Willow Springs Results Round 3
For Immediate Release
De Silva Claims Record Setting Victory at Willow Springs in Round 3
Rosamond, Calif. (February 20, 2016) – Round three of the Pacific Formula F2000/F1600 Championship presented by Primus Racing Parts, held at Willow Springs International Raceway with Cal Club as part of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour was won by Timothy De Silva in a Dave Freitas Racing Van Diemen in a drive that was so dominant that he also set a new track record.
Qualifying was held under sunny and cool conditions with temperatures in the mid forties as the series drivers were the first group to take to the track promptly at 8:00am. The twenty-five minute session gave the drivers ample time to get tires up to temperature despite the morning chill as most drivers set their best times late in the session and Timothy De Silva, #3, TLP Racing, DRF Van Diemen, served notice of his intentions by setting a time of 1m18.054s, a time below the existing track record, but as it was set in qualifying was still considered ‘unofficial’. De Silva’s time was over half a second faster than second place qualifier Tom Hope; #10, Primus Racing Parts, Dart, H+M Racing Van Diemen RF03. Heading the second row was Scott Huffaker; #09, Van Diemen RF02 who lined up along side James Hakewill; #88, Van Diemen RF03 and were followed by Connor Funk; #97, DFR Van Diemen RF03, Robert Armington, #11, Firestone 805, Audioengine, Tomasi Motorsports Van Diemen RF00, Peter West; #99, Racing Optics, Kodenko Jeans, Malibu Health, Frank Monise Motors, DFR Van Diemen RF05, Scott Vreeland; #51, Redhorse Constructors, Porter Racing, BV Training Van Diemen RF01, Harin de Silva; #96, DFR Van Diemen RF06, Nick Kodenko, who is returning to the series, #31, Kodenko Automotive, Associated Tire, Kodenko Jeans, Van Diemen RF-05, Alex Kirby; #81, LA Prep Inc., Fast Forward Components, Piper Race Cars, Piper DL7 and Ira Fierberg; #27, Sparco, Injury Law, LDF Pro Fitness, The Yard, DFR Van Diemen RF05 who never got a hot lap having suffered a broken fourth gear.
The green flag fell one lap late after an aborted start due to a car that was briefly stranded on the first pace lap and Timothy De Silva sprinted into the lead from Hope, Huffaker, Hakewill, Funk, Armington, West, Vreeland, Harin De Silva, Kodenko, Kirby and Fierberg.
Timothy De Silva began to stretch out a small lead and it was not long before the field encountered traffic, De Silva as the leader benefitted from blue flags to make his way through while Hope was slightly balked giving enough of a cushion to cruise to the checkered flag virtually unchallenged as he was able to respond each time Hope managed to close the gap. During his leading of the race De Silva managed to nearly equal his qualifying time to set a new track record and thus gained the two bonus points for the races fastest lap.
Tom Hope never gave up in his pursuit of De Silva but never quite managed to close enough to make a passing attempt and finished in second place following a solid drive.
Behind the two leaders the battle for the final podium spot raged on between Hakewill Huffaker and Funk with Huffaker initially holding the position followed by Hakewill with Funk in third. Once Hakewill was by on lap four, he drew away slightly and was able to maintain his advantage while Huffaker dropped back into the clutches of Funk who closed to the point where on the final lap he managed to get by and so it was Hakewill on the podium in third, Funk in fourth and Huffaker in fifth.
Ira Fierberg had a lonely race after starting at the back of the field and quickly moving up to claim the sixth position in the opening half of the race. After passing Kodenko and H. De Silva on the first lap he would pass Vreeland and West on the fourth lap and finally getting by Armington, who had spun to the back of the field and Kirby. Though his pace had not diminished he was unable to make up any further ground and finished in sixth place. His hard charging performance enabled him the gain the most positions and with it took the trophy for the Master Class victory.
Robert Armington made an astounding start claiming five positions on the first lap from eleventh to sixth the dropping back to twelfth after a spin on lap six and then working his way back up through the field to finally finish eighth.
Alex Kirby lost a couple of positions at the start and fought a loose handling car throughout and fighting his way back up to seventh place at the finish.
Peter West made a good start and managed to hold station for several laps before being overtaken and would up in ninth.
The battle over tenth and eleventh place between Scott Vreeland and Nick Kodenko was the closest throughout the race while lap after lap this pair circulated nose to tail with Vreeland holding the advantage until the final lap when Kodenko managed to nip by to claim tenth with Vreeland eleventh.
Harin De Silva started eighth and held that until a fuel pressure issue forced him to retire the car at the midway point of the race and claimed twelfth place points.
The field returns Sunday morning with a brief final qualifying session and 10:30 am race.
This season the Pacific Formula F2000 Championship Series is included in the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200k Scholarship Shootout in 2016. The shootout will be expanded to include the champions of junior open-wheel and karting series both nationally and internationally. The winner of the knockout style shootout will be provided with a $200k Scholarship to enter the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017 – the first rung in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder sanctioned by INDYCAR.
The Mazda Road to Indy is the only driver development program of its type in the world offering a clear, scholarship-funded path to the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500.
The Pacific F2000/F1600 series has a rich history and includes among its alumni drivers J.R. Hildebrand, 2011 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year and Dane Cameron, Tudor Series Prototype and GTD winning driver along with Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires driver Patricio O’Ward and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda drivers Nikita Lastochkin and Yufeng Luo.
Sunday begins with a brief morning qualifying followed by racing at 2:35 p.m.
F2000 Qualifying
: 1. Timothy de Silva (Van Diemen RF01), 1m18.054s; 2. Tom Hope, (Van Diemen RF03), 1m18.679s; 3. Scott Huffaker, (Van Diemen RF02), 1m18.931s; 4. James Hakewill, (Van Diemen RF03), 1m19.301s; 5. Connor Funk, (Van Diemen RF03), 1m19.348s; 6. Robert Armington, (Van Diemen RF00), 1m19.831s; 7. Peter West, (Van Diemen RF05), 1m20.326s; 8. Scott Vreeland, (Van Diemen RF01), 1m20.457s; 9. Harin de Silva (Van Diemen RF06), 1m20.517s; 10. Nick Kodenko, (Van Diemen RF-05), 1m20.631s; 11. Alex Kirby, (Piper DL7), 1m21.856s; 12. Ira Fierberg, (Van Diemen RF05), 1m24.791s. All cars run on Ford Zetec engines and Pirelli Tires.
F2000 Round 1 (18 laps)
: 1. T. De Silva, 2. Hope, +4.993s; 3. Hakewill, +10.452s; 4. Funk, +1 lap; 5. Huffaker, +1 lap; 6. Fierberg, +1 lap; 7. Kirby, +1 lap; 8. Armington, +1 lap; 9. West, +1 lap; 10. Kodenko, +1 lap; 11. Vreeland, +1 lap; 12. H. De Silva, +9 laps.
Fastest race lap:
T. De Silva, 1m18.186s.
Master class winner (over 50)
: Fierberg.
Points:
1. Hope, 72; 2. Hakewill, 71; 3. T. De Silva, 70; 4. Huffaker, 57; 5. Funk, 52; 6. Armington, 49; 7. Kirby, 48; 8. Fierberg, 39; 9. West, 38; 10. H. De Silva, 35; 11. Vreeland, 22; 12. Kodenko, 11.
The series can be followed at https://www.facebook.com/pacificf2000racing and https://www.twitter.com/PacificF2000.
For more details go to http://www.pacificf2000.com or contact Peter West at 310-363-9444, or by email, pacificf2000@hotmail.com.
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