More Success for HP-Tech
Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Expanding to three cars for Mid-Ohio and the rest of the 2013 season, HP-Tech Motorsport saw more success during rounds nine and ten of the 2013 F2000 Championship Series season. Newcomer Santino Ferrucci built on his Watkins Glen momentum with a second place and a pole position, while Roberto Lorena and Jose Montiel put in solid drives for the defending Championship team.
Ferrucci would take home a fifth and second place result in the team’s No. 10 Van Diemen, also grabbing pole position for race two at the very last second of qualifying.
"Jorge, Papi and Mike had the car on rails in the wet and unfortunately I didn't get a clean lap in qualifying so I ended up P8. I quickly moved to P2 on lap one and later took the lead but then came the very late caution,” said Ferrucci. “I have never restarted at Mid Ohio and got a bit caught off guard when it went green while I was in the carousel, made an error and spun from the lead. My radio was not working well because of the rain so I didn't get a clear transmission and I assumed the restart would be in the same place as the start, though I was skeptical when the pace car came off early. The restart was a green/white and I did pass about 20 or so cars after my error to get a respectable 5th. I made a mistake and let the team down but I can assure my team that mistake won't ever happen again."
Ferrucci, from Connecticut and just 15-years-old, continued: “I was really ready for the Sunday qualifier and stuck it on Pole. A little bit of redemption for my error Saturday. At the start I went into the first turn side by side with Tim Minor and he had better track position so I fell to 2nd where I ran the entire race. I would like to thank my sponsors Hot Wheels, Alpine Stars, Brett King and Aria. A special thanks to Todd my driving coach at Mid Ohio, Simon and J. C."
In tricky conditions, teammate Lorena finished 15th in the rain on Saturday, after running in the top three the entire race, and seventh in the dry on Sunday, driving the No. 9 Van Diemen.
“After finding some difficulties Friday, we managed to qualify in P4 after only 2 laps,” said Lorena, on the rain session.
“Qualifying was cut short for us due to a sealer used in the asphalt, which made it extremely slippery, increasing the difficulty in maintaining the car on track for all drivers - I include myself in the list, since I ended my run earlier by hitting the wall after aquaplaning on the straight. During the race we had a really good pace and were P3 all the way to the last lap, but I made a mistake that put me back in 15th for the finish.”
In the dry, a day later, Lorena improved three positions from tenth on the grid to finish seventh as he fought to keep tire temperatures in check the entire race.
“We also managed to increase the gap on the standings, which gives us a little peace of mind to gain more positions until the end of the season,” added the Brazilian.”
Montiel marked his return to F2000 for the first time in a year, in the No. 8 RFR chassis. Coming off a podium at Lime Rock for Ferrari Challenge, the Venezuelan put in a solid comeback weekend, finishing 18th and 21st at Mid-Ohio as the track dramatically changed with every session.
The HP-Tech team will have a chance to do it all over again as the F2000 Series heads back to Mid-Ohio, August 9-11, for two more races, before the season concludes at Summit Point, August 23-25.