Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Formula 100 Karting Series Round 5; Willow Springs


Round 5 of the Formula 100 Karting Series 2012 season proved to be every bit as exciting as the prior 4 rounds. The racing in all classes was hotly contested, and the surprisingly mild desert weather made the experience at the beautiful Willow Springs Kart Track all the more pleasant for the contingent of F100 racers who made the trek to the site of the 2013 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals. After a several month hiatus from action, the Willow Springs Kart Club and Mike Manning sprung back into action for the late October gathering, and graciously hosted the 100cc specific Formula 100 Karting Series.

After 2 early morning practice sessions, the Novice and Intermediate classes would take the track first for their qualifying session. Ivan Urueta paced the field, as he has done many times throughout the year, earning 3 points for pole position. Ivan drove the red number 33 Birel fast and smooth, and even though he had very few laps under his belt at Willow, his inexperience did not show as his times were blisteringly fast, besting the field by almost an entire second with a 47.809; truly a remarkable feat for the young KPV pilot. James Hayner qualified second in his black Birel, posting a fast time of 48.437. Hayner has put in solid performances throughout his time in the drivers seat, and Willow would prove no different. Behind Hayner, Adrian Yong put down a solid time of his own at 48.730. Yong has become a fast and consistent driver behind the wheel and each time he hits the track he seems to improve. His development over the course of the year has been remarkable and he is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Series newcomer Tyler Coffman, who made the journey to Willow Springs from Bakersfield, after spending the previous day in Fresno for the IKF Region 11 race, qualified in 4th position with a solid lap time of 48.860. Coffman also had few laps at Willow, and his ability to quickly learn and attack the track was impressive. Qualifying 5th was Alex Bacon. When Bacon’s OTK kart is on track it is fast, as evidenced by his solid lap time of 49.280. Behind Bacon, Dave Harrison maneuvered the 67 kart to a 6th place qualifying spot with a time of 49.356, followed closely by series stalwart Steve Muehler, who was looking for another solid performance. John Shepherd rounded out the intermediate class in the 7th position. Shepherd, who had been driving a very nice Tony Kart for most of the season, had switched Italian chassis manufacturers for the Willow Springs race and was now on a nice looking CRG. Unfortunately for Shepherd the new chassis did not provide much luck as he would struggle during qualifying and through much of the day while trying to get the kart dialed in. If Shepherd can get the CRG anywhere near the level of where he had his Tony Kart then there is no doubt that he will return to his podium finishing ways of earlier rounds.

Behind the Intermediate group, the Novice group completed their qualifying with Gregorio Urueta taking the top spot. Gregorio, much like his son Ivan, has proved himself to be a fast, consistent and solid racer, and his skills were on display yet again at Willow Springs. Close behind Urueta was Jeremy Specht. Specht has continued to develop as a driver and his rate of progression has been quite impressive. At Willow Specht threw down a qualifying time .01 off the top Novice qualifier Urueta. The 3rd fastest time of the day in the Novice group belonged to Rich Johnson. Johnson drove fast and smooth and looked the most comfortable behind the wheel that he has looked all season, and his lap times showed it. Newcomer Vincent Lefevre rounded out the field. Lefevre, who had only recently purchased his KT100 powered kart, did an excellent job on track, and with each lap he looked faster and more comfortable in his kart after years away from the sport.

Following the Novice and Intermediate group, the Advanced group took to the track for their qualifying session. As always the field was very close, with about a half second separating top qualifier and the final position. Stu Hayner would have trouble with a flat tire and would have to pull in. Kalvin Chen in his beautiful white Birel would put down the fast time of the session with a 47.832. Chen’s time would gap the field by almost .2, a very solid performance. Behind Chen was another Birel driver, and winner of the Orange County Grand Prix, Jean Michel Crettaz, who clocked a time of 48.090. Kyle Hayner and Sebastian Bacon qualified 3rd and 4th, with times of 48.216 and 48.261 respectively. Tom Ricketts qualified just behind Bacon with a time of 48.422.

As the heat races commenced the stage was set for another exciting day of Formula 100 action. Leading off the days heats were the Novice and Intermediate groups, who took one green flag in a combined race. Once again, Ivan Urueta took off from the group, eventually besting the field by 3 seconds at the checkered flag. Adrian Yong put in an excellent effort coming home in 2nd place, as he continued his strong performances on the day. Newcomer Tyler Coffman rounded out the podium with a solid 3rd place performance. Dave Harrison followed closely behind the KT100 pilot Coffman, with Steve Muehler following Harrison, some 10 seconds back. Behind Muehler was Novice class heat race winner Jeremy Specht, who continued his excellent driving on the day. Gregorio Urueta would finish just behind Specht, as Specht was able to get around the Novice class pole sitter en route to the heat race win. John Shepherd would cross the line behind Urueta. Shepherd, who has put in many strong performances on his Tony Kart, was not quite able to get his new CRG dialed in on the day and his results reflected this struggle. The speed is in the CRG though, and with more work Shepherd will be able to navigate back to the top of the field. Rich Johnson finished just behind Shepherd, as he continued to put forth his best day of work so far this season. Johnson cut another second off his time from qualifying. Newcomer Vincent Lefevre would round out the field. Lefevre, who was just getting back into karting after a long hiatus, looked more and more comfortable as the race went on, cutting a further 5 seconds off his lap time from qualifying. The heat, however, would end Lefevre’s day, but F100 looks forward to having Vincent compete in future events. Alex Bacon finished in the back of the pack as he was not able to finish the race. This has been a problem for Bacon this season. Even though he puts down fast laps, racing incidences and kart issues have thwarted his efforts.

The Advanced class heat was every bit as exciting as the Novice/Intermediate heat. Taking the track a short time after the F100 Novice and Intermediate race had concluded, the Advanced had picked up an extra driver, with James Hayner deciding to make the move up to the top level of the Formula 100 Karting Series ladder. This proved to be a wise move by the youngest Hayner, as he would register the fastest lap time of the heat race, laying down a 47.790. Kalvin Chen would continue his strong performance on the day taking home the heat race victory by a healthy 1-second margin. Behind him, 5 drivers would cross the finish line all within a second of each other. Tom Ricketts would be the first of these drivers, continuing his string of solid heat race performances. Ricketts has performed very well early in the day at each of the Formula 100 Karting Series events, but his results in main events have been mixed. If Ricketts can carry over his solid heat race performances into the main events he will enjoy a great deal of success moving forward. Right behind Ricketts was James Hayner who, as already mentioned, clocked the fastest time of the heat. His brother, Kyle Hayner, would finish right behind, less than a tenth back, putting in another solid drive in the number 55 Birel. Sebastian Bacon finished behind Hayner, with Jean Michel Crettaz slotting in behind Bacon and finishing in 6th. Stu Hayner, who appeared to have some good speed early in the race, would finish almost a second back of Crettaz. After behind bumped off line midway through the race, Hayner was not able to regain the form he showed early, but he would be back with a strong showing in the main.

The first main of the day was the Novice and Intermediate combined main. With points leader and heat race winner Ivan Urueta deciding to take advantage of his attained A license grade by moving up to the Advanced class, the Novice and Intermediate main appeared to be anybody’s race. Adrian Yong jumped at the opportunity and blasted away from the field, impressing everyone by putting in another excellent drive. Yong would best the field by 10 seconds en route to his first career victory. F100 congratulates Adrian Yong for his accomplishment! If he continues to drive the way that he did at F100 round 5, there will be many more victories to come for Yong. In second place, and also putting in a strong effort, was the KT100 pilot and series newcomer Tyler Coffman. Coffman drove well, and even though his kart was not perfectly dialed in, he was able to put down fast lap after fast lap and he would take home the 2nd spot. Dave Harrison would finish 3rd. Harrison picked up speed as the day went on, further dialing in his number 67 Birel. Not far behind Harrison was Novice race winner Gregorio Urueta, who continues to impress everybody with his results on the track. Jeremy Specht, who gave a valiant effort in chasing Urueta and who has also impressed everyone with his on track performance, would slot in right behind Urueta to take P2 in the Novice class. John Shepherd would finish behind the 2 Novice drivers. Shepherd was awarded the hard charger award for his work in the main event. He will look to dial in his CRG for the next round of the series where hopefully he can return his podium finishing ways. Rich Johnson crossed the line behind Shepherd, cutting a further half-second off his lap time, to make his total improvement a hefty 1.5 seconds for the day. Johnson kept the nose on his Birel clean and put in an impressive performance. With continued improvement Johnson will be poised to battle Specht and Urueta for future Novice class victories. Alex Bacon would finish behind Johnson. Bacon continued his string of bad luck. When on the track, Bacon is fast, but things have not gone his way so far this year. With continued effort Bacon will attain the results he is looking for. Steve Muehler had a strong day, but early race contact caused him to retire only a few laps in. Muehler has raced very well all year and he will look to continue his excellent 2012 season at F100 round 6. Vincent Lefevre was not able to participate in the main event, but F100 looks forward to Vincent’s continued participation in the series.

The last race of the day was the Advanced class main event. As with all the Advanced class main events this season, the racing was incredibly close. Stu Hayner, starting from the back, would take home the checkered flag. Hayner blasted his way through the field and withstood an early challenge from Bacon, and a continued challenge from his son Kyle, en route to the feature win. In second was Kyle Hayner, who put in a solid drive. Hayner would comment that he was very happy with how the number 55 Birel felt, and his comfort with his machine showed as he hounded his father for the lead for much of the race. The battle for 3rd and 4th was hotly contested between Sebastian Bacon and Kalvin Chen, both of whom had led the race for brief periods of time, but had fallen off the pace of the Hayner’s. Bacon would lead Chen and hold onto 3rd for most of the event. The two would go side-by-side several times with Chen not able to nose past Bacon. On the first white flag lap Bacon and Chen would go into the final corner with Chen sticking his nose under Bacon to attempt the pass. Bacon would give way and over-under Chen heading towards the line. Thinking he had the position won Bacon was very surprised when he crossed the line to see another white flag. The extra lap proved to be all that Chen needed. Bacon held Chen off for much of the lap. At the final turn Bacon drove a defensive line while Chen swung wide. Bacon slid one wheel off the track and rode the exit burm and this mistake proved enough for Chen to slide underneath Bacon to take the 3rd position away. It was an excellent, exciting and clean race between the two, and a testament to the competitiveness of the F100 Advanced class. Bacon would eventually be disqualified from the race at the scales, as it was found that he was 2 lbs under the minimum weight. A tough result on track and a loss of points made the day especially difficult for Bacon, the pilot of the number 80 Kosmic machine. Behind Bacon was Jean Michel Crettaz who was not able to translate his speed early in the day or his fast lap times in the main into a better result. After winning round 4, Crettaz will look to yet again stand atop the podium at F100 round 6. Ivan Urueta, moving up from the Intermediate class, put in a solid performance and will be a force to be reckoned with as he continues to transition to the highest level F100 class. Urueta was unable to finish the race but in his time on the track he was able to put down the fastest lap of the race. Tom Ricketts had mechanical trouble and was unable to complete the race. After showing well early in the day, Ricketts was unable to translate his speed into a podium result. He will look for a better result at round 6. James Hayner would round out the field. After gridding in 3rd Hayner experienced some trouble on an aborted green flag start. He would end up in the marbles and would be unable to keep his kart going. Hayner was disappointed with the way his day ended but he performed well in his first race with the Advanced class and his presence is a welcome addition to the group. He will look to continue his excellent performances at F100 round 6.

As the series moves into its 6th and final round of the season, the points battles are heating up. Ivan Urueta has claimed the Intermediate class crown. Congratulations are in order for his excellent performances this season. Adrian Yong, John Shepherd and Timmy Fritch are all within a few points of each other for 2nd place points position in the Intermediate class. Steve Muehler and Kyle Gash are not too far behind them, and with solid performances at round 6 they could jump up into the top 3. The results at round 6 will have a huge impact on the season ending points standings.

As with the Intermediate class, the points battle in Advanced is tight with many positions still up for grabs. Stu Hayner currently leads the points by 6 over Sebastian Bacon, and 11 over Kalvin Chen. Jean Michel Crettaz is in 4th, followed closely by Tom Ricketts. The results for round 6 will also have a huge impact on the season end points standings in the Advanced class.

As a reminder to those of you interested in the current points battles, only F100 members are eligible for the year end points standings. If you are not a member and you finish in the top 3, your finishing position will be forfeited and your position will be given to the F100 member that finished closest behind you in the standings. If you would like to become a member of F100 so that you may be eligible for the year end points standings, please contact formula100kartingseries@gmail.com for a special offer.

Round 5 of the 2012 Formula 100 Karting Series proved to be every bit as competitive and exciting as the previous 4 rounds. Racers continue to battle for their chance to stand atop the podium. Many thanks go out to Mike Manning and everyone involved with the Willow Springs Kart Club for helping to make the Sunday afternoon contest possible. F100 looks forward to round 6, tentatively scheduled for early December, to close out the year. For more information on the Formula 100 Karting Series, visit their website, F100karters.com.