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Road Atlanta: JDC MotorSports race report

JDC MOTORSPORTS ENDS STAR MAZDA SEASON IN VICTORY LANE De Phillippi secured the 2010 Rookie of the Year award with Round 13 win at Road Atlanta BRASELTON, GA. (OCTOBER 4, 2010) - JDC MotorSports returned to victory lane on Friday (October 1), ...

JDC MOTORSPORTS ENDS STAR MAZDA SEASON IN VICTORY LANE
De Phillippi secured the 2010 Rookie of the Year award with Round 13 win at Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, GA. (OCTOBER 4, 2010) - JDC MotorSports returned to victory lane on Friday (October 1), taking the win in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season-finale at Road Atlanta. Rookie sensation Connor De Phillippi gave the highly-rated Minnesota-based team its second series win in 2010, clinching the Rookie of the Year award with a perfect lights-to-flag run in Round 13. Fellow series race winner Caio Lara and rookie Chris Miller made it three JDC racers in the top-10 in Georgia, finishing sixth and 10th respectively.

Heading into the Star Mazda season-finale - as part of the prestigious Petit Le Mans event - the JDC drivers and crew had several goals they wanted to achieve. First and foremost was ensuring rookie leader De Phillippi exited Round 13 with the Rookie Year title. Secondly the two-time championship-winning team wanted to end the season on a high note by bettering its podium finishes at Road Atlanta over the past two years.

Right from the first time the cars rolled on-course, it appeared the talented JDC drivers were poised to meet the expectations. MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver De Phillippi ended the promoter's test day P2 on the speedcharts, having led the afternoon run, while Lara posted the fifth best time, not far ahead of Miller, who ended the day 12th quickest. Piloting the No. 11 MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development/Justice Brothers/Sparco/Rock View Farms/Oakley/Power Balance/Reline Athletic/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports entry, De Phillippi continued to lead the JDC trio in the day two practice runs, once again ending up with the second fastest time, bettering Lara and Miller in 10th and 11th respectively.

When the lone qualifying run on the high-speed Georgia road course commenced on Thursday, the JDC crew instructed its drivers to immediately go after a fast time, as rain seemed eminent. This advice proved to be key, as just as the majority of the field was starting its second lap, the skies opened up and the session was halted due to the conditions and multiple cars off-course. De Phillippi fortunately had completed a superb lap on cold tires, earning his and JDC's first pole position of 2010. While not quite able to match his teammate's pace on his best lap, Lara steered his No. 19 MLD/ATW/Molecule/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports car to the third best time, earning a row two starting position. Miller unfortunately only managed to get one lap in before the session was red flagged, placing him 17th on the grid for the season-finale.

Come race time on Friday afternoon, the objective for all three JDC MotorSports drivers was to get away cleanly from the traditional F1-style standing start. When the lights went green for the final time this season, the JDC clan did just that. De Phillippi as result held the top-spot into and exiting the first turn, ahead of the newly crowned series champion and the rest of the talented Star Mazda field. Running fast consist laps all the way the checkered flag, De Phillippi never relinquished the top spot, scoring his inaugural series win, securing the Rookie of the Year honors and third place in the championship standings in the process. Behind the Californian victor, Lara moved from his 3rd place starting position into a race-long three-car fight for fourth place, eventually crossing the stripe in sixth place to end the season with 12 top-10s in 12 races. Miller likewise enjoyed a superb final race in his No. 85 Miller Milling/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports car, turning times on-par with drivers among the top-five to advance from 17th to 10th at the stripe.

With the 2010 the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season now complete, attention now quickly turns to next year, where JDC MotorSports will attempt to win a third series crown and add further championship trophies and wins to its resume. Drivers interested in joining JDC Motorsports should contact Team Principal John Church, as off-season testing is slated to begin shortly.

-source: jdc motorsports

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