Denes on Top in Final WGI Round
Watkins Glen, NY - Another last lap battle in the F1600 Formula F Championship Series saw Phillippe Denes take the win for Team Pelfrey, and become the only multiple-winner in the six rounds thus far in the 2016 season. Denes and Neil Verhagen separated themselves from the field and battled for the lead the entire race, with Denes coming out first by .076 seconds after a intense last lap fight. Calvin Ming finished third after falling back on the opening lap.
"We got a really good start, it was smart of Neil to work with me to build a gap," said Denes, who's win marks a weekend triple-race sweep for Team Pelfrey, the first time one team has won all three races in F1600 in a single weekend. Both of Denes 2016 wins have come at Watkins Glen.
"It was a good race, I knew I had to work with Phillippe to build a gap and then go at it the last lap," said Verhagen, who won at Road Atlanta earlier this year for K-Hill Motorsports.
Ming said he was spun in the bus-stop corner by another car on the opening lap, and put in a recovery drive to finish third in the all-green-flag race, round six of the 21-race, triple-weekend format 2016 season.
Winning the Masters Class, Steve Bamford finished fourth while another full-race battle saw Road Atlanta winner Peter Portante barely beat Will Harvey to the line for fifth in a photo-finish. Bamford led out of turn one on the start race.
Max Mallinen was further back from them in seventh for Swan Motorsports, and spent most of the race battling with Ben Auriemma, who finished eighth. Dexter Czuba and Hans Ada followed.