F1600 Lime Rock Friday Notebook

Two for One

Lime Rock is offering a special two-for-one ticket deal through its website at www.LimeRock.com – fans on Saturday are treated to a NASCAR Modifieds feature and F1600 and F2000 races in both the morning and the afternoon (not four Formula Ford races).

Thompson Going for Alegra F2000 Test

Colin Thompson returns to the paddock in his Swift/Honda after missing Mid-Ohio with a broken leg. The aspiring racer led at Watkins Glen, and has a best result of third (also at Watkins Glen) on the year.

An Alegra Motorsports F2000 test for the top F1600 Championship finisher under the age of 21 is the carrot for the 17-year-old, who wants to stand on the podium in Connecticut.

Miami-based Alegra Motorsports is offering the test at the conclusion of the season at Palm Beach International Raceway. Alegra traditionally fields two cars in F2000 Championship events and won the Series title in 2010.

“I am certainly pumped for Lime Rock as it is acting as a ‘come back’ weekend where I can show that I am still in the battle for the wins and ready to move up in points. My goals for the weekend are to grab my first win and to certainly be on the podium the entire weekend,” commented Thompson.

“I did test at Lime Rock a little over a month ago and it helped me to gain my sight references back as it has been a while since my last event here, which was Skip Barber in 2010.”

Thompson added: “I am determined to win the Alegra test, especially since F2000 is a very promising part of my future. As far as changing how I go about my weekend goes, it will not so much make me go any faster or slower then normal. I will be driving to my full potential and giving my competition everything I have in hope of moving up in points as well as grabbing that Alegra test.”

Leach in the Spectrum

Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing pilot Ryan Leach will moves to the Spectrum/Honda this weekend. Leach has been under a dark cloud all year, but the Spectrum chassis performed at Mid-Ohio, finishing second twice.

“First off, our overall goal as a team is to win. That's always been the goal and it will always be the goal,” said Leach “I believe the biggest challenge for me this weekend is going to be learning all the aspects of the track since I have never been to Lime Rock.”

He continued: “Over the break since Mid-Ohio I've been focusing on my conditioning including in the gym and on the kart track, attending college, and working on sponsorship for 2012.”

Added Dominic Cape, team owner: ““We were extremely pleased with the debut of the Spectrum chassis at Mid-Ohio. We have been able to test more during the break between rounds, and we feel that it is the car to beat.”

LNR Racing

The only team fielding entries in both Series this weekend, meaning F2000 and F1600, happens to be little-known LNR Racing.

LNR standing for Len Neil and Ric, will have a single entry in F1600 for Ric Baribeault, in the Piper/Honda. Baribeault leads the CellMark Paper Hard Charger standings, tied with Jim Oseth with 19 positions gained over the course of 2011. Len Amato raced earlier in the year in F1600 and has been in various F2000 fields over the years.

In the F2000 paddock, LNR will run Aaron Pettipas in a Van Diemn/Pinto.