With the 20th anniversary Formula Race Promotions (FRP) season underway, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Formula Speedfest was held this past weekend in Lexington, Ohio. More than one hundred open-wheel drivers from throughout North America descended on the famed Mid-Ohio circuit for a jam-packed three-day competition that concluded with multi-race winners, brothers dominating, and a ton of fun had by all.

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“We put a lot of time and effort into this event, and I think it showed,” explained FRP’s Bob Wright. “A huge thank you to the teams and competitors that came out to support Formula Speedfest, but also to the track crew and FRP staff who worked tirelessly to make this happen. It is only our second event of the season, but we have a ton of momentum to make this the best FRP season ever.”

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Taking to the track Friday for practice, qualifying, and wheel-to-wheel racing began Saturday and lasted until late Sunday afternoon.

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Wright added, “Everyone did an amazing job staying on schedule under some adverse weather conditions both Friday and Saturday.  Sunday’s weather made up for it and was perfect for racing.  We learned a lot, what we did well and what we can do better and will put those thoughts and experiences into the balance of this season and next year’s program.”

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Weekend Racing Recap

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F1600

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Qualifying

1. Dillon Defonce

2. Gabriel Cahan

3. Ayrton Cahaan

4. Karsten Defonce

5. Harbir Dass

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F1600 Masters Qualifying

1. Scott Rubenzer

2. Joe Colasacco

3. John Thompson

4. Phil Kingham

5. David Livingston Jr.

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Race #1

With a trip to the top step to the podium to his credit already this season, Ayrton Cahan solidified himself as a championship contender in the first F1600 race of the weekend. Starting third but coming home first, Cahan added to his results resume. Karsten Defonce, who started fourth, followed Cahan to the front as he secured the second position, just ahead of Ayrton’s older brother, Gabriel Cahan in the third position. With the top three separated by only .696 when the checkered flag flew, the gap back to fifth was 1.957 as Wesley Gundler came home fourth and Dillon Defonce rounded out the top five in the fifth position. Scott Rubenzer converted his F1600 Masters pole position into a win as he outdueled Joe Colasacco for top honors, as John Thompson rounded out the podium in third.

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Race #2

It was Cahan domination in the second F1600 race of the weekend as Ayrton Cahan picked up his second win of the weekend, followed closely by brother Gabriel in the second position in their Eric Langbein Racing-prepared Pipers. Separated by .293 at the checkered flag, it was another .773 back to the third and fourth place duo of the Defonces, with Karsten besting Dillon in a family affair at the front of the field, needing a photo finish proof to determine which Defonce made it to the podium. Wesley Gundler, with no sibling in the field, was able to come home fifth, leading the second pack of competitors, demonstrating the “multiple races within a race” so common in the F1600 field. Joe Colasacco topped the F1600 Masters class podium, followed by David Adorno and John Thompson.

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Race #3

Similar to race two, it was a Cahan one–two finish, this time with Gabriel besting his brother Ayrton by .215 at the line. The first half of the race was a great show, with the pair of leading brothers continually swapping positions, and the anticipation of whether it was Cahan or Defonce leading as they came around to the front straight. A multiple-lap full-course yellow would result in a green/white flag restart.  A coming together on the last lap between race leaders #11 & #41 resulted in the Defonce brothers taking each other out, allowing the Cahan’s to sweep the F1600 race wins on the weekend. Gundler had his best showing of the season and joined the Cahan brothers on the podium in P3 with John Thompson leading the Master field in fourth, ahead of fellow Masters competitor Joe Colasacco in fifth, but second in class. David Livingston rounded out the F1600 Masters podium.

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F2000

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Qualifying 1

1. Nick Gilkes

2. Sebastian Newberg

3. Carter Sheets

4. Dane McMahon

5. Robert Wright

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Race #1

After an aborted qualifying session due to an oiled track, it was decided that qualifying times would be a combination of practice 1 and 2 resulting in a shuffling of the order and putting front runner John Burton LaRue back in 7th position.  The top two positions from qualifying to race one remained unchanged in F2000 as Nick Gilkes and Sebastian Newberg qualified first and second and then went on to finish one–two in race one. Gilkes showed his speed and strength as he drew away from the field to take top honors by 16.153, while Newberg finished eight-seconds ahead of Dane McMahon, who rounded out the podium. Veteran driver Dave Weitzenhof was the best of the rest, finishing fourth, as Robert Wright finished where he started in the fifth position.  LaRue carved through the field, finally passing Gilkes in a fierce battle for 1st, only to retire with a dead battery a lap or so from the end.

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Qualifying 2

1. John Burton LaRue

2. Nick Gilkes

3. Dane McMahon

4. Dave Weitzenhof

5. Sebastian Newberg

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Race #2

While John LaRue qualified on the pole, he was a no-show for the race ceding the inside front position to Gilkes.  It was Saturday’s race winner Nick Gilkes who found his way to the checkered flag first to take his second win of the weekend. Last year’s vice-champion, Dane McMahon, was the best of the rest, finishing second, 13.977 seconds behind Gilkes, but ahead of the third-place finisher, Sebastian Newberg. Dave Weitzenhof was fourth for the second consecutive race as Robert Wright matched his race one result, finishing fifth in race two.

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Atlantic 016

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Qualifying 1

1. Tonis Kasemets

Atlantic Open Qualifying

1. Athen Sterling

2. Brandon Schwarz

3. Charles Livingston

4. Paulie Gatto

5. Bob Corliss

Atlantic USF Juniors Qualifying

1. Gabriel Cahan

2. Ayrton Cahan

3. Justin Di Lucia

4. Kaylee Countryman

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Race #1

The Atlantic Open class Athen Sterling battle hard with Brandon Schwarz for the win as he came out on top by a margin of .301 when the checkered flag flew. In another two-driver race that was separated by only a few tenths of a second, Sterling celebrated on the top step of the podium, with Schwarz in second and Paulie Gatto in third position. In Atlantic USF Junior, Kaylee Countryman moved from P4 on the grid to take the win, her first career FRP victory. Behind Countryman, Gabriel Cahan nabbed his second podium result of the day in the second position as Justin Di Lucia crossed the line third. Tonis Kasemets was the Atlantic 016 winner.

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Qualifying 2

1. Tonis Kasemets

Atlantic Open Qualifying

1. Nathan Byrd

2. Athan Sterling

3. Brandon Schwarz

4. Charles Livingston

5. Paulie Gatto

Atlantic USF Juniors Qualifying

1. Justin Di Lucia

2. Kaylee Countryman

3. Ayrton Cahan

4. Gabriel Cahan

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Race #2

It was the second win in as many races for Athan Sterling who secured back-to-back Atlantic Open race wins, this time beating Brendan Schwarz to the flag by 4.5 seconds. In the combined class race, Ken DeNault was eighth on the road but third in the Open class, just ahead of teammates Gatto and Livingston who took themselves out on the final lap, ending up fourth and fifth. The Atlantic USF Junior class saw Saturday’s race winner Kaylee Countryman fall to third on the results sheets behind race winner Justin Di Lucia and Gabriel Cahan, while Ayrton Cahan crossed the line fourth on track. Tonis Kasemets was once again the Atlantic 016 winner with a new Atlantic track record of 1:15.8.

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Formula Enterprises (FE)

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Qualifying 1

1. James Davison

2. Charles Russell

3. Gabe Fehribach

4. Stephen Zamborsky

5. Andrew Whitston

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Race #1

Working from his pole position, James Davison was able to lead flag-to-flag and take his first win of the season. Claiming the checkered flag by a scant 1.627 over Charles Russell, Andrew Whitson completed the podium after starting from fifth position. Just off the podium and in fourth, Gabe Fehribach fell one position from where he started but finished just ahead of Amy Hollowell, who rounded out the top five.

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Qualifying 2

1. James Davison

2. Charles Russell

3. Andrew Whitston

4. Gabe Fehribach

5. Amy Hollowell

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Race #2

The top five qualifiers finished one through five in the second Formula Enterprises race of the weekend as Davison took his second win of the weekend. With drivers remaining static at the front of the field, Russell beat Whitston for the second step on the podium as Fehribach and Hollowell finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

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FFCS Qualifying

1. Mark Kingham

2. Dave Harrison

3. Daniel Burkett

4. Steve Oseth

5. Michael Burton

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Race #1

In a two-driver battle for the win, Mark Kingham got the best of the FFCS field after starting race one from the pole position. Racing wheel-to-wheel with Dave Harmison, Kingham scored the victory by a mere .612, as they were fourteen seconds ahead of the third-place finisher of Steve Oseth as he closed out the podium. Rounding out the top five were Daniel Pyanowski and Murray Burkett.

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Race #2

Two-for-two on the weekend, Kingham added his second victory in as many races, this time in dominating fashion. With the fastest lap of the race, Kingham won by more than eleven seconds in the twelve-lap affair as Steve Oseth improved on his race one result to cross the stripe in second. Daniel Pyanowski was less than three-tenths of a second behind Oseth to round out the podium, with the top five completed by Murray Burkett and Bruce Domeck.

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Race #3

Going three-for-three on the weekend, Kingham claimed the race three FFCS victory over Daniel Pyanowski by the slimmest of margins. In a two-driver battle for the winner, Kingham came out on top by .270, to collect some additional weekend hardware. It was Mike Wirrick who was the best of the rest in third, with Bruce Domeck and Jeff White rounding out the top five.

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CCS

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Qualifying

1. Samuel Ryan

2. Matt Clark

3. Jeff Filipkowski

4. Dean Curtis

5. Mark Farnham

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Race #1

It was a ten-lap race for the CCS competitors for their first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend, and it was Samuel Ryan converting his pole position into a victory. Despite not being one of the fastest drivers, Ryan used his knowledge and experience to keep his competitors behind him, taking the win by .302 over Mike Lawrence. Trevor Carmody, Sherman Engler, and Jack Herberger completed the top five as the second through fifth-place drivers, all qualified outside the top five, but moved forward once racing commenced.

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Race #2

Crossing the line second in race one, Mike Lawrence took the win in the second CCS race of the weekend and did so in commanding fashion. Scoring the checkered flag more than twenty seconds ahead of the closest competitor, Lawrence was in a different zip code when the race concluded. Trevor Carmody crossed the stripe in the second position ahead of race one winner Samuel Ryan, while Sherman Engler and Matt Clark rounded out the top five.

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Next up for FRP teams and competitors is a trip to the Pittsburgh International Race Complex over the May 30 to June 1 weekend. Visit www.RaceFRP.com to register.

Please remember to tag Formula Race Promotions on social media and send all your news to Media@RaceFRP.com so we can help promote you! Also, event photo packages can be purchased from RTD Media – please contact Mike@RTD-Media.com for more information.

Stay tuned for all the news and information about the event. You can find details about it on the FRP website at racefrp.com and on social media throughout the event weekend.

Please remember that all series news, information, results, photos, and PR will be communicated through our social media pages listed below. Please be sure to tag FRP in any posts to help us have the ability to promote you.

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Be sure to follow us on Social Media:

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For questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Bob Wright RobertW@RaceFRP.com or Clay Hutchison ClayH@RaceFRP.com. For media inquiries, please contact us via email at Media@RaceFRP.com.

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