The beautiful Willow Springs Kart Track hosted Round #2 of The Formula 100 Karting Series 2013 season. Another excellent group of racers showed up early Saturday morning to battle the heat of the desert and their opponents on track. The brave racers who made the trek were incredibly well prepared for the task at hand, as fast lap times were recorded in each class. Compared to the lap times in the 2012 F100 Willow Springs event, the 2013 lap times were almost a full second faster, showing the progress in both driving and tuning skill that comes with the seat time that racers get when racing with F100.
The new F100 Junior class hosted a few comptetitors, as both Nolan Ohnemus and Talia Hayden put on a great show on the track. Both Hayden and Ohnemus will be back on track for Round #3 at Grange Motor Circuit on June 8th. For the June 8th race at Grange Motor Circuit, F100 is offering a special $25 discount to all Cadet and Junior racers. This means that Cadet and Junior racers pay race entry of only $50 for the whole day!
The Senior Open class hosted one competitor, as Steve Novikoff took the track with the combined shifter and TAG karts. Novikoff raced well all day in beastly sounding 100cc Parilla Reedjet powered Birel. However, a broken reed would seriously hinder Novikoff's speed. Novikoff is a welcome addition to the F100 group and he and his 100cc ICA powered kart were exciting to watch on track! In order to help increase participation in the Senior Open class, F100 is also extending the $25 entry discount to all racers registering for the Open class at the June 8th F100 race at Grange. Several racers have expressed interest in the class, and several racers have built karts for the class. Unfortunately, thus far in 2013 conflicting schedules have prevented racers from showing up on the same day. F100 is hopeful that June 8th will be the day when the Open class will begin to take off!
The Senior Novice class once again provided great racing action. At the top of the group for most of the day was Ryan Shearer. Shearer has shown great speed through the early parts of the 2013 season. Coming off a strong showing at Round #1, Shearer looked well on his way to victory in Round #2. However, a slight incident in the main event ended Shearer's day short of his goal. Behind Shearer a great battle raged between the remaining Novice class racers. Rich Johnson had his best F100 showing thus far, posting some excellent lap times and showing some great speed on track. Johnson qualified on the pole, but an unfortunate hand injury sustained in the pits, limited Johnson's activities and ultimately caused a great deal of pain and discomfort. Johnson soldiered on but by the time the main rolled around Johnson was no longer able to continue. Johnson will be looking to continue his progress at Round #3 as he will certainly contend for a podium finish. Vincent Lefevre also put in an excellent day of racing. Lefevre raced strong and fast all day. In the main event, Lefevre ran a strong second and with a few laps remaining was within striking distance of the leader. Lefevre will also look to contend for a podium finish at Round #3. Newcomer Marcus Sengol showed great speed en route to his first victory of the young 2013 season. Sengol posted strong lap times all day. Sengol will look to continue his winning ways at Round #3.
The F100 Senior Intermediate class was once again the largest class of the day. The action on track was fast and furious. Adrian Yong continued his domination of the Willow Springs Kart Track, posting his 2nd win in as many tries at the famed circuit. Not far behind Yong was Alex Bacon. Bacon has had a strong season so far, leading laps at the season warm-up and now finishing 2nd at Round #2. Bacon will look to contend for another strong finish at Round #3. John Shepherd crossed the line in 3rd. After winning the 1st heat, Shepherd had to battle his way through the field in the main to claim the final podium position. He did so expertly, knifing his way around his fellow competitors. Shepherd qualified on the pole in the incredibly competitive field. Qualifying times for the top 4 were within ~.1 of a second. Mike Heron would place 4th. Heron raced extremely well, mixing it up all race and holding off the hard charging advances of 5th place finisher, and Round #1 winner, David Schall. Schall posted an excellent race, keeping his nose clean, and walking away with hard earned points to add to his championship lead. Schall will look to continue to add to his lead at Round #3. Right behind Schall was Steve Muehler, who also had an excellent race, racing hard and clean and mixing it up very well en route to a 6th place finish. Gregorio Urueta finally resolved some of the equipment issues that had plagued him at the beginning of the season. Urueta raced very well en route to a solid 7th place finish. Now, with his confidence buoyed by his strong performance at Round #2, Urueta will look for another strong finish at Round #3. Jeremy Specht would finish right behind Urueta. Specht raced extremely well all day, but his track position was hurt one turn in the main where he was passed by 3 competitors. In the extremely competitive Intermediate class, small mistakes can be very costly, as Specht can now attest to. Specht will look to continue his strong performances in 2013 with another strong performance at Round #3. Tom Denker had a difficult day at the track. Having never completed a lap at Willow Springs before the race day, Denker faced an uphill battle which proved difficult to win. Denker, whose speed has been evident throughout 2013, will look for a strong performance at Round #3. Bryan Bender, in his first race since completing several shoulder operations, raced incredibly well and looked like a favorite to take the victory. However, a broken throttle cable would end his day prematurely. Bender will look to continue his recovery from surgery and will definitely be a formidable force in the Intermediate class through the rest of the 2013 season and beyond. Ivan Urueta, the 2012 Intermediate class champion, would continue his struggles in 2013. Urueta will look to iron out his issues before Round #3. If he is able to resolve his issues, Urueta will have a strong chance at a podium finish at Round #3.
The last group on the track was the F100 Senior Advanced class. Posting lap times almost an entire second faster than last years Advanced class Willow Springs lap times, it was obvious that the racers were out to prove that they had the speed to claim victory. When the dust had settled, Stu Hayner showed that he had the most speed of the bunch. Hayner looked cool, calm and collected behind the wheel, inching away from the field lap after lap with surgical precision. The battle for 2nd was hotly contested between pole sitter Tom Ricketts and Kalvin Chen. Both racers raced hard, fast and clean. In the end it would be Ricketts emerging victorious. Chen would take home 3rd. Just behind them was Sebastian Bacon. The 2012 Advanced class champion continued his struggles in 2013. Bacon will look to improve at Round #3. Behind Bacon was James Hayner. The youngest Hayner had good speed all day but was a little off the pace of the front running Advanced racers. Hayner, who has showed excellent pace thus far in 2013, will look for a strong performance at Round #3.
Formula 100 Karting Series Round #2 was a huge success! With another strong turnout, and great racing on track, F100 is proving its worth in the Southern California kart racing scene. The smiles in the pits all day long told the story of what F100 is all about. F100 invites you to come race at Grange Motor Circuit on June 8th. Along with the previously mentioned Cadet, Junior and Open discount, F100 is also offering a $25 race entry fee discount to all KT100 powered racing karts and racers. For more information on The Formula 100 Karting Series and the special discounts being offered for Round #3, go to F100karters.com.
