F1000 Pro Series - Buttonwillow

[F1000proseries.com]

[FONT=Verdana]The F1000 Pro Series visits Buttonwillow Raceway this weekend for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2011 F1000 Pro Series sponsored by Goodyear Racing Tires, Williams Racing Developments, and George Dean Racing Engines, with partner sponsors Hyperco, Jongbloed Racing Wheels, Ballistic Performance Components, Elizabeth Jackson Artwork and Geartronics North America. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Amongst the drivers participating this weekend include Thunderhill winners JR Osbourne and Dave Palmer in their Stohr F1000 race cars. Alongside them is John LaBrie in the lone Phoenix being supported this weekend by Phoenix designer Dustin Wright, with the Firman West team of Nicholas and Mark Belling along with Terry Biner and Rod Morley making up the Firman contingent However late Friday Rod Morley was forced to withdraw from the weekend due to illness. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Saturday morning practice saw the cars take to the track under blue skies and cold windy conditions. The cold track conditions caught out Terry Biner who found the wall at pit entry early in session, badly injuring his thumb when the steering wheel whipped around in his hand on impact. The Stohr of JR Osbourne suffering from brake issues went out for a quick exploratory lap before immediately returning to the pits. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]The Firman of Nicholas Belling set the early pace setting a new overall track record for the 3.10 mile Buttonwillow #25ACCW track at 1:42.965. The previous fastest ever track record for the track configuration had been 1:48.505 set by Rod Morley in a DSR. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Saturday Morning Practice Times: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]1:42.965 Nicholas Belling [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:51.345 Mark Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:51.582 John LaBrie[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]No time Terry Biner [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]No Time JR Osbourne [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]No Time Dave Palmer [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]No Time Rod Morley[/FONT]

[F1000proseries.com]

[FONT=Verdana]Qualifying[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Saturday qualifying began under clear skies and calmer winds than the earlier practice session with the cold breeze from the morning giving way to warmer temperatures. JR Osbourne in the Stohr got his brake issues resolved only to find his car bottoming in several places along the bumpy three mile course. John LaBrie had difficulty finding a clean lap as the session was marred by several yellow flags and incidents amongst competitors from other classes. Dave Palmer was another that found getting a clean lap difficult. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]One of those that did manage to find clear road was the Firman of Nicholas Belling. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Continuing his form from the morning practice he took pole position with a time of 1:43.918. JR Osbourne despite his difficulties manages second quickest time of 1:45.918. Round one winner Dave Palmer took third with a 1:50.954 followed by the improving Mark Belling clocking a best time 1:51.182. John LaBrie in lone [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Phoenix[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] rounded out the field with a time f 1:59.395. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Round Three Qualifying Results[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:43.918 Nicholas Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:45.918 JR Osbourne[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:50.954 Dave Palmer[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:51.182 Mark Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:59.395 John LaBrie[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]No Time Terry Biner [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]

[F1000proseries.com]

[FONT=Verdana]RACE [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Under clear skies and warm temperatures the field of Formula 1000 cars took the split start approximately 30 seconds behind the main field of national race competitors. Pole sitter Nicholas Belling in his Firman jumped out to an early lead closely followed by the Stohr of JR Osbourne. Following behind this duo were the cars of Dave Palmer and Mark Belling with John LaBrie following closely behind. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]The duel between the two protagonists at the front looked to be shaping up to be a mighty one with Osbourne closely shadowing Nicholas Belling’s every move on the track. By the end of the first lap Belling and Osbourne had already caught the field of national competitors in front and began mixing it up amidst them. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Halfway around the second lap as the two came up to a Formula Atlantic while entering into the ultra quick sweeper Riverside Belling managed to squeeze by leaving Osbourne to desperately shoot for the gap in an attempt to stay in contact with the fast moving Belling. The two cars touched and spun off into the deep soil just off to the inside of the corner. Just like that, Osbourne’s day was over. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]There was still plenty of action back in the field as Dave Palmer and Mark Belling were running separated by less than a second. Over course of the next several laps the two stayed glued together as one with Mark Belling attempting several optimistic moves in different corners. John LaBrie remained nearby but never threaten and eventually fell back before retiring later with a broken chain drive. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Back up front Nicholas Belling continued his assault on the track has he pulled out his lead ever further with each lap that passed. Twenty-five seconds on lap seven, thirty-six seconds on lap ten, forty-seven seconds on lap twelve. He was completely hooked up. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]As the race continued on Mark Belling began to lose track of Palmer as the two wound their way through traffic. They were to finish in that position with Palmer taking the checker for a sound second place several seconds in front of Mark Belling. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Round 3 Race Results[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]1. Nicholas Belling [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]2. Dave Palmer[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]3. Mark Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNF John LaBrie[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNF JR Osbourne[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Terry Biner (broken hand)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Rod Morley (illness) [/FONT]

[F1000proseries.com]

[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Verdana]JR Osborne Secures Pole Position for Race 4 of the 2011 F1000 Pro Series [/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Verdana]JR Osborne ovecame adversity to put his Stohr F1000 race car on pole postion for Race 4 of the 2011 F1000 Pro Series sponsored by Goodyear Racing Tires, Williams Racing Developments, and George Dean Racing Engines, with partner sponsors Hyperco, Jongbloed Racing Wheels, Ballistic Performance Components, Elizabeth Jackson Artwork and Geartronics North America.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Osborne who looked for a time to be done for the weekend after crashing out in yesterday’s race after getting tagged by a competitor in another car class spent several hours putting his car back into race condition before going out on a mission to take pole position from his main rival Nicholas Belling by just over a second. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]John LaBrie vastly improved his times over yesterday to finish third fastest with a time of 1:49.591, followed closely by Dave Palmer clocking a best time of 1:49.649. Mark Belling followed with a 1:51.045[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Race 4 Qualifying Times: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]1:43.536 JR Osborne[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:43.663 Nicholas Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:49.591 John LaBrie[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:49.649 Dave Palmer[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1:51.045 Mark Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Terry Biner (broken hand)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Rod Morley (illness)[/FONT]


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[F1000proseries.com]

[FONT=Verdana]JR Osborne Takes Victory in Race 4 at Buttonwillow[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]JR Osborne takes victory in Race 4 in the 2011 F1000 Pro Series sponsored by Goodyear Racing Tires, Williams Racing Developments, and George Dean Racing Engines, with partner sponsors Hyperco, Jongbloed Racing Wheels, Ballistic Performance Components, Elizabeth Jackson Artwork and Geartronics North America.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Osborne who saw his race challenge shorten by a collision on lap two of yesterday’s race made a determined comeback to win convincingly. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Nicholas Belling, race three winner from Saturday challenged Osborne from the flag eventually finding his way through on lap two down the back straight leading up to the Lost Hills corner. His race lead was short-lived as he came up to competitor running in another class at the hairpin he slide wide and Osborne following closely behind made contact. The nose of Belling’s Firman was knocked off in the collision. A trip down pit lane and a conference with the crew confirmed that the day was over Nicholas Belling. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Osborne continued on and despite a bent push rod he managed to take the checkered flag.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]The incident elevated Dave Palmer into second with Mark Belling and John LaBrie left to duke it out for the final podium position. Belling managed to scrabble past LaBrie at the start but after a short full course caution the roles were reversed with LaBrie getting the better of Belling. Belling dropped back before making a late race challenge. Several times Belling attempted to get by. As the two came up on some backmarkers Belling made a lunge for the position making contact with one of the backmarkers, which ended his challenge. LaBrie continued on to take his first ever podium position. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Race 4 Results: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]1. JR Osborne[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]2. Dave Palmer[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]3. John LaBrie[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]4. Mark Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNF Nicholas Belling[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Terry Biner[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]DNS Rod Morley[/FONT]

[ASRF1000]

Congratulations Nicholas and JR on your victories!

[ghickman]

My congrats to Belling and Osborne.

Great reporting I might add from Thomas Copeland....the color commentary was top notch.

Wish I could have been there. Car is still a bit torn up from the Phoenix Fly Over at T-Hill but will return end of the month in Portland.

[Wright D]

Congratulations John!

It was an awesome race to watch! Mark and John had a fun battle going! Hard fought and deserved podium for John!

[Northwind]

After reading the race reports from rounds 1-4 (thanks Thomas for posting this year) I now refer to this series as the "MMA Series" = Mixed Martial Arts Series. Plenty of full contact and it even refers to the races as rounds.

Good job guys in also keeping the car count up boosting national numbers.

[Rick Ross]

I was thinking the same thing.....sounds like a lot of car-to-car contact.

[drdestructo]

Regarding the Phoenix Fly Over at T-Hill Gary referred to, that would have been me. I usually do lots of low flying in various machines, however they normally have unassisted takeoff, enough height to clear low obstacles, and a landing which results in the machine being immediately usable following. In this case I managed none of the 3.

Sorry Gary to have messed up your car, and importantly, messed it up enough to miss the following round (race?). You had no fault in this one and it was just my bad that it happened. Hopefully I will see you at Portland where I can buy you a beer and mostly stay away from your car! The race at T'Hill was fun up to that point and I really enjoy racing you. My car was also not able to make the Buttonwilow round. Neither was my body, but that is another story!

Back to the Buttonwillow weekend, congrats to all the FB guys. Sounds like lots of fun for everyone but Biner. That was a fluky deal. Special congrats to John LeBrea for stepping up his driving and getting on that podium!

Now, who we gonna see at the June Sprints. Hopefully not just the 6 that are registered!

Russ

[Thomas Copeland]

It's only normal that you should have some tire rubbing and occasional contact when you have drivers that want to win as much as these guys do. This is shaping up as being a very competitive series. I think the guys have done remarkable well not to have had more contact. There has been a lot of very close wheel-to-wheel racing this year.

Biggest problem that seems to be becoming a recurring issue is getting involved with drivers from other classes. I think the speed differential between the F1000's and the rest of the field is catching some of the drivers from the other classes perhaps a little off guard. Imagine a Formula Ford race with a half dozen to a dozen Formula Atlantic's mixed in and you get something of an idea although that might not be a perfect analogy. As my memory serves me all three incidents in last weekend's races involved cars in other classes as well as one of the two at Thunderhill. Not exactly sure what we can do to minimize that while running in these mixed group national events. We are already getting 30 second gap split starts

[glenn cooper]

Oops, wrong thread.

[Mike B]

Imagine a Formula Ford race with a half dozen to a dozen Formula Atlantic's mixed in

We'll get to experience it firsthand next month.

[ghickman]

Hey Russ....I just had to put that dig in. Dustin was here at the shop last week building parts for your rig. My work load here has been crazy so little work done on the Edge machine.

I think this is probably a start of a competitive rivalry that we likely will see at all the races....its all good.

I think John Labrie may likely be the guy we will all soon be chasing. Got the right car and he is motivated to going faster. Congrats John on the solid finish.

[jaltaman]

We got back from the tow home yesterday afternoon, and I felt fortunate to be loading my car into the garage without needing any bodywork whatsoever. The racing was - for me, at least - incredibly intense, but more on that in a moment.

Gary, you are too kind, my friend. Russ, thanks to you as well and hurry up and get well soon - you both were missed this weekend. Dustin Wright, many thanks to you for not only building a phenomenal car but also for supporting me out at Buttonwillow.

Speaking of which, had Terry and Rod been able to make the grid the outcome would likely have been different and I hope they both recover quickly. While it's true my driving took a big step forward it's because I had so much room for improvement to begin with! It was by far my best race ever, and to stand on the podium with JR and Dave Palmer was a surreal experience, to say the least (hey, where am I supposed to stand, anyway?).

One of the great things about this class is just that - the class of the drivers in the group. To a man, everyone has been extremely supportive in trying to get me up to speed, despite the fact that these are the very people whom I compete against. Dave Palmer, Terry Biner, Rod Morley, Nicholas and Mark Belling and the entire Belling crew (plus Dustin and Stefan Dwornik, of course) - thanks to all of you for your support. Racing with this caliber of people is nothing short of an honor.

By the way, Mark Belling also stepped up his game in a big way this weekend as he was on the podium Saturday and nearly repeated it on Sunday. Mark, consider this an official 'attaboy' from me to you.

The Sunday race was a hoot. Dave and Mark both got by me at the start (how did they do that?) and then I was on Mark's tailpipe for the first half of the race, never finding a way around until the mid-race caution cleared. Then Mark and I were wheel-to-wheel at Off Ramp when he spun and gave me some breathing room, but that was only to last for a few laps as I had taken a rock through the radiator. Over the next few laps as I tried to keep it from boiling over Mark was able to reel me in and before I knew it he was in my mirror at Dog Leg and by Grapevine we were again wheel-to-wheel. Mark smelled blood in the water and we remained two wide through Cotton Corners and as we entered Off Ramp I made a lucky move (nearly spun it, to be honest) to get around a Radical while Mark wasn't as fortunate and made contact, allowing me to pull away and take my first podium in a National event. I don't have any in-car video, but Mark and I were as close as two cars could be without touching and my hat's off to him for the clean battle we had. It was simply awesome.

I hope to see you all again in Seattle!

John