Dixon dominates mosport
Dixon dominates the opening rounds of the Formula 1000 Championship Series
The opening rounds of the Formula 1000 Championship Series presented by Goodyear are now in the record books. Thirteen drivers ascended on the little town of Bowmanville, Ontario to take top honors in the inaugural event of the season. But, it was Brandon Dixon who was the class of the field capturing both Sunoco Pole Awards with a new track record of 1:17.452 on his way to winning both opening rounds of the Championship.
Glenn Cooper took the second spot on the podium for both races with JR Osborne taking the third spot in race one and Jeremy Hill claiming the third spot in race two after coming back from an on-track shunt on Friday. Brian Novak and Nicho Vardis rounded out the top five in 4th and 5th in round one respectfully, while Jason Slahor (4th) and Nicolas Ortiz (5th) filled out the top five in round two.
The weather for the weekend was no less than perfect and race one went green from start to finish without any incidents. The same couldn’t be said for round two. Canada’s Ryan Verra retired on the first lap with mechanical problems as did Brian Novak with a blown engine and resulting fire in the pits. Three laps later it was Osborne who succumbed to engine issues. On lap 10 Nicho Vardis hit the tire wall hard ending his day and one lap later 15 year old RC Enerson developed shifting difficulties.
Brian Novak and Jason Slahor took home the Rilltech/Astra Cars Hard Charger awards gaining the most positions in race one and two respectfully.
The standing starts proved to be exciting and the crowd really enjoyed it. All the drivers got away clean.
There were some great battles throughout the field with Cooper and Osborne in Round One and Dixon and Cooper in Round Two. Further back in the field Novak and Vardis put on a great show in the first race while Waterfall Security Solutions teammates Richard Franklin and Tim Pierce battled it out in Round Two finishing just 1/10th of a second apart.
The Hooters girls were on hand to present the Glenora champagne trophies and were subsequently doused in champagne by the drivers spraying their awards. Rounds 3 and 4 will take place in just a few short weeks at New Jersey Motorsports Park on June 8-10. The following are the results from the weekend:
15 lap 36.885 mile Formula 1000 Championship Series Formula 1000 Championship Series Round 1 race, part of the Hooters F1000 Grand Prix of Canada at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses,
ROUND ONE
Driver, hometown, sponsor/car, laps and reason out (if any).
1. (1), Brandon Dixon, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Citation, 15.
2. (3), Glenn Cooper, Roswell, Ga., Hell No Kitty/Firman, 15, -8.948.
3. (2), J.R. Osborne, Greenwood Village, Colo., Stohr Cars,C3 Construction/Stohr, 15, -9.496.
4. (9), Brian Novak, Dearborn, Mich., Nova Piper, 15, -48.184.
5. (5), Nicho Vardis, Sylvan Lake, Mich., Firman, 15, -51.177.
6. (6), RC Enerson, New Port Richey, Fla., Patriot Bank/Stohr, 14, -1 lap.
7. (11), Jason Slahor, Ellicott City, Md., Van Diemen, 14, -1 lap.
8. (10), Nicolas Ortiz, Miami, Fla., Firman, 14, -1 lap.
9. (7), Richard Franklin, Wilmington, N.C., Waterfall Security Solutions/Stohr, 14, -1 lap.
10. (8), Tim Pierce, Leland, N.C., Waterfall Security Solutions/Firman, 14, -1 lap.
11. (12), Ryan Verra, Calgary, Alberta, Enemy Sport/Elan DP-04, 14, -1 lap.
12. (4), Jeremy Hill, Perry Sound, Ontario, Photon, 13, -2 laps.
13. (13), Alex Mayer, Harleysville, PA, Elan, 0, DNS.
Time of race: 20 minutes, 08.930 seconds.
Average speed: 109.837 mph
Margin of victory: 8.948 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-15, #7 Brandon Dixon
Fastest race lap: #7 Brandon Dixon, 1:19.310 (111.617 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #7 Brandon Dixon, 1:17.958 (113.553 mph)
ROUND 2
Driver, hometown, sponsor/car, laps and reason out (if any).
1. (1), Brandon Dixon, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Citation, 15.
2. (2), Glenn Cooper, Roswell, Ga., Hell No Kitty/Firman, 15, -3.377.
3. (4), Jeremy Hill, Perry Sound, Ontario, Photon, 15, -23.110.
4. (11), Jason Slahor, Ellicott City, Md., Van Diemen, 15, -29.952.
5. (7), Nicolas Ortiz, Miami, Fla., Firman, 15, -36.431.
6. (10), Tim Pierce, Leland, N.C., Waterfall Security Solutions/Firman, 15, -52.257.
7. (12), Richard Franklin, Wilmington, N.C., Waterfall Security Solutions/Stohr, 15, -52.357.
8. (9), RC Enerson, New Port Richey, Fla., Patriot Bank/Stohr, 9, Mech.
9. (5), Nicho Vardis, Sylvan Lake, Mich., Firman, 4, Crash.
10. (3), J.R. Osborne, Greenwood Village, Colo., Stohr Cars,C3 Construction/Stohr, 3, Mech.
11. (6), Brian Novak, Dearborn, Mich., Nova Piper, 1, fire.
12. (13), Ryan Verra, Calgary, Alberta, Enemy Sport/Elan DP-04, 0, Mech.
13. (8), Alex Mayer, Harleysville, PA, Elan, 0, DNS.
Time of race: 24 minutes, 44.451 seconds.
Average speed: 89.451 mph
Margin of victory: 3.377 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-4, #43 Glenn Cooper; laps 5-5, #7 Brandon Dixon; laps 6-8, #43 Glenn Cooper; laps 9-15, #7 Brandon Dixon
Fastest race lap: #7 Brandon Dixon, 1:17.890 (113.652 mph)
Fastest qualifier: #7 Brandon Dixon, 1:17.452 (114.295 mph)
