Lime Rock Weekend Notebook

“I had a good start, and managed to get to the inside going into Turn 1, which was good because there were cars everywhere – they must have been four wide!” Erickson said.

“That put me up to seventh, and a few laps later I was fourth.

“I passed Fabio Orsolon for third, then I came up behind Phil Lombardi, who I knew would give me a fight because he’s very competitive.

“When he was held up by lapped cars coming onto the main straight, I went to the inside and drove all the way down the white line to get him into Turn 1.

“I caught up to Victor fairly easily, but the constant traffic and my tires, which had gone off, prevented me from getting close enough to challenge him.”

Erickson admitted the scorching hot weather made the race a tough one: “It was incredibly hot out there, but the car was great and we had the fastest lap.

“I’m always after a win, but starting from 14th I thought even top five was optimistic, so I’m extremely pleased to finish second.”

The Primus Racing/Quantum Mechanics driver will be back in the #2 at Road America.

Mazda Development Driver Serralles Impresses

Felix Serralles impressed in his F2000 Series debut. The Skip Barber driver spent his first two days in an F2000 car, producing a sixth and eighth place finish, on top of an impressive qualifying effort that saw him start race two in third position on the grid.

The Mazda development driver drove for GTP Motorsports, in the #17 car prepped by Phil Picard. 

Fashion Police

The AcceleRace Motorsports team debuted an amazing new hat at Lime Rock – one that may have the Formula 1 merchandising departments worried.

Of course, the AcceleRace team, run by owner-driver Ardie Greenamyer had a secret card to play. Girlfriend M.L. just happens to work in the “team swag” business at CarolinaCap.com – be sure to mention AcceleGear and special promo code “Watkins Glen”.  

Was it a retaliation to Cole Morgan’s new sponsor? Ranger Up military and patriotic apparel, which was announced last week, has Morgan decked out in Ranger Up swag throughout the weekend.  We’ll keep you updated as the fashion war continues to Road America. Next stop: NYC Elkhart Lake Fashion Weekend?  

McCrone Bounces Back

Keith McCrone overcame a huge qualifying crash to bounce back rather nicely at Lime Rock. He finished a solid fourth in race number one, despite falling a bit back early – and took home CellMark Paper Hard Charger honors in race two, by going from virtually dead last to 13th in his R-Sports Van Diemen.

The huge jump in the second race also vaulted the Masters Class driver to second in the CellMark Paper Hard Charger standings.

And there is more

For race track weather, Lime Rock didn’t go so well. Friday produced a full rain day that saw a swampy paddock and most likely, destroyed sneakers for many. On Saturday mother nature wasn’t smiling either, as temperatures sure felt like they were in the triple digits. However, the abysmal conditions didn’t scare away the Northeastern road-racing fans as Lime Rock produced a packed hillside and surrounding area.

Quick turnaround time: The gap between Lime Rock and Road America will be the shortest turnaround time between events in recent memory, with only one weekend in between, leaving very little time for anyone to get into too much trouble.

Hometown Team: The local drivers were out in force at Lime Rock: Phil Lombardi, Chris Gumprehct, Jonathan Scarallo, Tim Paul and Stevan McAleer to name a few.

But it was the SMR/Race House team that took the hometown “attendance” award – easily producing the largest amount of local guests in the F2000 paddock. For the team, the weekend was full of ups and downs as Stevan McAleer nearly notched the victory in the first race, settling for second, while teammate Tim Paul blazed through the pack in the opening laps before a heavy crash ended his day.