BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It’s been just over a month since Afterburner Autosports and its team drivers Dakota Dickerson and Felipe Ortiz kicked off the 2016 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and everyone on the team is itching to get back on-track. This coming weekend, the team returns to Barber Motorsports Park In Birmingham, Alabama for an important doubleheader and the squad is anxious to get their rookie pilots back in the seat of their trademark black Van Diemens. The team has had considerable success at the pristine Alabama facility in the past and will be looking for podium finishes from their freshmen duo. Dickerson and Ortiz now have their first USF2000 events under their belts, so they’ll surely approach this weekend with a fresh mindset and a more relaxed but equally focused approach.
“The opening weekend at St. Petersburg is always a crapshoot at best, and you simply never know how things are going to pan out until after the opening lap chaos of Race #1 is over,” commented Afterburner Team Principal Tim Walsh. “Luckily, both Dakota and Felipe made it through cleanly, although both guys suffered one DNF as a result of contact that was not of their doing. We’re really happy with how they performed in St. Pete and we’re excited to get to Barber and to work with them both throughout the year.”
Dickerson expertly avoided the anticipated Race #1 opening corner wreck and leapfrogged into the top-10, advancing from 16th on the grid to finish a solid eighth, banking a crucial points-paying result. Ortiz was also in the hunt for the top-10, but he was taken out of the race in the final lap and ended up 21st in the final tally. The Brazilian fought back in the second race of the weekend, which was run later that same day (Saturday), taking 13th at the checker. Dickerson raced extremely well and powered his way up to 13th, but like Ortiz, he was collected in a last lap incident that relegated him to 22nd. As they arrive in Birmingham, Dickerson stands 13th in the overall championship, while Ortiz sits 16th. Armed with the experience of St. Petersburg, they will be focused on the top-10 all weekend.
The weekend gets started with two 30-minute practice session at 8:40 am and 11:10 am Central Daylight Time on Thursday, April 21. Two practice sessions will be run that afternoon at 2:15 pm and 4:30 pm. Qualifying will be run on Friday morning at 9:30 am ahead of the first of two races on the weekend at 4:30 pm. The second race will take to the track at 5:35 pm on Saturday afternoon. Live video with play-by-play will be available all weekend on RoadToIndy.tv.
Dakota Dickerson: “After a bumpy Grand Prix of St. Pete, we were able to learn a lot about what could be improved in all aspects of the team. We went into our test at Autobahn knowing that there was a bit of work to be done, and it was a stellar two days. I was able to improve my speed within the car, as well as being able to better communicate with my engineer. This lead to some great changes on the car and I feel that we have some tools in our back pocket that will significantly help our performance going into Barber.”
Felipe Ortiz: “I'm very excited to hit the track. I'm sure that the team and I will do a great job. We have improved a great deal with the car setup since we tested at Barber. I'm pretty sure that we'll be fighting on top-10 again and, maybe even the top-5!”
About Afterburner Autosport:
Afterburner Autosport was formed in 2010 with the sole purpose of leading the way in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda competition. Under the guidance of former F2000 racer and engineer Tim Walsh, the team has over 20 years of experience in open-wheel competition and can field up to four cars in competition. The squad, which is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has continually developed and grown since joining the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and has multiple series victories, winning at least one race every year for the last three years.