NA-F2000: Mid-Ohio test notes

Zetec Championship teams have successful test at Mid-Ohio

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. (April 26, 2002) --With Rounds Two and Three of the 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship fast approaching, teams recently took part in a two-day test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Run late in the week, AIM Autosport, Cape Motorsports, JDC Motorsports, PR1 Motorsports, Richard Morgan Racing and Roquin Motorsports all took part in the test. In sunny, but very cool temperatures, up to 18 cars at a time, worked on various car setups on the challenging 2.25-mile road course. In two full days of testing, only one minor incident occurred, while several drivers completed more than 150 laps. While official timing and scoring was not present, a number of drivers are understood to have posted laps better than 1:23.5. Given the cool temperatures, it is expected that the pole sitter for the first race at Mid-Ohio in late June, will be well under the current lap record of 1:23.695, set in 1999. At the conclusion of the two-day test, the Zetec Championship conducted several practice standings stands. The standings starts were performed in order to further evaluate the introduction of this start procedure into the series.

"The test was really good," said Anthony Massari, who finished second at Round Two at Sebring International Raceway. "After being in Florida, the cold weather was definitely different and made the first few laps after you went out interesting. We used the two days to work on things with the car and learned what works well at different parts of the track. I'm real happy with the car and crew and looking forward to the next races at Mosport."

"The test gave the team a big confidence boost," said Tom Dyer, who finished second twice in 2001. "John Walko and the entire crew worked really hard and gave me a great car. While this was only a practice, I think we showed that Sebring was just an aberration and we should be running up front the rest of the year."

The 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship continues with Rounds Three and Four at Mosport International Raceway, May 18-19, as part of the Victoria Day Trans-Am Weekend.

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