`LYNX RACING ACADEMY DRIVERS HAVE A 'CHARACTER BUILDING' BUT EDUCATIONAL WEEKEND IN PACIFIC FORMULA F1600 WEEKEND AT BUTTONWILLOW RACEWAY PARKThe Pacific Formula F2000/F1600 Championship staged its first-ever tripleheader event May 18-19 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow California, and Lynx Racing Academy drivers Andrew Evans and Alex Keyes had one of those character building weekends where pretty much everything that could go wrong did, but several important things happened that may well resonate later in their careers."After a podium finish of third place on Saturday, my times continued to improve substantially on Sunday, but some light contact kept me off the podium," said Evans.  "All-in-all, it was a solid progression, capping off my second month in a formula car.  Also, it was a pleasure to meet previous Lynx Graduate Alex Barron several weeks ago at the test session at Buttonwillow Raceway.    And I would also like to thank USF2000 driver Neil Alberico for coming by the day before Saturday's race to give us some guidance as well.   Aside from the on-track education we're getting from the Lynx Racing Academy, getting to learn from people who've already been where we're going, and who may be able to help us in the future, that's incredibly valuable."The sole qualifying session began at 11:05 am under clear and sunny skies as the drivers took to the 2.920-mile circuit, and it was not long before the times started plummeting.  When the checkered finally waved on the session, Keyes qualified 3rd in his #32 Lynx Racing Academy Spectrum Honda with a lap of 1:51.3, while Evans put his #19 Lynx Racing Academy Spectrum Honda in the fourth grid spot with a lap of 1:51.7. The third team driver, Alex Kirby, running under the Cameron Racing banner, qualified 5th with a lap of 1:53.3.Mid eighty degree temperatures greeted the field as they came to the green flag for the 2:40 pm start, and the battle for third place was intense, as Evans and Keyes were never more than a second apart, and Keyes never was able to get any closer as the race wore on.  The duo crossed the finish line in 3rd and 4th, respectively, while Kirby finished 5th.Grid positions for the Sunday morning race were the result of taking the aggregate of Saturday's qualifying session and Saturdays race three fastest race lap and determining an average one lap time. The second row of the grid was all Lynx Racing, with teammates Alex Keyes in the No. 32 and Andrew Evans in the No. 19 side by side in their Spectrum/Hondas.The 9:00 am start time meant slightly cooler temperatures as the drivers set off on the pace lap.  At the start Keyes and Evans had contact, Evans got the worst of it and dropped to the rear of the field.  Keyes managed to escape the incident with his car unharmed and had another solid drive to finish 3rd, Evans was making a great comeback when he was forced off the road by the F2000 leader in the highest speed corner of the track.  Andrew survived the off to finish 5th , Kirby came home 6th.The third and final race of the weekend, with grid positions determined by aggregate of Saturdays round three qualifying and Sundays round four fastest race lap and determining an average one lap time again found the Lynx Racing Academy drivers filling the second row.Temperatures stayed in the low to mid eighties at the 1:35 pm start time as the pace car set off and it looked as though the Lynx drivers might be in the hunt, until Keyes and Evans again made contact going into turn one. Both carried on but with damaged suspension, their cars only made it to the Star Hairpin where Alex got sideways in his poor handling car, Andrew and Alex Kirby had nowhere to go and made hard contact. Evans and Kirby were done for the day but Keyes soldiered on in a car with badly bent suspension that gave him a few big moments during the remainder of the race, but hung on to finish 4th."It was a tough weekend, but we both learned a lot like don't crash into each other," said Keyes, who has been karting since he was ten years old.  "But we also got to work with Neil Alberico, who is one of the top drivers in the USF2000 championship and has raced in Europe.  He spent some time in my car and we worked together on the setup and wound up running times very close to each other.  We also got to spend time speaking with Jeremy Shaw who is a top motorsports journalist and heads the Team USA program that sends drivers like us to Europe to compete.  Those two things alone were enough to make the weekend a positive one and I'm feeling confident for the next event."The next Pacific Formula F1600/F2000 Championship event takes place in three weeks at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on June 8-9.About American Formula F VideoThe first episode of the new internet television program for American Formula F racing has been released. The episode, produced by MathisenMedia and supported by F1600 FF engine manufacturer Honda Performance, features 20 minutes of video from the F1600 Formula F Championship Series at VIR, the Pacific Formula F1600 Series at Thunderhill, and the SCCA Majors at COTA.  The video can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAw8mM1XV5oThe internet video package for the 2013 FF season is a direct result of renewed demand and interest in the category. FF Championships feature dynamic wheel-to-wheel racing with established veterans going up against the next generation of starstwo engines and a variety of chassis optionsplenty of action for an exciting video program.  The four show schedule calls for a first-race-weekend recap show (listed above in the YouTube link), followed by a mid-season show in late June and an episode in September. Finally, the year ends with a championships edition in October.Shows will include the latest race highlights, relevant interviews, track footage and moremainly utilizing onboard footage provided by competitors and teams. In addition, viewers can look forward to tie-ins with prominent FF graduates.  Available on YouTube, Series websites, through Honda and a variety of other platforms, the FF shows will deliver more exposure to an historic and rejuvenated motorsports class.