Malibu, Calif. – The Pacific Formula F2000/F1600 Championship will once again open the season’s championship at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California when the series takes to the track this weekend, January 29-31. This season the series will host seven double race weekends, beginning this weekend. The event will be run with Cal Club as part of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour. The series then follows the tour with events at Willow Springs International Raceway (February 20-21), Thunderhill Raceway Park (April 8-10), Buttonwillow Raceway Park (April 29-May 1), then embarks on events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (June 2-5), Sonoma Raceway (September 10-11) and concludes back at Auto Club Speedway (October 29-30). All events points will be scored with the best 12 results to be counted for the championship.
This season the Pacific Formula F2000 Championship Series presented by Primus Racing Parts is included in the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 $200k Scholarship Shootout in 2016. The shootout will be expanded to include the champions of junior open-wheel and karting series both nationally and internationally. The winner of the knockout style shootout will be provided with a $200k Scholarship to enter the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda in 2017 – the first rung in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder sanctioned by INDYCAR.
The Mazda Road to Indy is the only driver development program of its type in the world offering a clear, scholarship-funded path to the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500.
The Pacific F2000/F1600 series has a rich history and includes among its alumni drivers J.R. Hildebrand, 2011 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year and Dane Cameron, Tudor Series Prototype and GTD winning driver along with Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires driver Patricio O’Ward and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda drivers Nikita Lastochkin and Yufeng Luo.
This weekend the series boasts its largest entry in several seasons including 2015 Series Champion Tom Hope, returning to defend his title, Scott Huffaker, 2015 F1600 Champion, stepping up in class as is Alex Kirby, 2015 Rookie of the Year Connor Funk, returning to make a run at the championship. Others include longtime series veterans Peter West, Ira Fierberg, Harin de Silva, James Hakewill and Bill Kincaid along with newcomers Robert Armington, John Fabijanic, Scott Vreeland and Tim de Silva.
Activities begin on Friday with practice sessions followed by qualifying and races on Saturday and Sunday.
Weather is forecast to mostly sunny on Friday with temperatures in the mid seventies, cooler and cloudier on Saturday with afternoon showers with temperatures in the sixties and cooler still with periods of rain on Sunday and temperatures in the fifties, all of which should make for a challenging and exciting opening event.
The series can be followed at www.facebook.com/pacificf2000racing and www.twitter.com/PacificF2000.
For more details go to www.pacificf2000.com or contact Peter West at 310-363-9444, or by email, pacificf2000@hotmail.com.