Auto Club Speedway Results Round 12
Hope is Faultless in Changeable Conditions to Claim Victory in Season Finale </SPAN>
Fontana, Calif. (October 30, 2016) – The final race of the Pacific Formula F2000/F1600 Championship presented by Primus Racing Parts at Auto Club Speedway on the 2.88 mile infield road course was won by Tom Hope in a race that saw four lead changes. The race held during the California Sports Car Club hosted Pacific Coast Road Racing Championship weekend.
Timothy De Silva; #1, TLP Racing, DRF Van Diemen again dominated qualifying held in cool and cloudy conditions being the only driver below the 1 minute 40 second barrier. His lap of 1minute 39.646 seconds was nearly a second ahead of fellow Dave Freitas Racing driver Ira Fierberg; #27, LDF Pro Fitness, Injury Law, Sparco USA, DFR Van Diemen RF05. Occupying the second row was Tom Hope; #18, Primus Racing Parts, Dart, H+M Racing Van Diemen RF03 much improved from Saturday and was followed by Bob Negron; #8, Terri Negron Web Design, Rosy’s at the Beach, Negron Racing Van Diemen RF99. Saturday’s qualifying surprise Mitch Egner; #4, Van Diemen RF02, suffering from overnight changes that were more a hindrance than a help was fifth fastest just ahead of Scott Vreeland; #51, Redhorse Constructors, Porter Racing, BV Training Van Diemen RF01, having repaired his clutch. Next up were another pair of DFR teammates, Harin De Silva; #96, DFR, Van Diemen RF 06 and Peter West; #99, Racing Optics, Kodenko Jeans, Malibu Health, Frank Monise Motors, DFR Van Diemen RF05. Karting standout Justice Lepe; #6 Dave Freitas Racing Van Diemen led the remainder of the field ahead of Sterling Ellsworth; #22, That’s My Juice Racing, LLC, Van Diemen RF01, Jim Bryant; #4, Van Diemen RF02, John Fabijanic; #46, Piper DF5 and Paul MacFarlane, #37, Magtax, Horse Track Software, Van Diemen RF94/Pinto. Alex Kirby; #81, Fast Forward Components, Piper Race Cars, Piper DL7 did not participate in the session and started from the back of the field while Les Phillips; #09, Swiss Implants, Porterfield Racing Brakes, Van Diemen RF05 had chosen to not participate not wanting to further damage the engine after Saturday’s loss of oil pressure.
Rain showered down on the track 45 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and stopped twenty minutes later and with the track beginning to dry teams and drivers were challenged to decide on settings and tires to be used.
When the field took off on their pace lap Harin De Silva turned out to be the only driver on wet weather tires and settings.
The start was clean as the field set off on the first of nineteen laps with Tim De Silva leading and by the end of the first lap with the field settled down it was T. De Silva leading from Egner, Hope, Fierberg, Negron, West, H. De Silva, Kirby, already up to eighth from the back of the grid, Lepe, Vreeland, Ellsworth, Bryant, Fabijanic and MacFarlane with Ellsworth having dropped by the wayside.
Lap two saw Hope seize second place from Egner to more closely pursue T. De Silva, Kirby climbed two more places having demoted H. De Silva while at the same time Fierberg dropped back to eighth and Lepe dropped all the way to the tail end of the field.
T. De Silva continued to lead until the damp conditions caused a spin on lap 4, perhaps his first mistake of the season, dropped him out of the lead and into fourth place giving Hope a lead that he was to hold for only three laps before he was overcome by Egner, whose experiences in these conditions racing in the northwest paid dividends, taking the lead on lap 7. Also on lap 7, teammates Fierberg and West collided damaging both cars too badly to continue and both were out on the spot.
For the next several laps Egner led from Hope, holding the 2015 series champion at bay, T. De Silva, having recovered from his spin, Negron, Kirby, H. De Silva, Vreeland, Bryant, Lepe, Fabijanic and MacFarlane.
Egner began to separate himself from the field until on lap 16 his throttle cable snapped leaving him to coast to a halt just beyond turn 12 parking safely out of the way at drivers left. For Egner it was a fine performance for the series rookie in his first exposure to the southern California track.
Tom Hope was now back in the lead with Tim De Silva closing in as the race neared its conclusion and by the time the checkered flag fell Hope had led T. De Silva by a mere 0.522 seconds. For Hope the season ended as it began as this was his first victory since round 2 in January and secured his second place in the final standings.
Tim De Silva having finished second on the road, finished his championship season in fine style and is now looking forward to the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 Scholarship Shootout to be held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in December. T. De Silva was later demoted 3 positions due to a stewards action leaving him in fifth.
Second place went to Bob Negron who after missing the first half of the season, finished strong to move up to tenth in the final standings. Negron is a former Series and Master Class champion claimed the Master Class victory.
Alex Kirby finished third with another consistent drive having started at the back of the grid.
Harin De Silva used his wet weather tires to geed effect and came home in fourth place, earning enough points to become the 2016 Masters Champion.
Scott Vreeland was sixth and led home Justice Lepe, Jim Bryant, and John Fabijanic with Paul MacFarlane having retired on lap 16.
This season the Pacific Formula F2000 Championship Series was included in the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200k Scholarship Shootout. 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, Weathertech Series Prototype and GTD winning driver along with Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires 2016 runner-up Patricio O’Ward and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda drivers Nikita Lastochkin and Yufeng Luo the 2015 SCCA FC champion.
F2000 Qualifying: 1. Timothy de Silva (Van Diemen RF01), 1m39.646s; 2. Ira Fierberg (Van Diemen), 1m40.579s; 3. Tom Hope (Van Diemen RF03), 1m40.712s; 4. Bob Negron (Van Diemen RF99), 1m40.956s; 5. Mitch Egner (Van Diemen RF02), 1m41.363s; 6. Scott Vreeland (Van Diemen RF01), 1m42.459; 7. Harin De Silva (Van Diemen RF06), 1m42.487s; 8. Peter West (Van Diemen RF05), 1m42.514s; 9. Justice Lepe, (Van Diemen RF01), 1m42.985s; 10. Sterling Ellsworth, (Van Diemen RF01), 1m46.890s; 11. Jim Bryant (Van Diemen RF00), 1m48.275; 12. John Fabijanic (Piper DF5), 1m49.602s; 13. Paul MacFarlane (Van Diemen RF94/Pinto), 1m59.718s; 14. Alex Kirby (Piper DL7), No Time. All cars run on Ford Zetec engines, unless noted and Pirelli Tires.
F2000 Round 12 (19 laps): 1. Hope, 2. Negron, +20.472s; 3. Kirby, +22.817s; 4. H. De Silva, +1m7.695s; 5. T. De Silva*, +0.522s; 6. Vreeland, +1 lap; 7. Lepe, +1 lap; 8. Bryant, +1 lap; 9. Fabijanic, +1 lap; 10. Egner, +4 laps; 11. MacFarlane, +4 laps; 12. West, +13 laps; 13. Fierberg, +13 laps; 14. Ellsworth, +19 laps. *Demoted 3 positions due to stewards action.
Fastest race lap[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]: [/SIZE][/FONT]Egner, 1m40.026s.
Master class winner (over 50): Negron.
Points: 1. T. De Silva, 310; 2. Hope, 248; 3. Huffaker, 228; 4. Hakewill, 142; 5. H. De Silva, 139; 6. West, 134; 7. Kirby, 126; 8. Funk, 119; 9. Vreeland, 115; 10. Negron, 106; 11. Armington, 97; 12. Fierberg, 72; 13. Kodenko, 54; 14. Ellsworth, 53; 15. Fabijanic, 50; 16. Egner, 38; 17. Lepe, 26; 18. MacFarlane, 19; 19. Phillips, 1.
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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