SONOMA, Calif. – The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear was a featured series this past weekend during the GoPro Grand Prix alongside the Verizon IndyCar Series at Sonoma Raceway. The season finale for the IndyCar 2017 schedule saw Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud take the race win while his teammate Josef Newgarden secured the championship. This was the seventh time that the Formula Car Challenge was paired with the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Pole Positions for Round 11:
Pro FM: Patrick O'Neill
FormulaSPEED: Colin Mullan
Formula Mazda: Dutch Shultz
Overall pole winner O'Neill took a commanding lead at the start of the opening race on Friday, leaving Stan Kohls and Jay Horak to battle for second. Horak remained close for the entire race and kept the pressure on, but Kohls made no mistakes and held onto the second spot until the finish.
In the FormulaSPEED class, pole sitter Colin Mullan took a commanding lead and left the other FS cars to battle amongst themselves. At lap 8 Mullan's car began to have an issue that was slowing down his lap times, and he eventually retired to pit lane. Carter Williams inherited the lead and went on to take the victory.
“I didn't want to win this way,” stated Williams. “Colin has been really fast and he'll be back tomorrow for a rematch which will be fun.”
Bill Weaver made an incredible start to grasp the lead from pole sitter Dutch Shultz in the Formula Mazda division. Stew Tabak was turning some faster laps that Shultz late in the race but was too far back to catch him by the checkered flag. The closest battle on-track was for fourth place between Derry O'Donovan and Brad Drew. O'Donovan maintained the position, while Bruce Carpenter was able to get by Drew for Fifth.
ROUND 11 Podium Pro Mazda:
Winner: Patrick O'Neill
Second: Stan Kohls
Third: Jay Horak
ROUND 11 Podium FormulaSPEED:
Winner: Carter Williams
Second: Courtney Crone
Third: Tao Takaoka
ROUND 11 Podium Formula Mazda:
Winner: Bill Weaver
Second: Dutch Shultz
Third: Stew Tabak
The grid for Saturday’s Round 12 was set by the fastest lap times recorded during Round 11, which meant O'Neill, Williams and Weaver secured the pole for their respective classes. The race got off to a clean start but that didn't last very long as Bill Weaver and Tao Takaoka tangled in Turn Seven, bringing out a yellow flag. Weaver was out but Takaoka was able to continue.
The top three in the FormulaSPEED class were within tenths of a second of each other all weekend, which ensured some very close racing action. Colin Mullan, who retired from Friday's race due to an engine pulley failure, was back on Saturday with a new engine. Round 12 was the first opportunity for the #72 car to get back on track, and after a few laps Mullan was called to the pit lane for the team to inspect the install. The car was checked and released quickly but Mullan was now at the tail of the entire field.
“Colin’s results this weekend were definitely not indicators of his performance,” noted Mullan's race engineer and coach Jan Trojan. “He qualified on pole and was leading in yesterday's race when we had an issue, and today when we got him back on track he ran the fastest lap of the race.”
Mullan’s difficulties allowed Williams to lead from wire to wire in FormulaSPEED, and Patrick O'Neill was a similarly dominant victor in Pro Mazda. Dutch Shultz ousted pole sitter Weaver in the FM class to lead from the restart to the checkered flag.
ROUND 12 Podium Pro Mazda:
Winner: Patrick O'Neill
Second: Stan Kohls
Third: Jay Horak
ROUND 12 Podium FormulaSpeed:
Winner: Carter Williams
Second: Courtney Crone
Third: Tao Takaoka
ROUND 12 Podium Formula Mazda:
Winner: Dutch Shultz
Second: Stew Tabak
Third: Brad Drew
This event saw additional support from Molecule Sports and Goodyear.
“We really couldn't make this event what it is without the support of our partners,” noted Series Communications Director Mark Milazzo. “Really this was such a fabulous event, and it provided fun and opportunity to everyone who attended. Once the Formula Car Challenge races were over, the racers were able to enjoy watching some really great entertainment with the World Challenge Series, the Patriot Jets Air Show, and of course the final IndyCar race of the season.”
The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear is the premier open-wheel motorsports series on the West Coast and is an Official Feeder Series to the Mazda Road to Indy. It was founded in 2005 to develop future motorsports teams, drivers, engineers and crew members. The series offers a platform in which costs can be carefully controlled, creating a level playing field for drivers. The concept has been fully realized as multiple graduates have made it to IndyCar and other top level positions in motorsports. The FCC features three different classes inside of the championship. All three classes are on track at the same time, but compete for points and championships only within their respective classes. All classes are powered by Mazda, and equipped with Goodyear Racing tires. The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear heads to Southern California next for the Pacific Coast Road Racing Championships at Auto Club Speedway on October 28-29.
The GoPro Grand Prix marked the second weekend of the 2017 FCC Triple Crown National Championship. The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear is part of the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout, which will see the champions of select junior open-wheel and karting series from around the world converge on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in December to vie for a scholarship to enter the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017. Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear is also an Official Feeder Series of the Mazda Road to Indy.