van Diemen where he finished sixth on Saturday and fifth on Sunday. Cheng is also in contention for the Jim Russell Series title and is hoping to return to the Pacific F2000 Series next year to contend for the championship. Mazda Raceway is David’s home track and he is looking forward to improving on his Infineon showing. Also rumored is a possible return for the weekend of 2008 Series Champion Jeff Westphal fresh from his recent events in the Rolex GT series where he shared the PR1 Motorsports BMW at Watkins Glen with Max Hyatt.
The series will again join the Molecule Formula Mazda West Coast Challenge as they did at Infineon Raceway last June on this weekend filled with activities sponsored by Club Auto Sport that include Historic NASCAR and the “Ride of Your Life” featuring Danny Sullivan.
Formula 2000 has recently been acknowledged by the USF1 team as a significant step in the ladder series in the U.S.
For more details go to www.pacificf2000.com or www.terminalvelocityprocessing.com, or www.clubautosport.net or contact Les Phillips at 661-764-5333, or by email, lesrace@aol.com.
