Lall Fastest at Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA – Quinlan Lall continued his February pace that delivered a win at Palm Beach by setting the fastest practice lap of Friday’s two F2000 Championship Series practice sessions to start the 2015 season at Road Atlanta. The 15-year-old Momentum Motorsports driver was over two tenths clear of John LaRue who was second quick on the day. David Grant was third fastest with Sam Chastain and Steve Bamford rounding out the top five, covered by some six tenths of a second.
“The day went well, we were able to improve on every lap,” said Lall, with a fast lap checking in at 1:26.177. “Track conditions were generally better than I thought they would be with more grip than I expected. There should be some good competition with LaRue and Grant here and ultimately I hope to do very well for Momentum Motorsports.”
LaRue won at Mid-Ohio last year and could be a force come race time on Saturday and Sunday in his bright red No. 17 Citation. David Grant was just a tenth behind for Polestar in the No. 29 Spectrum.
Sam Chastain produced a lap for fourth fastest on the day as he campaigns his first season in F2000 after moving up following a two-year stint in the F1600 Championship Series.
Steve Bamford rounded out the top five in his new No. 07 Citation, while Austin McCusker was in sixth in the Dotworks Racing RFR but had a turn one crash late in the session.
Battling through issues severely limited track time on Thursday due to mechanical issues, Eric Filguerias mustered a lap in the closing stages of afternoon practice for seventh fastest.
Meeting his new team for the first time on Thursday, Trent Walko put the Exclusive Autosport No. 93 Spectrum in eighth place ahead of Spencer Brockman and Al Guibord.
In the Masters Class, for drivers over the age of 40, LaRue was second quick overall and the fastest Master, ahead of Bamford and Guibord.
While the day offered two practice sessions, only five cars participated in the morning practice in wet conditions, with the rest of the weekend forecasted to be dry. The track was indeed dry by afternoon, with the majority of competitors electing to put in laps.
Friday at Road Atlanta marked some new faces, and familiar faces in new cockpits. Alegra’s return with Michael De Quesada produced a healthy amount of track time over testing on Thursday and Friday’s practice.
Bob Reid, meanwhile, has made the switch from the RFR to a Metrik campaigned by R-Sport.
“Totally different,” said Reid, comparing his former chassis to the Metrik from R-Sport. “Especially during turn-in, it’s amazing.”
Davy D'addario ended the session with a mechanical failure, but is back on the F2000 scene after a heavy crash at Palm Beach two months ago.
Another big story line, Sam Beasley’s new Mygale chassis, did not turn a lap on Friday but did see extensive track time during Thursday testing.
Qualifying and race one of the 2015 F2000 Series season will follow on Saturday. Sunday sees a similar schedule. Follow the action on www.F2000Series.com.
Results are available on www.F2000Series.com under the results tab.