"Ralph Firman Racing driver Robert La Rocca impresses at The Glen"

Robert La Rocca had some bad racing luck at the Glen

After a pair of solid results at Road Atlanta, it was time to head north for F2000 Championship Series driver Robert La Rocca and his Auto Errante-HP Tech Motorsport squad, as they would look to become victorious at Watkins Glen International Raceway. After running in the top three all weekend long and consistently being the fastest of the Ralph Firman Racing drivers, La Rocca would run into some bad racing luck taking away two possible victories.

"Overall, we had a very up and down weekend," expressed La Rocca. "I can come out of the weekend knowing that we have improved the pace of our car substantially, as we can now fight with the top drivers in the series and be very competitive. We can also be very happy about being the fastest of the RFR cars all weekend long as multiple teams are now utilizing this platform."

For the first of two races over the weekend, La Rocca would qualify his Auto Errante-HP Tech Motorsport prepared car to a solid third place result. Less than two tenths off the pace setter, the Venezuelan pilot was excited for the race knowing that he would be able to challenge for the victory. Attacking early, La Rocca took the lead of the race at the drop of the green flag as he made a bold move down the inside of the front row to take the top spot. Opening up a healthy gap to the second place driver, La Rocca encountered some trouble later in that lap.

"My foot shifted in the cockpit and got stuck behind the brake pedal for a brief second. With the speeds we travel at the Glen, I wasn't able to react when I went to apply the brakes and got into the wall. I felt so bad for the team and my sponsors as it looked as if we were going to have a strong result. I am very thankful for the team and their hard work to get everything back in order for race two."

Heading back on track for the second race qualifying run, La Rocca would turn the sixth quickest time of the session and would start Sunday's festivities from the outside of row three.

La Rocca added, "We had a minor problem in the rear of the car during the second qualifying run. It affected the handling quite a bit but I was able to change my driving and work around it. We found the problem and I am confident for the race."

Attacking again at the drop of the green flag, La Rocca put his RFR racecar in the top three and was battling wheel-to-wheel with the lead duo. As the race wore on, La Rocca looked poised for a podium position if not a race win until the front wing end plate would be removed from the front of his car creating a huge issue with the steering input of the car. Nursing the car to the finish, La Rocca would garner a sixth place result.

Robert La Rocca will enjoy three weeks off before heading to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the seventh and eighth rounds of the F2000 Championship Series.

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