newey-wins-race-2012-championship-to-koykka

“I’m a bit disappointed I missed out on the Championship but it’s been a great season; I need to thank Mygale for the great car. Their CEO came all the way from France for the race today,” said Newey, who won his fourth race of the season at Watkins Glen. “I need to thank the team for a great year and working so hard this weekend in the cold. It’s been a fun year.”

While it was a Mygale/Honda one-two, the Spectrums were side-by-side at the line, with Neil Alberico edging Koykka for third.  However, the fourth place run from the Finland native gifted him the Championship by a seven point margin, with the title going down to the wire on a fall afternoon at the 3.4-mile Watkins Glen.

Said Koykka: “This race was pretty good. It was hard-fought and the car was great. It was a good way to end the season, the Championship feels good for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and the Spectrum chassis.

At one point during the 12-lap race, Series officials told the leaders to stop bump drafting via their respective teams.

Starrantino described the race as “insane” in a post race interview, saying it was some of the best racing of his career in the No. 97 Mygale/Honda.

Jeremy Grenier, in a Citation Honda, completed the top five by a nose over Jim Oseth. Grenier sealed up third place in the overall standings despite battling food poisoning all weekend.

Keenan Harris, Steve Bamford, Art Foster and Steve Jenks completed the 12th and final race of the 2012 F1600 campaign.

The race was marked by the crash of the season, with six cars involved coming onto the front straight on the second lap. While all the drivers were okay, a lengthy cleanup ensued and cut into green-flag race time.

The season long Hard Charger award sponsored by CellMark Paper was won by Art Foster in his Van Diemen/Ford, improving the most positions over the course of the year. Foster will get a cash bonus at the Series awards banquet for the 20 positions he picked up through the year.

For updates regarding the 2013 edition of the F1600 Formula F Championship Series, keep track of www.F1600Series.com for the latest news and information.

Race Results

Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm Diff Gap Avg. Speed Best Tm Best Spd 1 98 Brandon Newey 10 31:47.876 - - 63.589 1:59.978 101.119 2 97 Adrian Starrantino 10 31:47.970 +0.094 +0.094 63.586 1:59.771 101.293 3 9 Neil Alberico 10 31:48.543 +0.667 +0.046 63.567 1:59.722 101.335 4 10 Matias Koykka 10 31:48.497 +0.621 +0.527 63.568 2:00.664 100.544 5 12 Jeremy Grenier 10 31:57.025 +9.149 +0.018 63.286 2:01.937 99.494 6 72 Steve Oseth 10 31:57.007 +9.131 +8.464 63.286 2:02.265 99.227 7 13 Keenan Harris 10 31:57.459 +9.583 +0.434 63.271 2:02.645 98.920 8 07 Steve Bamford 10 32:03.027 +15.151 +5.568 63.088 2:03.657 98.110 9 21 Art Foster 10 32:05.457 +17.581 +2.430 63.008 2:02.339 99.167 10 68 Steve Jenks 10 32:05.977 +18.101 +0.520 62.991 2:02.356 99.153 11 01 John McCusker 10 32:13.148 +25.272 +7.171 62.758 2:04.949 97.096 12 14 Ross Devoe 10 32:13.290 +25.414 +0.142 62.753 2:05.674 96.535 13 44 Ed Callo 10 32:34.768 +46.892 +21.478 62.064 2:10.741 92.794 14 23 Sergio Pasian 10 32:57.329 +1:09.453 +22.561 61.355 2:01.232 100.073 15 5 David Clubine 8 27:52.466 2 Laps 2 Laps 58.032 2:02.787 98.805 DNF 17 Roberto Lorena 0 0.220 10 Laps 8 Laps - -.--- - DNF 7 Jim Goughary 0 0.273 +0.053 +0.053 - -.--- - DNF 15 Jim Oseth 0 1.171 +0.951 +0.898 - -.--- - DNF 18 Dan Pyanowski 0 1.185 +0.965 +0.014 - -.--- - DNF 55 Ray Phillips 0 1.230 +1.010 +0.045 - -.--- - DNS 73 Bob Perona 0 -.--- - - - -.--- -