mid-season-review
Looking back on the first half of the F1600 Formula F Championship season I can be proud of what The Mygale North America/BHA with Curb Records team have accomplished so far, but I also know that we are hungry for more. We have a lot of momentum behind us heading into the second half of the season and it is important to keep that momentum going so we can be as competitive as possible.
Our first race at Virginia International Raceway started off very strange. I missed every practice session except for one and even in that session we did not get to run the whole time. So going into qualifying I had to settle for fifth since I was so new to the car and still only got two laps in. In the race I spent the first couple of laps learning the car and after a caution I was able to join the lead pack. After a lot of good hard racing I ended up 3rd, which felt really great for having almost no track time. In the second race I started from outside pole thanks to being able to finally complete a full session. The race was a crazy one! After some great battling it ended up being Garett, my teammate, and I all alone. We were able to bring home a Mygale North America/BHA Curb Records 1-2 finish and I picked up my first win of the year.
The next race weekend was at Lime Rock Park. I ended up missing another practice session due to some more bad luck right before qualifying, but we were still able to qualify a strong second place. After a couple of laps Matias and I broke away from the main pack and soon after hit lapped traffic. A lapped car held me up and when I tried to catch back up I overheated my right rear tire allowing Matias to maintain the gap. In the second race I again started second and we again gapped the rest of the field. After swapping the lead a couple times I was finally able to break away and it was looking as if I had the race won. Then, there was a yellow that allowed the field to bunch up again. On the restart I was able to hold everyone off and build up a small cushion. Everyone was slicing and dicing behind me and contact was made which allowed me to pick up my second race win of the year.
The New Jersey Motorsports Park weekend was a tough one, but it showed exactly what my team is made of. It was such a tough weekend for the guys continually having to work in the heat with no shade due to our tents being ripped apart the night before. Even the sweltering New Jersey sun could not stop them and after a DNF in race one we were able to rebound with a 3rd place podium finish in race two.
The boys have been working away at the shop getting ready for Mid-Ohio, so I know we will be extremely well prepared for this race. I am viewing the season as just getting started and with all of our hard work I know we will be able to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.
Brandon