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.
