NA-F2000: JDC MotorSports Road America summary

JDC MOTORSPORTS IMPRESSES IN RETURN TO F2000 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Goikhberg and Kraut finished among top-10 in both rounds of the Road America doubleheader

ELKHART LAKE, WI. (August 9, 2010) -- JDC MotorSports' return to the F2000 Championship Series this past weekend (August 7-8) at Road America proved to be quite successful, with one top-five and four top-10 results. Mikhail Goikhberg narrowly missed a podium finish in Round 11 with a fourth place, while in Round 12 he crossed the stripe in ninth place. Fellow series rookie Gerry Kraut added two top-10s to the squad's resume, finishing ninth and eighth in the Wisconsin doubleheader.

While to primary goal for both Goikhberg and Kraut during the F2000 Championship Series doubleheader was to gain valuable track time and race experience at Road America prior to their upcoming USF2000 National Championship and Star Mazda Championship events at the 4.0-mile road course, both were confident they could run near the front of the competitive field. That certainly looked to be the case during the three Friday practice runs. Piloting the No. 10 Chetverg/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports entry, Goikhberg challenged for top honors, finishing third and second in two of the sessions. Not to be out done, Kraut was in top-10 in all three runs, leading the Masters contingent in the final two sessions with the eight and ninth fastest times overall.

When qualifying for race one of the Wisconsin doubleheader got underway on Saturday morning, the stage was set for the JDC duo to potentially earn front-row starting places. It was not to be however, as traffic and the lack of drafting partners resulted in Goikhberg posting the 10th best time, and Kraut the 14th best time.

The drivers and crew however were not that concerned, as the nature of the track lends itself to drivers being able to work their way forward come race time. The JDC MotorSports drivers did just that, as Goikhberg almost immediately worked his way into the lead pack, while Kraut's No. 55 Dougherty and Co./Dougherty Funding LLC/Red Line Oil/JDC MotorSports car soon found itself among the top-10. While Goikhberg was involved in minor contact during the race, slightly damaging the steering arm on his car, he was able to challenge for podium position all the way to the checkered flag. After 12 entertaining laps of competition, Goikhberg crossed the stripe in fourth, only a few places ahead of his teammate Kraut in ninth -- third in the Masters class.

Given the results from the opening race at Road America, the JDC racers were excited to return to the cockpits one day later for another morning qualifying run and afternoon race. Qualifying once again proved to be a slightly frustrating affair, as neither Goikhberg nor Kraut were able to post the times desired, eventually turning the seventh and 11th quickest times respectively.

Round 12 proved to be a lesson in drafting, as virtually the entire field ran in packs, which resulted in constant shuffling of positions due to the draft on the long Road America straights. Both Goikhberg and Kraut showed good racecraft lap after lap, with Goikhberg once again challenging for a podium spot, and Kraut only a few cars behind, battling for positions inside the top-10. For Goikhberg things didn't go quite as planned in the closing stages, as he was eventually shuffled back to ninth at the stripe. Kraut, finishing third among the Masters group for a second consecutive race, proved to be the driver Goikhberg was chasing at the checkered flag, coming home in eighth.

JDC MotorSports returns to Road America in two weeks time (August 21-22), with both its Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Cooper tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda squads taking to the well-liked Wisconsin road course. Prior to that, the JDC Star Mazda drivers will take part in Round 10 this weekend (August 14-15) on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Que.

-source: jdc